Purchase | a simple guide when buying property

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You can either approach a Lender directly or engage a Mortgage Broker who can provide options that suit your individual needs.  It is often best to obtain a pre-approval for finance before you sign a Contract of Sale.  Once your finance is secured, we will communicate with your lender until settlement and ensure your loan funds are available.  Your lender may ask for certain documents from us including an Insurance Certificate of Currency or a Transfer of Land.  We will provide any documents required, on your behalf.

Whether you are buying a property at Auction or by private sale, it is recommended you obtain a pre-Contract signing written review to ensure the documents are in order and the property is suitable for your personal circumstances.  We offer a Contract Review service with a one business day turnaround.   A nominal review fee is payable in advance and if you are successful in purchasing the property that we have reviewed, the fee is deducted from our final account.  Once we  provide the written review, you can communicate with us for any further queries you may have regarding the review.

In most circumstances, you are entitled to a "cooling off" period, however you may forfeit a "cooling off fee" if you choose to cancel the Contract in this way.  We can assist you with understanding your "cooling off" rights.

Cooling off is not available if you purchase the property at Auction, or three business days prior to or three business days post an Auction.   You cannot purchase a property subject to a loan approval or a building/pest inspection if you purchase a property at Auction or three business days prior to or three business days post an Auction.

Once you have found a property that meets your needs, the Agent will provide a Contract of Sale and Vendor's Statement to you so you can make an offer to purchase the property.  The Contract will contain details including the Vendor's details, the property address, the price, settlement terms and special conditions.  The Vendor's Statement discloses information about the Title, the Plan, outgoings, details of any building permits and the like.

After you have made an offer to purchase the property by signing a Contract of Sale, and if the Vendor accepts your offer by also signing the Contract, the Agent will provide a completed document to you being the "exchange" of Contract.  The Agent will also send a copy of the exchanged Contract to our office and we will then be in a position to commence the file and outline the legal process to transfer the property into your name(s).

The Registrar of Titles has formalised requirements for verification of identity (VOI) of parties to both electronic and paper conveyancing transactions. Verification of identity reduces the risks of identity fraud and unauthorised property transactions, and helps to ensure that the correct person is dealing with land.  All parties to a conveyancing transaction must have their identity verified.  

The Client Authorisation form is a document that enables a party to the conveyancing transaction to authorise us to act on their behalf as their agent and sign paper instruments specific to that transaction.

You will be required to undertake a VOI and sign a Client Authorisation as part of your purchase.

If you buy or acquire a property, you pay land transfer duty, commonly known as stamp duty.

The amount of duty depends on the value of your property, how you use it, if you are a foreign purchaser, and if you are eligible for any exemptions or concessions.

We will calculate the stamp duty you will pay on the transfer of property and complete the required forms on your behalf, ready for digitally signing by you prior to settlement.  Stamp Duty is payable in full at the time of settlement.

When you buy a property, you are essentially transferring the legal ownership of the property into your name(s). This legal transfer would have to be registered with the government and would then incur a registration/lodgement fee. Land Use Victoria is the government agency that charges this fee for managing the register.  You will also have to pay a registration fee on the Mortgage if you are securing a loan t purchase the property.  We will advise you of the registration fee amounts, which are also payable in full at the time of settlement.

When you sign a Contract of Sale, you will insert your full name(s) as the acquiring party.  In order to transfer the property into your name(s), we will prepare a Transfer of Land which will note the Title particulars, your name(s), the consideration paid for the property and your manner of holding {manner of holding applies to two or more purchasers and whether the as to whether the property is held as joint proprietors or tenants in common}.  We will explain this to you in more detail once the Contract is exchanged.

You will note we refer to PEXA in most of our communications to you.  Settlement takes place “online” through a secure platform developed by the Government in conjunction with an Electronic Lodgement Network Operator (ELNO), and the platform we utilise is PEXA.  All matters associated with the transfer of the property, discharge of the Vendor’s Mortgage, settlement, payment of stamp duty and registration of the property into your name, takes place via PEXA. Post settlement, the Title becomes an “electronic title” which is controlled by your Lender.  This process has been developed to mitigate any fraudulent activity with a Title as well as the risk of losing the original Title.

PEXA Key is a secure app for you, the client, through which bank account details required for settlement can be exchanged and you can track your settlement’s progress. When you input your bank account details into PEXA Key, the app communicates this information into our PEXA Workspace, eliminating the need to engage insecure communication channels and risk interception by a third party. Similarly, if you are required to provide additional funds for settlement, we will provide our Trust Account details via the PEXA Key App. When we set up the PEXA Workspace, you will receive an automated SMS and email inviting you to install the PEXA Key App. 

