Williams Boxsell Georgas, Lawyers specialises in fixed fee conveyancing of residential and commercial properties, small business law, commercial and retail leases, buying and selling businesses, wills and probate. We are a two partner firm with combined experience of the partners, John Boxsell and Con Georgas of over 50 years. Our staff are experienced conveyancing paralegals.
We provide a quality conveyancing and small business law service where each matter is under the control of a qualified solicitor who is a partner assisted by our experienced staff.
Residential Conveyancing
Residential conveyancing is our main area of practice. We offer experience and an established conveyancing system at a fixed fee. Our fees cover all disbursements, sundries, and agency fees. We have found one of the biggest complaints in the past with legal fees is the "extras" which appear on the bill. Once we have quoted you a figure, that will be it. We aim to be completely transparent with our conveyancing costs.
Basically, our fixed fee for conveyancing for a normal residential purchase is $1,195.00 and a sale is normally $995.00 but may vary if your property is within a community or neighbourhood scheme or if your property is within a large unit development [this is because such titles often have a high number of Land Titles Office documents which have to be annexed to the contract]. For a purchase, this does not include inspections such as pest or building reports or strata reports (in other words, reports done by other non legal specialists). It does not include registration fees. It does include what are commonly understood as searches and enquiries or "disbursements" and it includes GST. As at 1 November 2007, a combined Pest and Building Report can be arranged for $495.00 inclusive of GST. A Strata Report can be arranged for $226.00 to $250.00 inclusive of GST.
Other matters to consider are a Survey ($680.00 inclusive of GST) and a Council Building Certificate inspection (generally $210.00 but varies with some Councils). The need for these can be discussed with you. A survey will precisely identify the boundaries of the property and the location of the improvements within those boundaries. A Building Certificate is obtained if there are concerns about the legality of the structures on the property such as additions, structural changes, conversions (garages to rumpus rooms/attic areas are examples), decks and retaining walls.
IF YOU ARE ABOUT TO BUY A PROPERTY, SEE OUR "BASIC PURCHASING ADVICE" DOWN THIS PAGE.
A sale is costed at $440.00 inclusive of GST to prepare a contract with the balance payable if and when the sale proceeds. Many sales do not proceed beyond the contract preparation stage. This is the reason we price a sale in two stages. The sale costs include contract attachments (basic zoning certificate, drainage diagram and land titles documents). We reserve the right to charge an additional fee for titles which require a large volume of land titles documents (for example, some community title and strata schemes) but for most properties, our built in allowance for title document costs is enough.
IF YOU ARE ABOUT TO SELL A PROPERTY, SEE OUR "BASIC SELLING ADVICE" DOWN THIS PAGE
Our charges for commercial properties will depend on the complexity of the matter. For example, the size of the property and whether there are a number of existing leases to be taken over or if the property is held under company title.
Small Business Law
We provide small business services in the area of buying or selling of businesses, leases, small business litigation, debt recovery, property development transactions and associated matters.
Wills and Probate
We provide will preparation and advice services, estate administration and advice re entitlements in estates (such as under the Family Provision Act)
NOW FOR SOME BASIC ADVICE:
I HAVE FOUND A PROPERTY - WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
Your agent probably wants you to sign a contract he has in his office already prepared by the vendor's solicitor. If you do, you have a 5 day (business days- weekends and holidays don't count) cooling off period but at a cost of 0.25% of the price of the property if you decide not to go ahead (On a $400,000 property, this is $1,000 - it is a lot!!). This is called a COOLING OFF EXCHANGE, vis. you enter into contracts subject to the buyer (not the seller) having a cooling off right if he changes his mind.
DO YOU SIGN NOW? The advantage is you lock the vendor in (after the vendor signs also). He cannot change his mind. The disadvantage is it costs a lot to rescind the contract if you end up changing your mind. The most common reasons for rescinding are a bad pest or building report, a finance approval refusal, or you simply change your mind. Nothing annoys a buyer more than losing the cooling off fee when the cause of rescinding is a bad pest or building report.
The alternative is not to sign the contract. Reach a verbal agreement, pay a holding deposit of, say, $500 (you can get this back), don't sign anything, and ask for a copy of the contract to bring to us (or even someone else if you must!). Most vendors these days in a tough market do not change their mind. They are usually more worried that you will change your mind. We can order your pest and building reports if you want them (they take about 3 days to produce) and you can progress with your finance application.
