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Buyers Guide to Settlement Services

The general process of a standard settlement:

INITIAL STAGES

  • Sign an Offer and Acceptance contract
  • Contact Oceanfront Conveyancing to obtain a quote
  • Notify our office of your real estate agents details and we will contact them to arrange for the original contract to be issued to us.
  • Our attention to detail and excellent organisation means that when the contract is received by our office, we will thoroughly check the contract to ensure that it has been written correctly, whilst also making arrangements for any extraordinary circumstances that may need special attention
  • We will open your file, complete a title search with Landgate and prepare your initial documentation to authorise us to act on your behalf.
  • We will phone you to confirm receipt of the contract and to advise that your initial documentation is prepared and being posted to you that same day. We will also discuss with you any special requirements that you may have with regards to travel or work commitments.
  • Once you have signed the Appointment of Settlement Agent form, we will ask that you return this to us; we will then sign it as well and forward you a fully signed copy for your records.
  • We will also request that you provide a verification of your identity to ensure that your identification and documentation reflect the same name.
  • If you have not yet applied for finance, please contact this office and we will refer you to a reputable broker in your area.

 

WHEN YOUR DEALING BECOMES UNCONDITIONAL

  • Once you have received notice from your banker or broker that you have received unconditional approval, it would be appreciated if you could kindly contact us to let us know and kindly provide this office with a copy of the same.
  • Upon receipt of your unconditional finance approval notice, we will prepare your unconditional documentation and forward this to you via post. It is important to note that most contracts state that the settlement date will be for example “21 Days from Finance Approval” so in order to avoid any lost time, it’s important to notify us as soon as you have received advice that you have been unconditionally approved.
  • If you are expecting to contribute some of your own funds on top of the approved loan amount, we recommend that you contact your banker/broker to discuss authorizing your bank to debit your existing account on settlement day for the required amount. Alternatively, please contact our office and we will provide you with our trust account details.
  • If you are providing cash for your purchase, now is the time to ensure those funds are available and to start to make arrangements for those funds to be transferred to our trust account in readiness for settlement. Please be aware that each bank is different and there may be particular time delays in transferring funds into our trust account.
  • We will provide you with an interim settlement statement, Transfer of Land document, Title and encumbrance searches.
  • We will complete an Electronic Advice of Sale that will go to the Shire, Water Corporation and the State Revenue Department to advise that you will own the property as at settlement date. The authorities will then reply with rates notices for us to adjust at settlement.
  • We will supply you with a copy of the sewer plan and orders and requisitions from the shire.
  • If the property contains any structures such as patio/pergola/pool/spa these will require council approval and compliance where necessary, unless otherwise stated on your contract. Please make enquiries with the agent AND shire directly, to ascertain the status of these structures. We recommend that you request copies of plans and approvals from the seller if possible, alternatively the shire may need the seller’s authority to issue documentation to you at a fee of approximately $60.00.
  • There are new regulations in place for properties to contain RCDs and hardwired smoke alarms.       This is the seller’s responsibility to attend to. We suggest you to check to ensure that the property contains these and that they are in working order. Please note that smoke alarms, although hardwired, have a 10yr back up battery; please check the date upon inspection as the seller may need to replace them. We will also request that the seller provides us with an Electrical Certificate stating that the property contains the required devices.       Please note that the seller is generally not obliged to provide the electrical certificate prior to settlement, unless it is a condition of the contract, however it is in the sellers best interest to ensure that this has been attended to prior to settlement or they may be fined.
  • Upon receipt of your unconditional finance approval, we will immediately contact your bank and provide your bank with a copy of the Transfer of Land document and Interim Settlement Statement. Your bank will then issue your mortgage documentation.
  • If you are obtaining your first home owners grant, please contact your bank about completing and signing your First Home Buyers Grant Application Form.
  • Once you are approved for the FHOG, you will receive a notice from the State Revenue Dept confirming this, along with a stamp duty rebate form – please forward these to our office via email or post as soon as possible.