At least one week prior to settlement you should confirm the connection of the following utilities (if applicable):- 1. Gas 2. Telephone 3. Electricity 4. Internet / pay TV 

We will adjust Council Rates and Water Parks & Drainage Rates (as well as Owners Corporation Fees if applicable) as at the settlement date and these outgoings will be paid to the current rating year. The Council and Water Authority  and Owners Corporation will also be advised of your details and all future rating notices will be forwarded to you.

Post settlement, we will also provide a Title search evidencing your ownership of the property.

In the first instance, we will obtain your full instructions about the property you are selling.  We will also obtain information about the registered proprietor on Title, whether you're an individual or a company.

Whilst a Contract of Sale contains standard General Conditions, we feel it is important to include Special Conditions to ensure you are protected as a Vendor.  No two sales are the same so our Special Conditions are tailored to your specific needs and circumstances.

This is the most important document annexed to a Contract of Sale.  A Vendor's Statement tells potential buyers information about the property and Title which they should be aware of before they enter into a Contract.  A Vendor's Statement is a legal document and must be factually accurate and complete.  A defective Vendor's Statement could potentially give the Purchaser grounds to cancel the Contract of Sale so it is imperative the information contained therein is accurate.

Some of the information provided in a Vendor's Statement includes details about existing: 

• mortgages
• covenants
• easements
• zoning
• outgoings (for example, rates)
• declaration if located in a bushfire-prone area.

Examples of information you will need to provide:

Are you aware if:

· a murder has taken place at the property ¨

· there has been use of hazardous materials ¨

· there has been illegal building works without a permit ¨

· there are any proposed developments in direct vicinity of your property ¨

· there are any sinkholes ¨

· there has been pesticide use (if your property has been used for horticultural or agricultural purposes) ¨

· there is termite infestation ¨

· there is asbestos ¨

· there has been a suicide at the property ¨

The Registrar of Titles has formalised requirements for verification of identity (VOI) of parties to both electronic and paper conveyancing transactions. Verification of identity reduces the risks of identity fraud and unauthorised property transactions, and helps to ensure that the correct person is dealing with land.  All parties to a conveyancing transaction must have their identity verified.  

The Client Authorisation form is a document that enables a party to the conveyancing transaction to authorise us to act on their behalf as their agent and sign paper instruments specific to that transaction.

You will be required to undertake a VOI and sign a Client Authorisation as part of your sale.

We will prepare the State Revenue Office Duty Form which we are required to submit to the Purchaser's legal representative.  We will complete the form on your behalf.  This form is then completed by the Purchaser and once all of the information is finalised, you will be required to sign the form so that the Purchaser can have the stamp duty assessed.  The form is in a digital format and can be signed digitally online.

When you sell a property, you will be required to request your lender (if there is a mortgage) to prepare a Discharge of the Mortgage and provide a payout figure for settlement.  We will guide you through the discharge process to ensure your lender is ready for settlement.

If you are in the position of holding a property with no mortgage, you will either have the original Certificate of Title or it may be held electronically by another legal representative or even your original lender.  We will ask you to either deliver the original Title to our office, or arrange for the transfer of control of the electronic Title to our firm.

Land Victoria have been instrumental in converting paper Titles to electronic Titles for a number of years to avoid the scenario of lost Titles or fraudulent activity with a Title.

At least one week prior to settlement you should arrange the disconnection of the following utilities (if applicable):- 1. Gas 2. Telephone 3. Electricity 4. Internet / pay TV 

We will adjust Council Rates and Water Parks & Drainage Rates (as well as Owners Corporation Fees if applicable) as at the settlement date and these outgoings will be paid to the current rating year. The Council and Water Authority  and Owners Corporation will also be advised of your sale settlement and all future notices will be directed to the new owner of the property.  

You will note we refer to PEXA in most of our communications to you.  Settlement takes place “online” through a secure platform developed by the Government in conjunction with an Electronic Lodgement Network Operator (ELNO), and the platform we utilise is PEXA.  All matters associated with the transfer of the property into the Purchaser's name, discharge of your Mortgage and settlement, takes place via PEXA.  Funds due to you from the sale are transferred to your nominated Bank Account at the time of settlement.  

PEXA Key is a secure app for you, the client, through which bank account details required for settlement can be exchanged and you can track your settlement’s progress. When you input your bank account details into PEXA Key, the app communicates this information into our PEXA Workspace, eliminating the need to engage insecure communication channels and risk interception by a third party. Similarly, if you are required to provide additional funds for settlement, we will provide our Trust Account details via the PEXA Key App. When we set up the PEXA Workspace, you will receive an automated SMS and email inviting you to install the PEXA Key App.