Another advantage of this method is we have a better chance to tidy up the contract. Often there are annoying little provisions in a contract where standard provisions are changed to the buyers disadvantage; usually involving some sort of fee or cost being passed onto the buyer or potentially passed on to the buyer. You have a better chance of us tidying such provisions up if you do not have about $1,000 to lose by backing out. It is a common feature that the standard contract is changed, often in quite bizarre ways, to the detriment of the buyer.
If you are inclined to sign on the spot to lock the vendor in ( there are many cases where this is exactly what you want to do); ask the following questions:
Is there a clause in the contract passing on the vendor's land tax as a settllement adjustment (ie you pay part of the vendor's land tax for the year current at the time of the sale if he is not exempt from land tax)? If so, get rid of it and don't tolerate any argument. It is not on. If the vendor is liable for it, it is a commercial tax of the vendor's. You do not want to know about it; let alone pay it.
Can a clause be put in the contract to extend the cooling off period to 7 to 10 days (5 days is usually not enough to obtain a written finance approval - 10 is best, 7 at least takes you into the second week)?
Is the price GST inclusive? Usually, it is but you do not want a clause that says you pay it in case there are circumstances the vendor is liable for GST. That is his problem; not yours. residential houses should always be sold on a GST inclusive basis.
Can I pay a deposit of .25% of the price now and the balance of the deposit at the expiration of the cooling off period. Use the words "at the expiration of the cooling off period" to cover the circumstance where the cooling off period might be extended.
Can I use a Deposit Bond for the deposit (a deposit bond is NOT money. It is a guarantee by an insurance company that the vendor will be paid the deposit if you default under the contract and the vendor is entitled to the deposit as damages).
If we have agreed on a 5% deposit (often this is the case), can I pay the deposit with a Deposit Bond for 5% of the price (if you want to use a deposit bond). Vendors (or their lawyers, more to the point) have this strange fixation that any bond must be for 10%. If you agree on a 5% deposit, it should not matter that it is satisfied with a 5% bond.
I want a default interest rate of no more than 8% (Trust us on this one - we will explain later)
I want a 42 day settlement period at least (or more if you specifically agree on a longer time). This time begins from the date of the contract exchage, NOT the date of the expiry of the cooling off period. Many contracts are drafted with short settlement times.
Don't take the answer; "Don't worry about that. Your solicitor will fix up all of that later". The whole point is to get the contract in order from the beginning on important matters.
If you do sign a cooling off contract, make sure it is sent to your lawyers straight away. There is nothing worse than receiving a contract with a 5 day cooling off period 3 days into it.
Get on with your finance application straight away.
Remember, if you want to rescind the contract by exercising your cooling off right, a written notice must be served. It can be by post, fax or delivery to the agent, the vendor or the solicitor for the vendor. If your lawyer has disappeared at the crucial moment, do it yourself. Just write and say, "We exercise our cooling off rights under the contract and rescind the contract". That will do the job. Ringing up the agent to say you do not want to go ahead will NOT be effective.
The above is not comprehensive advice. It reflects our experience of a lot of buyers who want to know what to do at that first point of deciding on a house and having an agent ask them to sign a contract. This often occurs on a weekend when lawyers are not around to ring up, in the norm. As soon as you get over the first hurdle, come Monday morning further discussions can take place.
If you have any quick queries, email us. We are often in the office on the weekends catching up (we wish we had a life) and the email is always on and checked. Email is the wonder communication system of the millenium. We are ALWAYS on the phone. It is a lawyers occupational hazard. Email to the solicitor's address who is dealing with your matter (there are only two of us! - see CONTACT US page on this site) will always get through and noticed as we stare at the screen with a phone on one ear almost all day. We often get an email whilst we are on the phone and can answer it whilst still talking, especially if the answer is short.
I WANT TO START TO SELL A PROPERTY - WHAT DO I DO FIRST
A property cannot be sold unless a contract has been prepared in accordance with the regulations. It is illegal for an agent or a private seller to offer a property for sale without such a contract being available where the property is being sold.
So the first thing to do is have the contract prepared. We can take sale instructions on the phone or by email [see below]. We will obtain details of the property, its construction history, especially about any structural changes to the property which should have had Council approval. We will also need to compile a list of inclusions to describe in the contract as being included in the sale. Inclusions are items which are not fixtures eg floor coverings, curtains, light fittings, blinds, dishwasher, microwave oven, clothesline, alarm systems, air conditioners, garden sheds, insect screens on windows, screen doors or security doors, swimming pool equipment, garage door opening systems and similar items which can be relatively easily removed but are to stay with the property.
