Frequently Asked Questions

We are located in beautiful North East Victoria high country, servicing local towns such as Bright, Porepunkah, Mount Beauty, Tawonga, Myrtleford, Wangaratta and we also visit Melbourne every fortnight.  But our service is not limited, we are available to anyone in Victoria thanks to the internet and electronic conveyancing.  So don't be shy, give us a call!

Electronic conveyancing means your purchase or sale is settled in an electronic workspace  through the Property Exchange Australia Limited or PEXA for short.  Your bank, the otherside's representative and us all meet in a virtual settlement room.  Once all the documents are complete and monies allocated and balanced, settlement begins.  It usually takes about 30 mins for the Title to be transferred and monies disbursed.  

The beauty of electronic conveyancing is that eliminates cheques and snail mail.  If you're buying, your name will immediately appear on the Title once settlement is complete.  If you're selling, funds are usually in your account within the hour of completion.  No more waiting for funds to clear.  How good is that!

We will send you a link to the PEXA Plus app so you can keep up to date with the process.  

As soon as you decide to sell or buy!

If you are selling, it's best to get your Vendors Statement organised immediately.  Some certificates can take time to obtain and if there are owner builder works involved then you will need to obtain an Owner Builder S137B Condition report.  

If you are buying, get us to have a look over the Vendors Statement and Contract before you sign.  We will go through the documents thoroughly and ask you the appropriate questions to make sure the property is right for you.  We also investigate the property and make sure there hasn't been any building works done that haven't been disclosed in the Vendors Statement.  With the Contract we check for any nasty Special Conditions that could be costly. 

In a nutshell, it is information about the property.  There is, however, certain information that is required by law that needs to be included, such as building permits, (including owner builder), owners corporation and leases.  These requirements are contained in Section 32 of the Sale of Land Act, failure to comply will result in your Vendors Statement being defective and give cause for a purchaser to withdraw from the Contract.  That is why it is so important to get it right from the start.  A Purchaser must be provided with a signed Vendors Statement prior to signing any Contract of Sale.  

Owner builder work can get Vendors into trouble.  An owner builder is someone who has performed building work on their property, either with or without a permit.  What a lot of Vendors do not realise is that renovations of bathrooms and kitchens are also classified as owner builder works, even though you don't need a building permit.  If the works have been completed less than six and a half years then you will be required to obtain a Owner Building Defects Condition Report.  Only a registered building practitioner, building engineer or building surveyor can complete the report.  If the value of the works were more than $16,000, then you will also be required to obtain Owner Builder Insurance.  Both of these are required under the legislation prior to entering into a Contract of Sale.  Failure to comply could result in the Purchaser withdrawing from the Contract right up until settlement or worse they could sue you for damages if the works end up being costly to rectify.  Always let your representative know of any works that have been performed on the property. 

The Contract of Sale is a binding agreement, that's why it is so important to get it right and/or reviewed before you sign.   The Purchaser usually signs the Contract first then the Vendor.  The date the Vendor signs is the date of the Contract or date of sale.  There can be a lot of tricky and sometimes not so nice Special Conditions in the Contract that could cost you, such as increasing the default interest percentage or the Vendor's representative has included special fees such as nomination fee.  Off-the-plan subdivision Contracts can be very complex so it is important you get them checked out thoroughly.   

Yes and no.  The cooling off period applies within 3 clear business days if you purchase a residential or small rural property.  The time starts once you sign the Contract not the Vendor.  You will only be eligible to withdraw from a purchase under cooling off by providing written notice to the Vendor or their agent and only if: 

• the property was not purchased at a public auction or within three clear business days before or after a public auction
• the property is not used mainly for industrial or commercial purposes
• the property is not more than 20 hectares and used mainly for farming
• you have not previously signed a contract for the same property with the same terms 
• the buyer is not an estate agent or company.

If you do decide to cool off, you will be entitled to a full refund of any money paid, less $100 or 0.2 per cent of the purchase price, whichever is greater. 

Yes.  This is easy enough to do when purchasing a residential property.  It does get a bit trickier when dealing with acreage, so you may wish to engage a surveyor.  Why should you check the boundaries?  You could be losing a significant amount of land due to fences not always being placed in the appropriate line.  Failure to check in the beginning could lead to disputes with your neighbours in the future.   

Not anymore.    Yes it is.  The Land Tax year runs the calendar year, that is, the tax is struck on 1 January.  You are not charged Land Tax on your principle place of residence.  It is incredibly important that your representative orders and land tax certificate when you are purchasing a property.  Not only does any outstanding land tax has to be paid by the Vendor at settlement but it also advises what the land tax is owing on that particular property.  This amount is adjusted.  However, a lot of off-the-plan Contracts contain a Special Condition that state that the Land Tax is to be adjusted on a proportional basis rather that single manner holding at settlement.  What does this mean?  It means that the Land Tax will be adjusted from the date of the Contract not the settlement date.  Most off-the-plan sales can take several years for completion, so that means you will be paying Land Tax on a property that does not have its own Title and that you do not yet own which could be several years worth tax despite it being your principle place of residence.  Further if you are purchasing a property that is owned by a Trust, and this includes self-managed super funds (SMSF), the Land Tax rate is substantially higher but it will still be required to be adjusted.  With the recent State Budget changes to Land Tax we are likely to see these amounts to be in the thousands and if you have settlement falling at the start of the year, you as the purchaser, will be paying the bulk of it.  This is a very much "Watch this Space" topic! 

We are continually posting questions and answers, but if you can't find what you are looking for, please give us a call.  We are always ready to help.