Our Services
First Home Buyer
First Home Buyer Ready to Purchase Your First Melbourne
Buying your first home should be an exciting and stress free experience and with a little knowledge and guidance from our experts it should be!
Our service excellence and professional friendly team of Licensed Conveyancers with give you peace of mind and we will hold your hand throughout the process.
At VT Conveyancing we offer property conveyancing services to help you navigate through the buying and selling process. When you choose us to help you purchase your first home your personal property conveyancer will be with you through every step and will always be there to answer your questions and clarify any of the conveyancing processes.
Your property conveyancer will advise any hidden costs you may be liable for such as stamp duty, pest/building reports, legal fees, loan application fees and insurances. As a first home buyer you may also be eligible for the first home buyer grant, which is a one-off tax free payment from the Government and stamp duty concessions.
So if you’re a first home buyer eager to get into the property market then call our team of property conveyancers now and ask for a cheap conveyancing quote. It is the first step in your journey to owning your home and we look forward to helping you along the way.
PURCHASE PROCESS
Step 1 : Pre Purchase Inspection
Before you purchase a property, a prudent purchaser will arrange inspections on the property. The Contract for Sale of Land does not cover the quality of the buildings on the property. What you see is what you get otherwise known as “Caveat Emptor” or “Buyer Beware”. For a freestanding house both a pest inspection, which will advise on any past or current pest activity affecting the property and a building report, which will advise on any structural problems would be advisable. You may also want to consider having the electrical wiring and plumbing examined, as this is not covered in a building inspection.
If you are buying a unit, townhouse or villa you will require a strata report. This report summarises inspection of the strata records of the Owners Corporation, identifying insurances in place, quarterly levies, any special levies, the financial position of the scheme, any ongoing maintenance problems and any issues noted in minutes of Owners Corporation meetings.
Step 2 : Exchanging Contracts
Exchanging contracts is the legal process of buying property. There are two identical copies of the contract for sale, one for the Purchaser and one for the Vendor. The contracts are signed by each party and dated, then swapped or ‘exchanged’. The contract is then binding on both Purchaser and Vendor.
Before exchanging contracts, there may be some amendments required to the contract. For example, change of settlement period or amount of deposit.
VT Conveyancing will review the contract and discuss your personal requirements before commencing negotiations with the Vendor’s conveyancer/solicitor.
Before exchanging contracts it is wise to ensure that you have unconditional approval of your finance. This may involve your lending institution obtaining a valuation of the property which can take up to 5 days.
On exchange of contracts, typically a 10% deposit is required. Deposit bonds are becoming frequently used in lieu of cheque deposit. Your broker/lending institution will arrange deposit bond.
Cooling Off Period
When you buy a property in VICTORIA there is usually a 5 business-day cooling-off period after you exchange contracts. If you use your cooling-off rights and withdraw from the contract during this period, you will pay the Vendor 0.25% of the purchase price. This works out to be $250 for every $100,000. Many contracts now include a Section 66W certificate which waives cooling off right and binds both the Vendor and Purchaser from exchange of contracts.
A cooling-off period does not apply if you buy a property at auction or exchange contracts on the same day as the auction after it is passed in.
VT Conveyancing will advise you of your rights before signing the contract.
After exchange
With each transaction of property, there is stamp duty payable, on the Contract and Transfer, payable either on or before settlement or 3 months after exchange, whichever is the earliest. There are penalties for late lodgement of stamp duty. It is our responsibility to ensure that your Contract and Transfer are stamped on time.
Before settlement, the exact amount owing to the Vendor will require some adjustment to include figures such as council rates, water rates and strata levies which are adjusted from settlement date. We will calculate these adjustments and provide you with the total amount payable.
Step 3 : Settlement
As the name suggests, ‘settlement’ is the final step taken in the conveyancing process to conclude the transaction when title is transferred to you and you receive the keys. Settlement is usually attended by four parties: the Vendor, Purchaser as represented by their respective licensed conveyancer/solicitor and discharging and incoming mortgagees.
You are not required to attend settlement.
Immediately after settlement the change of title and mortgage will be registered at the Land and Property Information and Valuer General, local council, water authority (and strata manager if applicable) will be notified of the ownership change.
