Anybody ever been to a settlement?

[depreciator]

I've been a buyer and a seller in a few transactions, but I have never had cause to see what happens in a settlement.
Last Friday a place I sold in Port Macquarie was due to settle. I got a call from my conveyancer at noon saying St George bank (my mortgage holder) had put the breaks on the settlement because the funds being handed over were $6,337 short on the total discharge amount of the mortgage. (That was despite the bank being notified the previous day of exactly what cheques were being handed over and despite the fact that I have various bank accounts at that bank with accessible balances.)
I asked where the settlement was taking place and whether I could get some cash and take it there - there are some great advantages to working in the CBD.
The building where settlements happen for about 20 banks was a ten minute walk away. I was told to go to the seventh floor and call out for Cathy - their settlement person.
It's a huge room with a big counter running along one wall. The room is filled with about 30 chest high tables with stools. It's sort of like one of those huge western suburbs beer barns from the 1980s except without the beer and without Cold Chisel playing Khe Sanh on a jukebox.
Cathy spotted me as I walked in - I would have been looking lost. She was standing at a table with the buyer's rep and a knucklehead from the bank, to whom I gave a few pointers.
I put the cash on the table, they passed some more paperwork between eachother and that was it.

 

[Jamie M]

It's sort of like one of those huge western suburbs beer barns from the 19802 except without the beer and without Cold Chisel playing Khe Sanh on a jukebox.

Haha - I've never been to one. That description is not what I had in mind!

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Ed Barton]

It's such an archaic process, why can't it all be done over facebook?

 

[depreciator]

Yes, it's very unsophisticated. People standing at tables with envelopes and plastic folders containing bits of paper they pass to each other. Then they lodge everything at the long counter.

 

[Paul@PFI]

Most of the real work is done and completed in solicitors / conveyancers / bank offices. The actual settlements are mundane and not at all interesting. They used to be done at the OSR Sydney (55 Hunter St when it was a counter service) but they punted the settlement agents out years ago as they made it look like a footy ground complete with tons of noise...Often they look like uni students wearing uggies and faded jeans. Often older people too. Not too many suits but when one shows up they stand out.

Where do they do it now ??

 

[Terry_w]

Sounds like the SAI Global room. I had to attend my first settlement there as a new solicitor never having been to a settlement before - very hard to find your opponents and confusing for the first time - and subsequent 10 times.

All this will be a thing of the past soon as electronic settlements come in.

 

[depreciator]

Yep, SAI Global. Level 7, 400 George Street - sort of opposite the Apple building. There might be other CBD locations, too. Definitely a pretty scruffy crowd - I fitted right in. It was reasonably quiet when I was there - 2pm. At noon the place is apparently full and then there is another wave later in the afternoon.

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

I get to one about every year, usually for the exact reason in the original post. A last minute cheque needs to be delivered.

Many years ago I had this image of a bunch of solicitors meeting over a mahogany board room table. Definitely not the case. It's a bunch of low paid clerks ticking off a few checklists and exchanging a few documents and cheques. Takes all of 5 minutes.

 

[depreciator]

Many years ago I had this image of a bunch of solicitors meeting over a mahogany board room table.

I had a similar picture in my head. I thought there would be dozens of little offices and a nice reception counter where I would present my myself and ask for Cathy and then I would be led into an office where the business happened.

 

[Angel]

Freaky

I witnessed half a dozen settlements the day I went into the Titles Office to collect the deeds to the house we currently live in. It was all done out in the open in full view of the public who were waiting in the customer service queue.

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

I had a similar picture in my head. I thought there would be dozens of little offices and a nice reception counter where I would present my myself and ask for Cathy and then I would be led into an office where the business happened.

Don't tell me, they did the deed in a public room, it was over too quickly and 'Cathy' wasn't quite what you expected? After it was said and done, your wallet was empty, you felt a bit used and generally hollow inside?

 

[Corey Batt]

Don't tell me, they did the deed in a public room, it was over too quickly and 'Cathy' wasn't quite what you expected? After it was said and done, your wallet was empty, you felt a bit used and generally hollow inside?

Oh dear.

 

[Heinz57]

I did my own conveyancing on my very first property. My DIY calculations were $1 shy. We settled with a $1 coin note sticky taped to all the paperwork. The other party was happy to settle on that basis. I was lucky as that's as all I had. It was my bus fare so I walked home, happy that I owned a house.

 

[danwatto]

It's a small world, been there a few times. And by coincidence have used the services of some of the posters in this thread, yes small world

First time was for a tour due to work (workflow software) , second time was to transfer property from my ex and take over loans.

The bank lost their discharge, and initially wouldn't settle, with themselves.. Took a while but they figured out how to transfer from X&Y to X eventuall

 

[Scott No Mates]

We settled with a $1 coin note sticky taped to all the paperwork.

That'd be the cheapest house you've ever bought.

 

[Brady]

Haha yeah same set up in Adelaide, very dodgy looking set up....

Really shouldn't be a reason not to have electronic settlements

 

[TPI]

There is actually a national e-conveyancing system in development called PEXA.

 

[Fleur De Lis]

I went to my first settlement with a solicitor I was working with and I was so excited. However when we got there he said "yell out who's here for ...".

I'm like, what, I can't yell that out, and he's like you have to....well I couldn't I was too shy or something so he did.

Now when I go to a settlement I walk in and yell at the top of my voice "who's here for...." No problem!!!.

When I am asked what settlement is like I say like the stock exchange.

When everyone finds each other its like...here's your cheque give me my discharge and or here's your cheque give me my title and at peak hour you'll be lucky to find a desktop space to use.

Never had a problem yet but always take my cheque book with me just in case I miscalculated.

Fleur