The process of buying a house

Law Blog

When you are buying a house, there are many pitfalls you must avoid. There are many laws regarding the transfer and division of property that and you need someone with experience in residential conveyancing to assist you.

The first step to take when you want to buy your house is either saving or applying for finance. The next milestone is looking for the ideal property. It is when you have identified the house you want to buy that you need to have a conveyancer. Always engage a licensed conveyancer to protect your investment. The conveyancer will give you  their terms of engagement; these include costs. If you approve of the terms, conveyancer will work with you. The main issues that the conveyancer will tackle include:

Ensuring that inspections are carried out

There are building inspections, electrical inspections, pest inspections and surveys or strata inspections that must be done to know the present state of the property or house and if it complies with housing standards.

Drafting and interpreting contracts

The conveyancer will look at the seller's offer and read any legal implications of note and explain them to you. The conveyancer will also draft a contract on your behalf if necessary. Some of the details that a conveyancer will be looking at include the terms of the property. The property might be under a leasehold or a freehold title, and these two types of assets have different requirements when transferring.

Conducting property searches

Not all relevant information about a property will be apparent to you when you view it. Even the inspection and survey will not give you all the information that you need to proceed with the transaction. Some details can only be found with the local authorities. The conveyancer knows how to conduct a thorough property search for:

  • Regional planning that can affect the property, maybe a few meters of the property will be shaved off for a road expansion project that is about to commence.
  • Zoning restrictions that limit the development of property within the area as well as any easements that affect the property.

Apart from the property search, the conveyancer will ascertain that the seller has disclosed relevant information about the property to you as the law requires. After the due process has been followed, the conveyancer will draft the settlement agreement and ensure that the deal is completed to your full satisfaction. 

For more information, reach out to a residential conveyancing lawyer in your area.

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19 May 2017

Learning about the law

I love watching legal dramas from all different countries. I often call up my friend who is a lawyer to ask her about whether the cases I have seen on the latest drama are realistic or if they wouldn't happen that way in Australia. It's so interesting to me to see the changes that they make to make the stories flow more convincingly as well as the differences between the law in Australian compared to other countries. This blog is for other fans of legal dramas like me and has some tips on the best places to get real legal advice (hint, it's not on the TV!).