We will notify you of the finalisation and the agent will release the keys of the property to you.
SELLLING PROCESS
The Contract
Before you purchase a property, a prudent purchaser will arrange inspections on the property. The Contract for Sale of Land does not cover the quality of the buildings on the property. What you see is what you get otherwise known as “Caveat Emptor” or “Buyer Beware”. For a freestanding house both a pest inspection, which will advise on any past or current pest activity affecting the property and a building report, which will advise on any structural problems would be advisable. You may also want to consider having the electrical wiring and plumbing examined, as this is not covered in a building inspection.
If you are buying a unit, townhouse or villa you will require a strata report. This report summarises inspection of the strata records of the Owners Corporation, identifying insurances in place, quarterly levies, any special levies, the financial position of the scheme, any ongoing maintenance problems and any issues noted in minutes of Owners Corporation meetings.
OFFER & ACCEPTANCE
Your real estate agent should let you know when an offer is given by a prospective purchaser. Once you’ve accepted an offer, the agent will issue a sales advice to all parties with details of the agreed price and possibly some special conditions that have been agreed. The contract is binding when contracts are exchanged and a deposit is paid and is then legally binding.
Deposit
Typically, 10% of the purchase price is the deposit paid on exchange of contracts. However, this may be negotiated before exchange to accept a 5% deposit, bank guarantee or deposit bond. Most cash deposits are held in an interest bearing account arranged by the agent with the interest being split 50/50 between the purchaser and vendor after settlement. If there is no agent involved on the sale then the deposit may be held in VT Conveyancing’s trust account.
Exchange
Contracts are exchanged when you and the purchaser have signed separate but identical copies of the contract and the agreed deposit is paid. Contracts are dated and your signed contract is given to the purchaser’s Licensed Conveyancer/Solicitor, and the purchaser’s signed contract is given to VT Conveyancing (hence the term “exchange”).
Cooling Off Period
Every standard Contract for Sale of Land for residential property includes a 5 business day cooling-off period, starting the day contracts are exchanged. The cooling-off period exists in case the purchaser changes their mind after exchange. You, as the vendor, don’t have this right. If the purchaser backs out, they’re required to pay you 0.25% of the purchase price. Cooling-off periods don’t apply at auctions. Cooling off periods can be extended if agreed by both parties in writing before the expiry of the cooling off period.
Waiving Off Cooling Off Period
The cooling-off period can be waived as part of the negotiation process. A Section 66W certificate provided by the purchaser’s Licensed Conveyancer/Solicitor, will waive the cooling off period on exchange of contracts.
Settlement
Settlement, otherwise known as completion, is the date that your property is legally transferred to the purchaser. This is also the day the purchaser takes possession of the property, and the balance of the purchase price is paid to you.
Off the plan
A strata unit may be advertised before the building has been constructed. Buying a strata unit under these circumstances is commonly known as buying ‘off the plan’.
There are risks with any property transaction but buying off the plan comes with its own variety of risks.
The contract should be closely checked by VTConveyancing. In particular, the following should be considered:
- Whether there are any penalties for withdrawing from the contract
- Are changes by the developer to the finishes in the unit are possible
- Will your finance be available if the building is finished early
- Is on selling allowed prior to settlement
- How long can the developer delay settlement
- How are building defects rectified
VT Conveyancing will advise you on your rights and to ensure that you fully understand the contract.
Foreign Investors
Step 1 : Contact VT Conveyancing
No matter where you are located in the world we can help you in buying a property in Melbourne.
Our internal operation systems using Skype and emailing make it easy for you to communicate with us, making life simple for you.
It is important for you to contact us before signing a Contract for Sale of Land to advise you on your requirements as a foreign investor. In some situations the contract may be conditional upon obtaining approval from FIRB.
Step 2 : Contacting FIRB
The FIRB looks at proposals by foreign investors to invest in Australian property and makes recommendations to the Government on whether those proposals are suitable for approval.
FIRB will provide information on exemptions, how to apply and compliance.
For more information visit www.firb.gov.au
Step 3 : Our Alliances
To make life easy for you we have business relationships with these companies.
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