Property and Conveyancing

Hopper Mott Bunting Lawyers has been assisting clients in the Redlands with all their property and conveyancing needs for many years. Our experienced staff will guide you through the conveyancing process and ensure the transaction occurs as smoothly as possible.

Whether you are a first homebuyer or an experienced investor, we understand the legal process of conveyancing can be daunting and complex, and it is likely you will encounter numerous legal terms you may not be familiar with, but are important to the process.

To help you understand the conveyancing process, we have complied together a glossary of general terms in conjunction with our frequently asked questions.

Our experienced team can guide you through the process and explain these terms to you, so if you are looking to buy or sell property feel free to contact our office today.

Read our Property and Conveyancing FAQs.

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Commercial Residential Caveats Easements

Community Title Schemes Strata Title Schemes Developers Back to Services

Commercial Property Law

Whether you are purchasing or selling a small unit to a multimillion dollar commercial premise we can help. It is best to contact us on these matters as early as possible. We can ensure the contract has all the clauses necessary to conduct the due diligence required to confirm you are getting what you are paying for. Whether you are purchasing a multi tenanted property, a motel, caravan park, child centre or any other type of commercial asset it is best to talk to us, so we can advise you on the specifics of you purchase or sale.

Commercial Property Law FAQs

What are your fees for purchasing or selling a commercial property?

Buying or selling commercial property is generally a more complex legal process than a standard residential conveyancing transaction; therefore, our fees will be assessed on a time and fee basis. Please contact us for an estimate.

Caveats

Sometimes caveats need to be placed on properties to ensure the rights of an individual are protected. Lodging a caveat is usually a straight forward process. Contact us for further details.

Caveats FAQs

What is a caveat?

What are the different types of caveats?

There can be caveats made with the consent of the owner or caveats that are placed on a property by a party that has a legal right to the assets. Call us for more details and we can make an appointment to discuss your particular circumstances.

Why would you lodge a caveat?

If you have an estate or interest in land through which registration of another dealing cannot protect, you may consider lodging a caveat to protect your legal position. This is known as a caveatable interest. You must ensure that you have a genuine legal interest at the time you are lodging the caveat.

What happens after a caveat is lodged?

Once the Registrar accepts the caveat, the Registrar must give written notice of the lodgement of the caveat to the registered owner of the property. Once the registered owner has been provided with notice of the caveat, the registered owner is entitled to serve a notice on the person who lodged the caveat requiring them to commence court proceedings to establish the interest claimed under the caveat.

How is a caveat withdrawn?

The person (caveator) who lodged the caveat at any time may withdraw the caveat. A request must be signed and lodged with the Registrar.

A caveat, which has been lodged without the consent of the registered owner, will lapse under certain circumstances. Please contact us immediately if a caveat has bene placed on your property.

How can a caveat be removed?

The registered owner may apply to the Supreme Court for an order to remove the caveat. Also a notice may be served on the caveator and if proceedings are commence they caveat may be removed. Please contact us for specific advice.

Easements

Easements can be complicated and should be reviewed and lodged by a solicitor. We have many years of experience drafting and lodging all types of easements. Easements can be required by the counsel or by land owners that need to access common property across lots. The correct drafting of easements is critical to ensure that a property has the access required. There are many instances where easements have not been registered properly and lots have been unable to access roadways or other services. Call us if you have a need for an easement or need an easement searched or reviewed.

Easements FAQs

What is an Easement?

An easement creates a right of a party that is not an owner of the property. Easements can be used on shared driveways, or for services that need to run across a property to enable another lot to have access to utilities.

How do I know if my property is affected by an easement?

As part of our conveyancing service, we will review the title search and identify if there is a registered easement over the land. If an easement is registered, we recommend you instruct us to undertake an additional search of the easement, to understand the terms and conditions.

How does an easement affect my property?

There may be restrictions placed on how you can use the property and the land the easement covers. This can include building on the easement. When applications for development approval are lodged, any registered easements will be taken into consideration.

You may not be able to build in an area that would restrict access to the easement, or to fence off a right of way to prevent access. Other types of restrictions may apply – for example, you may not be able to plant certain types of trees on or near a water pipe.

I am selling my property; do I have to disclose my easement?

