Let us take the stress out of your property purchase and help you to secure the property of your dreams.
Selling your property is a major step in life and can come with significant costs and legal reifications. Selling such a valuable asset requires the very best advice to ensure you meet all legal requirements.
We offer Conveyancing at a fixed fee. Choose the package that is right for you and get your conveyancing started today!
Conveyancing is the legal process of purchasing or selling property and includes the transfer of title to property.
The conveyancing service provided by Mothers in Law Lawyers includes reviewing or creating a contract, providing detailed written advice, organising the payment of stamp duty, assistance with applications for first home buyers grants or stamp duty exemptions, liaising with mortgage brokers, real estate agents, other solicitors, banks, local and statutory authorities. It also includes all searches, enquiries and processes required to ensure that you obtain or pass clear title to the property.
For purchasers, we will conduct a preliminary review of a contract free of charge. We recommend all purchasers obtain a detailed advice before entering into a contract.
Our fixed fee conveyancing service is carried out by an experienced and dedicated solicitor or licensed conveyancer.
Our fixed fee conveyancing service includes disbursements that other solicitors and conveyancers will usually charge you extra for. We have built the cost of searches, certificates, postage, phone calls etc into our fixed fee so that you have certainty about your legal costs.
We decided early on in the business to focus on conveyancing - for a very selfish reason. Most other types of legal matters result in a "successful" and "unsuccessful" party - and, often neither of them are happy (before, during or after the process). Conveyancing matters have two winners. When you let us help you with your purchase or sale we can ensure that everyone ends up happy. We love happy clients.
Finally, we appreciate that there are some law firms out there with terrible reputations and that gives lawyers a bad name. We want to prove that not all lawyers fit the stereotype and that, like any other service business, if the right people are in the right job then customers will be satisfied and will recommend us to their colleagues, friends and family.
The following information gives a brief outline of the major steps in the property buying process. This information is for general purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Don't rely entirely on the opinions of others, especially regarding your sale price.
Go and look at comparable properties and compare them to yours.
When you are ready to put your property on the market it is time to appoint a conveyancing solicitor (hopefully us) and have a contract prepared.
Legislation prohibits a vendor or their agent to market a residential property for sale without a complete contract. So call us to prepare your contract to ensure your agent can commence marketing as soon as they are appointed..
We have several preferred partners who have been selected based on our past dealings with them being very good to work with. We are of course very happy to recommend an agent to you.
When shopping around for agents you need to compare things like the obvious costs involved and prices they will charge. But perhaps more importantly you should choose an agent that you feel comfortable working with.
Price is not always the best determinant as an agent who charges less, but gives a poorer service will most likely get you a lower price.
Find an agent that you can feel confident in your dealings as you may have to ask difficult questions in the sale process.
You then need to decide on whether to sell via Auction or Private Treaty. This is often best discussed with your Real Estate Agent.
When selling by Private Treaty you will set an asking price and the property will be listed for sale at that price. The price is still negotiable and depending on the price and the demand for the property offers may be above or below the asking price.
One of the main advantages of selling by Private Treaty as opposed to Auction is that the seller has more time to consider any offers made on the property.
The disadvantages of selling by Private Treaty are that by setting an asking price which is too high, you may attract very little interest. And by setting an asking price too low you may end up selling for less that the market is willing to pay.
When selling at an Auction the general public does not know how much you are willing to sell for and therefore the selling price is determined by the market.
NB. There is no cooling off period for properties purchased at an Auction.
Bidders at an Auction will often be encouraged to increase their bid by activity, so having a strong marketing campaign prior to the Auction is very important.
You can now pay a deposit and exchange contracts. This can be handled by your solicitor, although real estate agents will sometimes facilitate exchange.At this point the contract becomes legally binding. Each party will sign a copy of the contract and swap or 'exchange copies'.
A deposit of usually 10% is paid by the purchaser to secure the property.
The buyer or seller is not legally bound until signed copies of the contract are exchanged.
A cooling-off period, of 5 (business) days after exchange of contracts, gives the buyer the opportunity to organise their finance and to receive advice from building, strata and pest reports.
If the buyer pulls out during this 5 day period they forfeit 0.25% of the purchase price to the seller (eg. on a $500,000 property they would forfeit $1250).
Often circumstances may arise that necessitate the cooling off period to be waived, reduced or extended by the vendor.
Usually 42 days from the date of exchange. During this time your solicitor will conduct searches and liaise with all parties and banks to arrange settlement.
This is also sometimes called completion, is when ownership is officially transferred to the purchaser. Cheques and Title documents are passed between the parties and their banks.
No, an offer is not legally binding until a contract is exchanged. However, it is not a bad idea to do so. There may be something in the contract that may impact on the price you are willing to offer.
Of course there are always circumstances when a property has many interested parties and time is of the essence. In that case you can always make an offer, have it accepted and still negotiate details in the contract right up until you sign the contract and pay the deposit.
To have your contract reviewed you should ask the agent to send a copy of the contract to your solicitor. Your solicitor will then review the contract and let you know if any amendments should be made before you sign it.
If you would like Mothers in Law Lawyers to look over the contract and give you a preliminary advice before you make an offer please give the agent our details or alternatively you can contact us and we will contact the agent on your behalf.
We do not charge for a preliminary review. So feel free to call us or follow this link for peace of mind today.
