A: Short answer: ‘The process of transferring land ownership from one person to another.’ In more detail: ‘…It is carried out under the terms of a contract between the buyer and seller. A conveyancer provides advice and information about the sale and purchase of the property, prepares documents and conducts the settlement process.’

A: Yes, although only if the property has been vacated and the Vendor agrees to let you do so.
Here’s how: If both parties are agreeable, a Licence Agreement is entered in to from the day of occupation until the settlement date at an agreed fee, being the ‘license fee’ to be paid to the Vendor on the settlement day. The terms of the Licence Agreement are negotiated between each party’s conveyancer at the cost of the incoming purchaser. Such costs are normally in the vicinity of $250 – $350. Once you take occupation of the property, the risk of any damage to it transfers to you as the occupier, so it is important that you take out insurance from the date of occupation and provide the Vendor with evidence of the insurance policy. It’s to be noted that a Vendor is under no obligation to allow you to take early possession.

A: In simple terms an eCT is an electronic Certificate of Title. All of the major banks commenced replacing paper Certificates of Title with electronic Certificates of Title in September 2016 in line with electronic conveyancing guidelines. In October, 2016 Land Victoria conducted a bulk conversion of paper Certificates of Title to electronic Certificates of Title. Since then thousands of certificates of title have been converted to electronic titles when they have been lodged at Land Victoria for the registration of a dealing, i.e. a transfer of the land, mortgage, etc. Upon issue of the eCT from Land Victoria control of the title is held by the CT Controller, i.e. if your bank has taken a mortgage over the property then the bank would be the CT Controller or if your conveyancer has completed a conveyance of the land for you and no bank was involved then your conveyancer would be noted as the CT Controller. An eCT can easily be identified. When conducting a title search of the property eCT is notated at the bottom of the search in the Administrative Notices section. This section also identifies who holds CT Control of the title. In April, 2020 Land Victoria ceased issuing paper titles upon registration of all dealings and accordingly only eCT’s are now issued. This has the advantage of titles no longer being misplaced, lost or destroyed and they can easily traced back to the CT Controller.

A: A Section 32 is or Vendor Statement is document containing information about a property that the seller (vendor) is legally required to provide to a buyer (purchaser) prior to the signing of a Contract of Sale. It must disclose all information that affects the property that would not be obvious during an inspection, including information that may affect the decision of a potential buyer.

Information that should be included:

• Title search
• Planning information and reports
• Sewer plan
• Building permits, including owner building works, if applicable
• Council and water rate notices
• Owners corporation certificates, if applicable

A: The amount of Stamp Duty payable may differ with each property. The State Revenue Office offers an online Stamp Duty calculator to estimate the amount payable. Stamp Duty Calculator: https://www.e-business.sro.vic.gov.au/calculators/land-transfer-duty

A: Yes! Once you sign a contract for sale, you will have an insurable interest in the property you are purchasing. We therefore recommend you take out insurance to ensure that the property is covered in the event that something happens between now and settlement taking place. Most insurers will provide a cover note at no charge until settlement.

A: Absolutely! You are entitled to conduct a final inspection of the property in the week before settlement. You can arrange this inspection with the agent. The purpose of the inspection is to establish that the property is in the same condition it was on the day of sale, with fair wear and tear excepted. You must accept minor deterioration, such as an overgrown garden, but you may be entitled to complain in relation to more serious deterioration in the property, such as a tree falling on the house.

A: The vendor is obliged to pay the rates on the property up until the date of settlement. To adjust rates as to the date of settlement, any amount outstanding for rates is deducted from money paid to the vendor. The purchaser then makes an allowance to the vendor for their share of the rates from the settlement date to the end of the rating period with payment made to the rating authority for any amount outstanding during settlement.

A: Keys are usually collected from the agent after settlement. The agent will only hand over the keys to you once they have received written authority from the vendor’s representatives that settlement has taken place. Other keys will normally be left in the property, along with instruction books and household information.

A: Purchasing a home is an exciting step; whether it be a first home or an investment. And it’s understandable that once you find your perfect property, you want to get on with things! But signing a Contract of Sale without first having it reviewed by a qualified and experienced Conveyancer is risky. You should have someone check the Contract for errors, hidden clauses or unexpected surprises before you’re locked into it. You also want to be sure that the terms of the Contract are reasonable and give yourself every opportunity to understand them, and negotiate or change any unfair contract terms.

A: When purchasing a property in Victoria, the standard deposit amount is 10% of the total purchase price. Usually a deposit is paid upon signing the Contract of Sale, however it may be split between an initial ‘holding deposit’ with the balance of deposit paid upon finance approval. Once paid, the deposit is held in the trust account of the seller’s Agent or Conveyancer until settlement occurs.

A: A Cooling Off period is the period of time that you have to cancel a Contract of Sale if you change your mind about purchasing a property. In Victoria, the cooling off period is 3 business days after the purchaser signs the contract. If you do not ‘cool off’ the Contract within those 3 business days, you are obligated to continue with the purchase or risk penalties. Cooling off on a contract is not to be done lightly though. If you exercise the right to cool off, there may be a termination penalty fee of 0.2% of the purchase price, which is payable to the Vendor before the Contract comes to an end. There are certain circumstances where a Cooling Off period doesn’t apply so you should obtain advice from a lawyer or conveyancer about a Contract prior to signing it.

A: If two people are registered as Joint Tenants on a title and one of the owners dies, the surviving owner receives the entire property via the doctrine of Survivorship. This is done by way of a Survivorship Application to the Land Titles Office. It does not require a grant of representation, such as a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, being made by the deceased’s executor or next of kin. A lawyer or conveyancer can assist with this process.

A: Disbursements are third party expenses incurred during a property transfer. They include items such as title searches, property enquiries and certificates, and lodgment fees. At Casa Conveyancing we cover the cost of disbursements on your behalf during the transaction and then charge them to you at the conclusion of your matters. Disbursements on a conveyancing matter range between $350 – $750, depending on the type of matter. Your conveyancer will estimate the expected disbursement amount to be incurred prior to beginning work on your file.

A: A caveat is a notice that is placed on the title of a property, giving notice that someone other than the owner sites a legal interest in the property. The person lodging the caveat must have a proper and valid reason for doing so. A property cannot be sold or transferred while a caveat remains in place, therefore there are penalties for inappropriately lodged caveats.

A: PEXA stands for Property Exchange Australia. It is an online platform used in conveyancing that allows settlements of property to occur digitally in real time. Conveyancers use this platform to schedule settlements, lodge documents and organise secure payment of settlement funds.