With over thirty years experience, let the team at Sargeants Conveyancing Diamond Valley guide you right through to settlement.
We service all Victorian Suburbs
First Home Owners Grant
The First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) scheme in conveyancing was introduced on 1 July 2000 to offset the effect of the GST on home ownership. It is a national scheme funded by the states and territories and administered under their own legislation.
First home buyers are now eligible to receive a First Home Owner Grant of up to $20,000, as well as additional stamp duty concessions to help them make their purchase.
First home buyers won’t have to pay stamp duty for new or established homes bought for $600,000 or less – which can mean a saving of over $31,000 for a $600,000 house.
To check if your potential home qualifies for the larger grant, the State Revenue Office of Victoria, which administers the FHOG, has a list of eligible council areas.
What To Expect - Conveyancing
When you’re buying a property, it can speed things up during the offer and negotiation process if you have a conveyancing practitioner on hand to advise you. It’s particularly important if you’re buying at auction as you’ll need to have a conveyancer review the contract before purchasing. As there’s no cooling-off period after an auction, if you commit to buy, you’ll need to be sure you’re happy with all the terms and conditions of the sale.
Conveyancing Settlement
Property settlement is a legal process that is facilitated by your conveyancing practitioner and or legal representative.
It’s at the pointy end of the conveyancing process when ownership passes from the seller to the purchaser, with the balance of the sale price being paid.
The seller sets the settlement date in the contract of sale. Property settlement periods are usually 30 to 90 days, but they can be longer or shorter depending on the conveyancing process.
Conveyancing Victoria
In Victoria, similar to NSW, the property conveyancing legislation means that sellers must tell potential purchasers about their property prior to receiving a binding offer. This disclosure is known as a Section 32 and is the essential document in all Victorian conveyancing transactions. To purchase, without having this document reviewed by your lawyers or conveyancers prior to signing is to unnecessarily invite risk into the transaction. Best practice is to always have your contract reviewed and any necessary special conditions drafted by your representative. In all property transactions be sure to remember that your legal representative is the ONLY representative who has a legal and professional responsibility to act in your best interest.
How to find a conveyancing practitioner:
Whether you’re buying or selling real estate, a good conveyancing practitioner is just as essential to have on your side as a top real estate agent. But how do you find one?
As with most professions, not all conveyancing practitioners are equal. Just as you would interview prospective real estate agents to sell your house, you should also go through the same process with conveyancing practitioners.
Conveyancing can be done by a professional real estate conveyancer or a solicitor who specialises in conveyancing. In most cases, Australians tend to hire licensed conveyancers more than solicitors. If the house sale looks like it will be a relatively simple and straightforward transaction, conveyancing practitioners may be cheaper and fully capable of providing a thorough service.
As we all know, the best referral is sometimes through people you know, so ask around and see if any of your friends and family have used a good conveyancer. Ask your real estate agent or other professionals you trust, like an accountant or lawyer.
“We left the conveyancing up to Cathy, and we were not disappointed. Not one hassle, which was fantastic considering we didn't even know what Conveyancing was until we purchased our first home!” - Ben and Jessicca
