BENEFITS OF ENGAGING A LICENSED CONVEYANCER SUPPORTED BY LAWYERS What are the benefits of engaging a licensed conveyancer who is supported by lawyers? There is no significant cost differential between conveyancing services provided by conveyancers or lawyers but there are benefits in having conveyancers supported by lawyers.
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If complex legal issues arise in a conveyance at Priest Legal, our conveyancers have experienced lawyers available to advise and act as necessary. They also help to resolve the issue to our client’s benefit. Our conveyancing service assists Priest Legal’s family law clients when a property needs to be sold or transferred. Keeping the matter within Priest Legal enables a smooth transition and less opportunity for communication problems. Priest Legal’s family law lawyers, led by Loris Hendy, are able to assist with exemption of stamp duty requirements and ensuring that any proceeds of the sale of a property are properly distributed in accordance with any family law orders or agreements.
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Together with Priest Legal’s commercial lawyers, Jeremy Brigden and Nicholas Lawton, we are able to ensure that when a commercial property is sold or purchased, associated complex legal issues such as Capital Gains Tax, GST, land tax, transfer of leases and so forth are properly considered and dealt with so that issues do not arise at a later stage. The transfer or sale of property in an estate is efficient and cost effective when Priest Legal are also acting in the administration of the estate. Issues such as capital gains tax, stamp duty and to whom the property is to be transferred are quickly and expertly dealt with by our estate lawyers led by Alan Priest.
CONVEYANCING TIPS If you are selling • Advise Priest Legal, your conveyancer or solicitor, that you are selling so they can prepare the proposed sale contract for you and discuss the documentation that you need. • Good documentation makes for a good sale. Make sure that your property is compliant with Council regulations. • Fix the things that need fixing. • Make the property look good – first impressions count. • Engage a real estate agent that you like and feel comfortable with.
If you are buying • Consider the entity that you are buying the property in- Eg as an individual, company, superannuation fund. If there are two or more individuals, consider whether you are purchasing as joint tenants or tenants in common- we will advise you as to the merits of each if you are unsure. • Make sure that you have enough money for the purchase, the conveyancing and moving costs and the stamp duty. • Follow the advice of your conveyancer or solicitor and carry out the necessary checks and inspections. • For rural properties, make sure that there is legal access to the property and that the house is within the boundaries.
WHAT’S NEW IN CONVEYANCING? “Lots” is the short answer. The long answer is: As a vendor you must: • Provide a clear land tax certificate • Declare your swimming pool non-compliant or provide a certificate of compliance • Make sure your septic tank (if you have one) is registered and compliant • Provide evidence of identity and citizenship status As a purchaser you must: • Provide evidence of identity and citizenship status • Sign a purchaser declaration • Be aware of foreign resident capital gains withholding measures for property worth $2 million or more PEXA and electronic conveyancing are still in their infancy but electronic settlements are growing fast. At Priest Legal we are proud to be in the forefront of this new development which will hopefully make the whole process of transferring money and title a lot simpler for all our clients.
Priest Legal Lawyers and Conveyancers 41 Hay St, Port Macquarie 02 6583 1777 49 Hastings St Wauchope, 02 6586 4922 www.priestlegal.com.au
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