Help with Conveyancer/Lawyer & Buying Process (First Home)

[Darkscythe]

Hi all,

I am currently seeking to purchase my first house (PPOR) in Melbourne's North-East and am trying to get all my resources aligned before I find something I want to put an offer on.

Just hoping I can leverage the experience here and avoid (some) of the pitfalls.

Are there any recommended lawyers/conveyancers? At what point should they be engaged to review the Section 32/Contract of Sale?

The reason I ask is that I can't afford too much extra expenditure and so far, I've had quotes from $90-250 to review the Section 32/Contract of Sale. I understand this is a necessary cost to protect myself, but if this is incurred with every property I'm interested in prior to making an offer, I'll put a dent in my deposit quite quickly, hence, seeking clarification as to when they need to look at it.

Additionally, any recommendations for Building/Pest inspections?

Thanks for the help

 

[Aaron_C]

Darkscythe - are you going for auctions or private sales? You should learn how to read through the section 32 in most cases as most of them are very similar. The main issue that a solicitor needs to pick up on are contained in the 'special conditions' part of the REIV contract and other enquiries like water/strata things.

 

[Darkscythe]

Looking at both, but focusing on private sales. Is there any good resources highlighting what I should be looking for?

 

[Aaron_C]

Looking at both, but focusing on private sales. Is there any good resources highlighting what I should be looking for?

Off the top of my head, the key things to look for:
In the particulars of sale (front few pages) there should be a box that says 'SPECIAL CONDITIONS', if there are any. If not, then the general conditions apply which are common to all REIV contracts and are pretty standard stuff. The special conditions usually are inserted by the vendor's solicitor who wants to justify charging more and/or if there is a bit more to the sale than your average one. Key changes in here include:
- Penalty interest rates (if you are late);
- Who has the power to sell the property (if there is an executor/trustee involved). Particularly if a deceased estate is involved, the special conditions take care of things like when probate is granted etc which can be quite hard to ascertain and the vendor doesn't want to be up to penalties if the probate isn't given and he can't legally sell the property to you at settlement;
- If the vendor wants to remove the floor coverings / fittings like curtains etc that is normally sold with the property;
- Warranties that the purchaser isn't relying on the information provided and the vendor isn't liable if it is wrong (since when did the purchaser NOT rely on the information provided in the section 32, that is the whole point of it!)

There are plenty of others but these are a few of them.

 

[The Y-man]

Maybe read it first, and let us know bits you are not sure of? Most of it is pretty straight forward.

Off the top of my head I look at:

• rates
• Owners Corp (if applicable)
• zoning
• Flood
• overlays
• encumbrances/ownership
• caveats
• easement
• lot boundary

The Y-man

 

[Darkscythe]

Thanks alot - I've got one to start reading through, so I'll keep an eye out for the items mentioned above.

So from my understanding, I should get a hold of the Section 32 and review it myself. If there is anything "unusual" then I should get the Conveyancer/Lawyer to review? If not, should I put in an offer without discussing it with the Conveyancer/Lawyer?

Also, are there any recommended lawyers/conveyancers?

Apologies for all the questions but I'm venturing into new water

 

[Jake Milne]

I can recommend a conveyancer but they'll only review for free if you're going to use their services. Happy to recommend if you're a serious buyer. pm me your details

 

[The Y-man]

My lawyers will charge to review - can PM you if you are interested.

The Y-man

 

[The Y-man]

So from my understanding, I should get a hold of the Section 32 and review it myself. If there is anything "unusual" then I should get the Conveyancer/Lawyer to review? If not, should I put in an offer without discussing it with the Conveyancer/Lawyer?

That's what we normally would do - but not saying that what you should do though....

The Y-man

 

[Darkscythe]

Y-Man and Jake - would be great if you could PM the details. Thanks!

 

[seano87]

I'm having a bit of trouble understanding what the following are...

-encumbrances/ownership - ?
-caveats - ?
-easement: Are these areas that I would own, but the council/government may dig up or do what they like (for example sewerage and cabling underground)