  • You may also be eligible for the First Homebuyers Assistance Fund by the Department of Commerce, that provided you meet the criteria, you may be eligible to obtain up to $2,000 towards fees, including ours and your banks.
  • We are pleased to confirm that we are registered with the State Revenue for “Revenue Online” which means that your stamp duty does not need to be paid prior to settlement. However, please note that by not providing the seller with a stamped transfer, you may not be able to charge penalty interest as a result, should the seller delay settlement, as per the Joint Form of General Conditions.       We will arrange for a Residential Rate of Duty to be applied so that a discount can be claimed on your duty should your property contain a residential premise.
  • We will ensure that all conditions of your contract are met within a timely manner.
  • We suggest you contact your real estate agent to make arrangements for such things as a pest inspection and/or building report within the allowed timeframe, or we can refer you to a reputable pest inspection company for you to employ directly. Please ensure that these are obtained prior to the due date stipulated on your contract to avoid losing your rights to these conditions.
  • We will regularly track the progress of your settlement with all parties concerned until all parties are in a position to place a settlement booking.  We will advise you as soon as a booking is confirmed by all.
  • We will arrange for the stamping and or lodgement of your contract and Transfer of Land document.
  • We obtain the final balance available by your bank and make any arrangements with you if additional funds are required from you prior to settlement.
  • If you are expecting to produce some of your own funds towards settlement, and these are being drawn from the same bank in which your loan is held with, we suggest contacting your banker or broker to arrange for an “Authority to Debit” your existing account on the day of settlement to reduce the time and stress of transferring funds and not to mention losing interest.
  • If your property is a strata titled property we will make arrangements with the strata company to obtain information such as the applicable strata levies and strata insurance.
  • We obtain the rating information from the authorities to attend to the adjustment or rates and taxes so that we can provide you with a final settlement statement.
  • We contact you to ensure that you have arranged a final inspection of the property that you are purchasing as this is your legal right under the Joint Form of General Conditions. You are entitled to an inspection within 5 business days prior to settlement and we recommend that you contact your real estate agent to arrange this as soon as possible, and ideally attend the inspection no later than 48hours prior to settlement. Please fax or post a copy of your signed Authority to Proceed to Settlement form to us, to be received by us no later than 9.30am on the morning of settlement so that we are aware that you are satisfied and willing to proceed to settlement.
  • We then schedule a settlement booking one or two days in advance, if not earlier of the settlement due date with all parties concerned in the transaction. The settlement will take place at your bank or their representative’s office within one kilometre of the Landgate office Perth. You are not required to attend settlement – it is all part of our service! We then finalise your statement and request that your bank provides the cheques required for settlement. We then contact you to advise you that a settlement booking has been confirmed.
  • It is at this point that you should make arrangements with Synergy, Alinta Gas, your telephone company and the removalist of your expected moving date. Once you have made these arrangements with the relevant authorities, and completed packing, just put your feet up and wait for us to contact you to confirm that your settlement has been completed successfully.

 

SETTLEMENT DAY

  • Upon the day of settlement we will do a check search on your Certificate of Title to ensure that no further changes have occurred prior to settlement. We will then meet at the agreed place and time with all other parties to complete the settlement and make the exchange of the Certificate of Title for the bank cheques.
  • Once we have advised you that settlement has taken place successfully, you will be entitled to obtain the keys from the real estate agent. However, should the seller reside in the property, the seller is entitled to stay in the property until 12pm the day following settlement whereby you can then take possession.

 

AFTER SETTLEMENT

  • We will then forward you final documentation confirming the completion of settlement, along with the Original Stamped Contract of Sale and final settlement statement and tax invoice. As part of our settlement service, we will attend to any rates payments, fees, and report costs on your behalf.
  • Please ensure that you have any required postal redirections in place with Australia Post.
  • Approximately 6 weeks following settlement, we will undertake a fresh search of the Certificate of Title to ensure that the title has been correctly transferred into your name.

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