Short answer, yes. Every easement or encumbrance (registered or not) must be disclosed in the Contract for sale. Generally under the standard contract terms, if you do not and the buyer discovers an easement or encumbrance, which affects the property that was not disclosed, the buyer may be able to terminate the contract.

Community Title Schemes

We can advise on a Community Title Scheme (CTS) or create the necessary documents to have a CTS lodged on a group of titles. Contact us for further information.

Community Title Schemes FAQs

What is a Community Titles Scheme?

A CTS is a scheme that is setup across a set of lots that share common property. Its creates a body corporate that can attend to the common property in unit complex or commercial premises that share driveways, pools or other common assets.

Strata Title Schemes

Strata Titles Schemes are like Community Titles Schemes. The are some very important difference however that need to be carefully assessed.

Strata Title Schemes FAQs

What is the difference between a Community Titles Scheme and a Strata Scheme?

Generally, the main difference is the way the insurance is organised. If you have any concerns, please contact us for an appointment and we can discuss your circumstances.

Developers

Subdividing a property? Need easements and to register plans? We are here to assist you with the legal aspects of what is required.

Developers FAQs

Please enquire with any questions that you may have.

Property and Conveyancing FAQs

I don’t understand all the terms being used in relation to property. What are they?

GENERAL TERMS
Adjustments	This refers to the method used to calculate how property outgoings (e.g. local council rates) will be divided between the Buyer and the Seller. This process helps ensure that both parties are only responsible for paying these for the time that they are in possession of the property.
Agent	The real estate agent who the Seller has engaged to manage the sale of their Property.
Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Clearance Certificate	On 1 July 2017, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) introduced requirements for all properties being sold for $750,000 or more; each Seller must obtain a Clearance Certificate prior to Settlement. The ATO Clearance Certificate is a statement from the ATO confirming that each Seller is not a foreign resident.
Building and Pest Date	A standard condition of a contract of sale in Queensland is a building and pest inspection, which provides a Buyer with the right to have the property inspected for any pests and/or building defects.
Caveat	A caveat is a notice to the Registrar, which is placed on the title of a property. The property cannot be sold unless the caveat is removed.
Certificate of Title	The document that shows the legal ownership of a property. From 1 October 2019 paper Certificates of Title (sometimes called “The Deed”) issued in Queensland will no longer have any legal effect, as the electronic title held by the Titles Office will be the true record of ownership. From this date, you may either keep your Paper Certificate of Title for historical purposes or destroy it.
Community Title Schemes (CTS)	The term given to multi-dwelling developments. This can be a house in a gated community, a townhouse, or an apartment in a high rise. The title has the same rights as the title associated with a block of land excepting there are usually common areas, e.g. Corridors, driveways, pool areas, etc. Strata titles are invariably managed by a body corporate whose members are made up of the strata title owners.
Contract of Sale	A Contract of Sale is the written document that gives rise to the conveyancing transaction and is signed by all parties. It creates a legal obligation for both the Buyer and Seller to complete the legal process for transferring property.
Cooling-off Period	When the Buyer signs the Contract of Sale they receive a statutory five business day cooling-off period in which they can terminate the contract without providing a reason to the Seller for doing so. If the Buyer elects to terminate during this period the Seller is entitled to keep 0.25% of the purchase price from the Buyer’s deposit.
Deposit	The deposit is the consideration the Buyer pays the Seller upon entering in to the Contract. The standard deposit is 10% of the price purchase. In the standard REIQ, Deposits are commonly due when the Buyer signs the Contract, on a fixed date, a Special Condition or when the Contract becomes unconditional.
Disbursements	A disbursement is a payment made to a third party, such as the Land Titles Office for a title search on the Property. Searches are conducted over the Property to ensure it is cleared from all outstanding monies at Settlement and to ensure any notices or orders do not impact legal ownership.
Discharge/Release of Mortgage	A discharge/or release of mortgage is the process of removing the security interest from the title over the property.
Easement	A right of use for a property that is listed on the property’s title, whereby someone other than the property owner has a right to use the property for a specific purpose, for instance, shared paths and driveways.
Encumbrance	The term given to a formal burden over the property as listed on the Title. This can include a mortgage, easement or lease.
Exchange	Is the point in which the binding Contract is passed from either the Buyer to the Seller after it has been signed by both parties.
Finance Date	The date in which the Buyer must confirm that their lending banking institution will provide the funds for the purchase.
Fixtures	Fixtures are items that are attached to the property and which ownership will move from the Seller to the Buyer.
Joint Tenants	If you are purchasing property as joint tenants, each party on title will hold an individual interest in the property. The most common example of a joint tenancy is the ownership over a home by a married couple. In this example, joint tenancy comes with the ‘right of survivorship’, which means that in the event of one joint tenant surviving the other, the property automatically passes to the remaining joint tenant and does not form part of the deceased’s estate.
Land Titles Office	The central registry for the ownership of real property in each state. The transfer is registered with the Land Titles Office.
Mortgage	A mortgage is another name for a loan and used to define a loan for the purchase of a property. The mortgage will be registered on the Title to the property and shows the interest of the body that has lent money to the owner of the property for its purchase.
Mortgagor	The person or body that has lent money for the purchase of the property.
Mortgagee	The person or body that has borrowed money for the purchase of the property.
Office of State Revenue	The Queensland Government department that assesses stamp, or transfer duty and accepts payment of it as part of the transaction in the purchase of property.
PEXA	PEXA is an online property exchange network and assists lawyers, conveyancers and other professionals to transact online to lodge documents and settle digitally, ensuring a more efficient, faster and cost effective conveyancing process.
Professional Fee	The fee that you pay your Lawyer or Conveyancer who conducts the property transaction.
Settlement	The date or point at which the actual property transfer occurs, i.e. The payment of monies and the delivery of documents necessary for the registration of the new owner on title.
Settlement Agent	A independent person who attends settlement on behalf of the Buyer or Seller.
Stamp Duty (also referred to as Transfer Duty)	Also known as ‘transfer duty’. This is a state tax levied upon the transfer of property and is payable by the buyer. The transfer duty amount varies from state to state and depends on the value of the property.
Transfer	The official legal document that shows the property’s title particulars, its current registered owner and any encumbrances.
Tenants in Common	If you are purchasing the property as tenants in common, each person will own a share in the property (i.e. can be 50/50, 70/30, 99/1 or any share as you wish). On the death of one party that share passes to whoever inherits their estate.
Vacant Possession	The purchasing of a property that will be vacant at settlement, with no tenant or any other person living in it.

