How much does a Conveyancer cost?
Sale of Residential property -$600 - $850
Purchase of Residential property - $650 - $850
Disbursements are costs incurred on your behalf. Most Conveyancing transactions will require a number of searches and certificates from Government & Local Authorities. A typical example of these would be:
- Register search statement (Title)
- Alert on Title
- Land Tax Certificate
- Vic Roads Certificate
- Land Information Certificate
- Water Information Statement
Depending on the type of Property and the Local Government Authority you may require other certificates, such as an Owners Corporation Certificate, a Heritage Certificate – or a Building Regulation Certificate
Note: the above charges are subject to change
How much Stamp Duty will I have to pay?
The State Revenue Office provides an on-line calculator that you can access by using the following link:
http://www.sro.vic.gov.au/sro/SROWebSite.nsf/transfer
Do I qualify for Stamp Duty Benefits or Exemption?
You can establish your status by contacting the State Revenue Office on 13 1261 or view information on their website at the following link:
http://www.sro.vic.gov.au/sro/SROWebSite.nsf/taxes_duties_act.htm
When are all of these fees payable?
Your Lender will usually deduct Stamp Duty & Transfer fees from your Loan and pay these on your behalf when they lodge the Transfer.
Any other fees payable to your Mortgage Lender will be detailed in your Loan Agreement. For example, if borrowing more than 80% of the value of the property you may be required to pay Mortgage Insurance. The amount of this Insurance & other loan charges will be advised by your Lender & deducted from the funds available to you for settlement.
Conveyancing fees + disbursements are usually deducted at Settlement. We will not ask for any payment prior to settlement.
What other costs will I have to pay?
Adjustments will be made in relation to Local Council Rates, Parks & Drainage etc. These adjustments are based on the settlement date and will usually come out of the loan funds available to you. If your loan is not sufficient to meet all requirements you will be advised in advance of the amount of funds you will have to provide for settlement.
The adjustments are made to ensure that all rates & taxes on the property have been made & that you will not be presented for a bill for arrears on the property prior to your settlement date. Typically, rate adjustments will be made so that rates are paid to the end of the current rating year.
Other minor fees will also be taken into account in the Statement of Adjustments, such as the fee for Discharge of Mortgage or Registration of Mortgage.
How do I get finance for a home loan?
Fortunately, we live in an age of infinite choice! If you are prepared to do a little homework you can save yourself a small fortune over the period of the loan. All of the major lending institutions provide on line loan calculators and also provide the tools for you to apply for a loan on line or over the phone.
Visit a few of the web sites (links to Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank provided below) and compare offerings.
Websites:
My Finance has not been approved by the date required in the Contract – will the Vendor withdraw?
We usually advise that your Contract allow at least 14 days for finance approval and in most instances this is adequate . However, if you haven’t received loan confirmation by the required date we will ask that the Finance period be extended by the period advised by your Lender. In most instances the Vendor will agree with this request as the extension required is usually only a few days . However, we stress that you are responsible for ensuring that all possible action is taken to meet the finance condition in the Contract.
My Finance has not been approved – do I have to pay the balance of the deposit?
YES you do. If you have contracted to pay the Deposit by a certain date then you are obliged to do so. The Vendor may be able to ask for interest charges if you do not pay on time.
When do I get my money from the settlement?
If the settlement is taking place within the Melbourne CBD you can arrange to collect your cheque the same day. (Note that it may still take 3 days for the bank to clear your funds – even though it is a Bank cheque. You should check with your bank about this).
Alternatively, we can mail the cheque to you by express post or deposit it into an account you have nominated.
I don’t want to use an Estate Agent – what choices do I have?
If you are selling your property then the choice is yours. You can do it by Private Sale, advertise on the Internet, local papers etc. We do not provide advice as to how you should sell. However, for your convenience we have listed below a number of Web sites that provide “do it yourself” services.
You can investigate options by entering a search into Yahoo or Google such as selling property or private sale real estate etc.
We suggest that you work out your advertising costs, time spent, possibility of not obtaining the best price and so on before you decide which option you select. Estate Agents have expertise in the sales process that the rest of us do not have – you may actually save more by paying Agents fees than by doing it yourself.
My Contract is conditional upon a Soil test or a Building Inspection report – who should I contact to arrange these?
Again, we do not provide referrals to specific organisations. We suggest you may like to speak to your local Council or search the yellow pages or the Internet for businesses offering these services.
