Conveyancing & Property Law
Real estate remains one of the largest investments most people will make in their lifetime. Getting advice from competent legal practitioners can make all the difference to ensure that your purchase or sale goes smoothly. Our experienced lawyers can assist with all areas of conveyancing and property law, whether you are buying or selling or looking to lease property.
Selling property
If you wish to sell property, you will need a contract of sale and a vendor’s statement (or section 32 statement) prepared. The contract includes details about you, your agent, your lawyer or conveyancer, as well as some property information, such as items included in the sale, the deposit required, and the sale price.
The section 32 statement contains details about the property, including mortgages and easements affecting the property, and details about rates. If the property is an apartment or townhouse, there are also requirements to include an owner’s corporation certificate.
The section 32 statement is a legal document – it must contain accurate information and be provided to potential buyers.
If you receive any offers for the property, and you accept, it is common practice for the purchaser to pay a deposit. The purchaser may have a building or pest inspection carried out before exchanging contracts. Depending on the outcome of any inspections, this may lead to some negotiating on price.
Once negotiations have finalised, contracts can be exchanged and preparations made for settlement, including ensuring that any mortgage on title is removed.
Our experienced lawyers can assist with the entire process, from preparing required documents, to negotiating on your behalf and finalising the sale using electronic settlement in the PEXA platform.
Buying property
When buying a property, it is a good idea to get advice from an experienced lawyer on the contract of sale and section 32 statement. Advice on these documents includes details of cooling off periods, easements or leases affecting the property, and information about outgoings that will need to be paid by you after settlement.
Once you have decided to make an offer on a property but before exchanging contracts, you may want to negotiate with the vendor. Once a price has been agreed, and you have exchanged contracts, you will need to pay the deposit and prepare for settlement.
Our experienced lawyers can assist with every step of the purchase, advising you on the contract, negotiating on your behalf and conducting due diligence, and liaising with your bank to ensure settlement goes smoothly.
Auctions
Sale of a property by auction is slightly different to sales by private treaty. For instance, there is no cooling off period in a sale by auction, so you will want to ensure you have obtained any pest and building reports, and sought advice on the contract, before bidding.
Commercial leasing
Commercial leases set out the legal terms and conditions through which businesses may occupy premises to operate their trade or service. Many lease disputes can be avoided with careful drafting of a lease agreement to ensure all terms and conditions are clear and complete. It is important to seek legal advice before entering a lease, as it has the potential of becoming a negative impact on your business’ cash flow at a later stage.
Tenants should review lease terms to ensure that they accurately reflect their negotiations, and there are no hidden surprises that could adversely impact their plans for operating the business. Clauses regarding trading hours, access to the property and fit-out should be carefully reviewed to ensure that the premises may be used as intended. Terms regarding the lease’s duration, the rent payable and rent reviews, whether a tenant will have an option to renew, and the formal process that must be followed when exercising such an option, must also be reviewed and understood.
When drafting a lease, it is desirable for protections to be included for landlords allowing them to recover money or re-enter the premises if the tenant fails to comply with its obligations under the lease.
A solicitor acting for a landlord must draft the lease to protect the landlord’s interests while also ensuring that the lease complies with any additional obligations such as for retail premises that fall under the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic). In such cases the lease must be for a minimum of 5 years, and if a shorter term is agreed by the landlord and tenant, a waiver must be obtained. Other requirements under the legislation also apply.
If you need assistance, contact one of our lawyers at lawyers@elliottstafford.com.au or call 03 9486 7555 for a no-obligation discussion and for expert legal advice.