What Does A Conveyancer Do?

So after spending countless weekends trawling through open houses, and evenings scrolling through realestate.com.au, you’ve found your dream home and you’re ready to put in an offer.

As the real estate agent is drawing up the contract of sale, she asks you which conveyancer you’d like to use.

You may wonder if you really need a conveyancer (hint: you do! Check out our article here). But what is a conveyancer, and what does a conveyancer do?

What Is A Conveyancer?

Conveyancers are legal professionals who specialise in the area of property law that governs the legal process of transferring ownership of property from one party to another. Your conveyancer may have a law degree or be an admitted solicitor.

How Does A Conveyancer Assist Buyers and Sellers of Property?

A conveyancer will guide you through the buying or selling process, providing professional advice, preparing legal documents, and doing everything necessary to ensure your real estate transaction progresses smoothly towards settlement day.

A professional conveyancer will perform a number of tasks for you throughout your property sale or purchase. These include;

Pre-Contractual Reviews

Many conveyancing firms will have a conveyancing solicitor review your contract for you prior to signing. They will explain the important terms of the contract, and may also draft any special conditions you require.

Manage Contract Milestones

Contracts for the sale of property typically involve a number of milestone dates, for example, when a deposit, building and pest, or finance condition is due.

There are special rules about how to calculate milestone dates, and it is sometimes the case that one party is not able to meet their obligations against one of these deadlines. A common example is a buyer failing to secure finance in time, or being dissatisfied with the building and pest report and wishing to request a reduction in purchase price. It is the conveyancer’s job to liaise with the other side’s conveyancing lawyers to negotiate the best outcome possible for their client.

A conveyancing solicitor will also provide legal advice and guidance through each of these contract milestones to ensure you are kept well informed of your rights and obligations at every step of the conveyancing process.

Perform Searches On The Property

Buying a house is often the most important investment of people’s lives, so it is important to have all the relevant information about the property you are purchasing. A conveyancer will perform searches on the property, and provide advice and guidance on anything concerning or unusual they find.

Verify Your Identity

The law requires you to verify your identity before you can buy or sell property. Your conveyancer will provide advice in relation to this requirement and perform the verification of identity check if needed.

Prepare And Lodge Legal Documents

Your conveyancer will prepare and lodge all the required documents for the property to change hands on the settlement date. In a PEXA settlement, many of these documents can be prepared ahead of time by your conveyancer to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.

Calculate Figures For Settlement

Prior to settlement, your conveyancer will produce a settlement statement that will show a breakdown of costs, including the balance purchase price, real estate agent’s commission, conveyancing fees, registration fees and stamp duty.

Expenses relating to the property such as rates, water and electricity must be adjusted so they are fairly divided between buyer and seller. Both the buyer and the seller’s conveyancer must agree on the figures before settlement can proceed.

Act For You On Settlement Day

Your conveyancer will attend settlement on your behalf along with the other side’s conveyancer, and any bank or financial institution involved in the transaction.

Most settlements are now taking place online instead of in a physical location. The most common digital settlements platform is called PEXA, and you can learn more about it here.

Whether online or in person, your conveyancer will attend to the property transaction, and do everything necessary to transfer property ownership.

Conclusion

We hope you are now better informed about what what a conveyancer does and how they can assist you in your property transaction.

Keylaw is Australia’s most trusted conveyancing firm, and our experienced conveyancing solicitors are happy to answer any questions you might have. Contact us today!

The above is not legal advice and is general information only.