Why do I need to verify my identity?

Effective from 30 September 2019, the Queensland Government introduced a new protocol for the witnessing and execution of Land Title documents for lodgment with the Queensland Titles Registry. This new protocol is referred to as the “Verification of Identity” (VOI) and is a process used to confirm a person’s identity.

The VOI process is particularly important in land and property dealings, as it assists in reducing identity theft and land title fraud.

If you are signing a Queensland Land Registry document as an individual, we will ask you to produce evidence that verifies your identity before or at the time the document is executed. Your original current driver’s licence PLUS a current passport are the primary identification documents and should meet the requirement provided there have been no name or other changes since the documents were issued.

If you are unable to meet face-to-face with us, a VOI can be completed at participating post office.

What is conveyancing?

Conveyancing is the term given to the transfer of the legal ownership of property from one person to another. While this sounds simple, conveyancing is actually a very complex and involved process, filled with conditions and deadlines.

Our experienced staff will guide you through the conveyancing process and ensure that your legal rights are protected every step of the way and your obligations are met.

When do we pay your fees?

For a purchase, any outstanding fees will be recouped at settlement, with a separate cheque drawn from the funds required at settlement (or electronically if the settlement is via PEXA).

For a sale, any outstanding fees will be recouped at settlement, with a separate cheque drawn from the proceeds of sale (or electronically if the settlement is via PEXA).

How do I read a Survey plan?

Survey plans can be quite complex and difficult to read. Although this article is written for South Australia it may be able to provide some guidance for plans registered in Queensland.

If you have any concerns or are unable to understand something on a survey plan you should contact a registered surveyor.

Book an Appointment

Planning for the future is a vital step in ensuring that your wishes are respected and your loved ones are taken care of. At Hopper Mott Bunting Lawyers we are committed to providing expert legal advice and personalised service in all aspects of wills and estates. Book an appointment with us today to discuss your needs and find out how we can assist you.

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