There’s more to selling a house than finding an agent and tidying up for open for inspections. Although both the vendor and the purchaser must go through the conveyancing process, the legal obligations will be slightly different on each side. If you’re selling a property, it’s worth taking a closer look at the conveyancing process and what is required, so that you can meet all legal and financial obligations of the transaction. Most sellers will choose to work with either a professional conveyancer or solicitor to help complete the conveyancing process. This ensures that you will have access to a professional’s level of expertise. A professional conveyancer will be fully aware of the laws to your state or territory.
Responsibilities The vendor is responsible for taking care of several obligations as part of the conveyancing process. This includes the following aspects:
Documents In most cases, the vendor will be responsible for preparing the Contract of Sale. This is a task that is to be completed by your solicitor or conveyancer.
At the same time, the vendor must provide an official Vendor’s Statement. The conveyancer or solicitor will prepare this for you. A purchaser does not need to worry about the Vendor’s Statement, but they may wish to undertake their own title searches to help verify the details in the statement. This will be up to the purchaser and his or her own solicitor or conveyancer.
In addition to the Contract of Sale and Vendor’s Statement, the seller is also responsible for transferring control of the Certificate of Title on settlement. The title must be free of any encumbrances on settlement.
Further Obligations There are further legal obligations that property vendors may need to meet, although these depend on the individual circumstances. One example of this is when there is a tenant living in the property. If the property is to be sold as a vacant possession, then the vendor is legally responsible for notifying the tenant that they must vacate the premises by the settlement date. Tenants have rights regarding the notice, so the vendor must ensure that they are meeting all time requirements according to State or Territory legislations. The property management or real estate agent will be able to provide advice on this. Vendors must ensure that the property is handed over in the same condition as outlined in the Contract of Sale. All of the fixtures included in the contract must still be in place!
Costs of Conveyancing Conveyancers and Solicitors all charge different rates, so it’s best to check on this before hand remembering less is not always the best and you get what you pay for. In addition to professional costs, disbursements being actual expenses for the transaction including but not limited to searches, certificates etc. will be charged. A diligent conveyancer will obtain their own certificates and searches for every transaction.