We will need a title reference such as Lot number and Deposited Plan number. This can be found on a Council rate notice. Also, have your loan number ready to give us. Most of the other information you will already know without looking anything up.
We particularly need to know if there are any structural changes to the property which are not council approved. These should be disclosed or the buyer may have rights before settlement to have them approved or repaired.
We will need to know if you have any special requirements about settlement times which are generally 35 or 42 days after the date of the contract exchange.
We will prepare a contract from this information and send a copy to your agent as soon as it is ready. Normally it takes about 7 days to have a contract prepared. The main time constraint is obtaining a Council zoning certificate which, without paying a special fee, takes about 7 days to issue. Some Councils are better than others in this regard.
After the contract is prepared, any exchange by the agent with Cooling Off rights is done using your contract as prepared for you.
BELOW IS A LIST OF THE BASIC INFORMATION WE NEED TO PREPARE A SALES CONTRACT. YOU CAN SIMPLY EMAIL US THIS INFORMATION AS FOLLOWS:
BLOCK THE TEXT BELOW NUMBERED 1 TO 28 BELOW
SAVE THE BLOCKED TEXT
IN OUR "CONTACT US" PAGE, CLICK ON ONE OF OUR EMAIL ADDRESSES
AN EMAIL TO US SHOULD OPEN UP
PASTE THE BLOCKED TEXT IN THE EMAIL
ADD THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS. LEAVE OUT ANY YOU DO NOT READILY KNOW
SEND US THE EMAIL
Address of property
Do you live in it?
If you do not, who occupies the property?
Is there a lease if someone else occupies the property?
If someone else occupies the property, do you want to sell the property subject to that lease? [ie so that the purchaser takes over the tenant; in which case we will need a copy of the lease to attach to the contract]
Who is your selling agent? [Name and address and contact]
How old do you estimate it to be since the property was first built?
Lot Number and Deposited Plan number. You can find this on a council rate notice. If you can't conveniently, skip this answer.
Do you have a mortgage on the property? If so, who is the bank or other lender?
Is this property a security for any other loan you might have [eg for another investment property]
What is your loan number
What sort of property is it? [House, Townhouse, Home unit etc]
What are the major structures on the property [separate garage, swimming pool, pergola etc]
If there is a pool, is it an in ground pool?
Have any major additions being carried out to the property since it was first built [like a rumpus room extension, upper story extension etc]
Was it done by you or a previous owner?
What can you tell us about any Council approval of the additions?
Is the property connected to the sewer? [Note -some outer suburbs are not and have septic systems]
Do you have any disputes with neighbours at the moment about fences, trees, boundaries etc?
Have you received any notice from the Council or other public authority about the property ?[eg to fix anything, or to stop any conduct or pay any money except normal rates]
We need to list the inclusions which are to be part of the sale which are not part of the "building". Common examples are:
Fixed floor coverings, light fittings, blinds, curtains, insect screens on windows, screen or security doors, dishwasher, microwave, stove, hotplates, range hood, air conditioning unit OR air conditioning ducted system, room heater [eg slow combustion wood stove], alarm system, garden shed, intercom system, music system, built in vacuum system, swimming pool filtration equipment [if there is a pool or spa], built in BBQ, garage door opening system [how many remote controllers if there is?] [To save time in compiling this list, we suggest you amend this list by adding or deleting as appropriate and note you have done this - saves you typing the list again]
Any other inclusions not in the above list
Any inclusion you want to reserve the right to REMOVE [eg dishwasher, microwave are common examples]
Have you any knowledge of any illegal structures [that is, not Council approved] If so, we will need to talk to you about them.
If a strata property, advise the name, address and phone number of the strata managing agent.
If a community title property, advise the name, address, and phone number of the community title managing agent
If a strata property, advise if you are aware of any current proposal to raise any special levies.
FOR MORE ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS, CHECK OUR FAQ PAGE. WE PROPOSE TO WRITE UP ANSWERS TO COMMON QUERIES WE OFTEN RECEIVE. IF YOU HAVE A SUGGESTION FOR AN FAQ TOPIC, LET US KNOW.
WILLIAMS BOXSELL GEORGAS LAWYERS - FIXED FEE CONVEYANCING