Yes, bidding at an auction is legally binding and you should have your solicitor look at the contract, give you a detailed advice and enter into any necessary contract negotiations on your behalf beforehand. If you are unsuccessful at the auction, Mothers in Law Lawyers will only charge a nominal fee for the advice given. Unsuccessful bidders will also receive a substantial discount on our fixed fee for conveyancing when they are ultimately successful in securing a property for purchase.
Our prices are all listed on our pricing page. Please note that unlike other solicitors and conveyancers our price includes disbursements.
DIY conveyancing is possible. However, it is quite a complicated task with very big consequences when something does go wrong. Even qualified solicitors engage us to do their conveyancing if they do not practice in the area of conveyancing.
We would not recommend that you take unnecessary risk with biggest transaction you are ever likely to make. We recommend that you use an expert who is familiar with conveyancing procedure and legislation and who can give you the very best advice.
There are times when the sale or purchase of a property can go wrong and the sound advice of a solicitor in these cases is invaluable. Solicitors will have a broader knowledge of property law and can also give advice about matters which fall outside of a conveyancer's expertise. For example, if you are selling a property which may be part of an estate, a solicitor will be able to carry out the conveyancing for the property as well as giving advice on administration of the estate.
A cooling-off period, of 5 (business) days after exchange of contracts, gives a buyer the opportunity to organise their finance and to receive advice from building, strata and pest reports. If the buyer pulls out during this 5 day period they forfeit 0.25% of the purchase price to the seller (eg. on a $500,000 property you would forfeit $1250).
Ordinarily, a purchaser is entitled to a 5 (business) day cooling off period following exchange. However, in the case where a vendor asks you to sign a s66W certificate, the vendor is asking the purchasor to waive this right.
An s66W certificate certifies that your solicitor has explained to you that, upon exchange, you will be obliged to proceed with the purchase of the property upon the terms and conditions set out in the contract and that you will not have the benefit of a cooling off period.
Ordinarily a cooling off period gives a purchaser the opportunity to obtain unconditional loan approval from their financier and gives us the opportunity to conduct any necessary non-standard searches. It also gives purchasers the opportunity to have a strata, building and/or pest inspection done.
If you do not require finance for your purchase and if you have already received a satisfactory strata/building/pest inspection then signing an s66W certificate can be a reasonable move to secure a property.
When we refer to fixed fee conveyancing we are talking about our price to process your conveyancing matter. This applies for both purchases and sales.
It is becoming more common for solicitors and conveyancers to charge a fixed fee for conveyancing in order to give their clients certainty. In the dark old days it was more common that a lawyer would charge per 6-minute increments for any work completed on your file.
This meant that clients had no certainty as to what their costs would be at the end of the process.
A major point of difference between our fixed fee package and our competitors cost structure is that we include disbursements.
Many conveyancers and solicitors will quote a fixed fee for their professional fee (ie. The time they work on the file), but will charge extra for things like council searches, settlement agents, postage, photocopying and other costs involved in the preparation of a contract or transfer of title. This can add up to several hundred dollars (depending on how much they charge per copy) and most annoyingly make budgeting for this expense impossible.
We hate hidden surprises as much as anyone and that is why Mothers in Law Lawyers include these in our fixed fee so that you have certainty about the cost of your conveyancing matter.
We always think its a good idea to get a building and pest inspection done prior to purchasing a property. The cost is insignificant in comparison to the purchase price and may save you thousands if problems are discovered. We can organise this for you through a reliable supplier who can usually get inspections done very quickly.
Absolutely. A strata report is also a very inexpensive way to get insight into the property you are buying. It will disclose any special levies proposed and any major work that needs to be undertaken to the building.
Yes, they don't cost you anything and make the process run much smoother. They have a vested interest in getting you a loan and will go to much greater lengths to help. Ask about our special offer for clients who use our preferred partner.
No, Mothers in Law Lawyers can act for you in any conveyancing matter in New South Wales. We have many clients outside the Sydney Metropolitan area as far and wide as Tamworth, Bathurst, Orange, Nambucca Heads, Medowie and Bombaderry.
Please see the Office of State Revenue Stamp Duty Calculator Click Here.
One of the most common questions that purchasers ask is whether to buy as Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common.
Joint Tenants means that all parties on the title jointly own the property in equal shares. So for instance if a husband and wife own a property in "Joint Tenants" they automatically both own 50% each. If one partner dies the other half automatically goes to the other partner.
Tenants in Common is a different system where an unequal proportion of ownership can be allocated. In this case a person may leave their proportion to another individual in their will.
The decision is a very important and very personal choice and should be carefully considered. If you are at all unsure please do speak to us as your decision will be far reaching.
and we regularly help local clients in the following Northern Beaches Suburbs:
Akuna Bay
Allambie Heights
Avalon
Avalon Beach
Avalon North
Balgowlah
Balgowlah Heights
Barrenjoey
Bayview
Beacon Hill
Bilgola
Bilgola Beach
Bilgola Plateau
Brookvale
Bungan Beach
Careel Bay
Careel Head
Church Point
Clareville
Clontarf
Collaroy
Collaroy Plateau
Cottage Point
Cromer
Curl Curl
Dee Why
Elanora Heights
Fairlight
Freshwater
Ingleside
Ingleside Heights
Manly
Manly Vale
McCarrs Creek
Mona Vale
Narrabeen
Narraweena
Newport
Newport Beach
North Balgowlah
North Curl Curl
North Manly
North Narrabeen
Palm Beach
Paradise Beach
Queenscliff
Salt Pan Cove
Sand Point
Scotland Island
Seaforth
South Warriewood
Turimetta
Warriewood
Warriewood Beach
Whale Beach
Wheeler Heights