by Kristel Winkler on February 22, 2010
As you are no doubt aware, from 1 January 2010 sellers of residential property in Queensland need to supply a Sustainability Declaration to prospective buyers outlining the energy and water saving attributes of their home, townhouse or unit.
A new, simpler version of the sustainability declaration was released on 4 February 2010 following feedback from the public and industry.
The previous version of the form will still be accepted however use of the new version is encouraged. For further information see: the Queensland Government Web Site
Our Brisbane Conveyancing Solicitors & Gold Coast Conveyancing Lawyers are right up to date.
More information: www.corneyandlind.com.au
by Graham Corney on February 15, 2010
Our private independent schools in Australia have a lot to be proud of and have entered a new stage of maturity with a number of them seeking to birth new operations in overseas countries particularly in the Asian region.
Such a desire is admirable, however the differences in the landscape in other national jurisdictions should not be underestimated.
Colleges need to consider the need to take good counsel before embarking on the jurisdictional differences they need to be aware of including:
- foreign investment rules
- corporate holdings
- property issues
- other cultural and legal realties
- taxation issues
- the implications for Australian charities doing business offshore
Those differences need the application of both wisdom and patient diplomacy.
Our expertise and experience in advising the School Law sector in Australia has now extended into several international jurisdictions including – China, Japan, Thailand and New Zealand.
It makes good sense to take some early wise counsel from our Schools Law team.
More information: www.corneyandlind.com.au
by Andrew Lind on February 12, 2010
Does the lawyer you are intending to engage to handle your conveyance have Body Corporate Law skills? Engage a law firm with Body Corporate law experience if you really want to be protected.
Key information, to determine what the go forward sinking fund body corporate levies may be, when you are considering purchasing a property in a community title development is:
- The Sinking Fund Forecast
- Minutes of Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings of the Body Corporate for the last few years
- Minutes of Body Committee meetings for at least the last year
In my opinion it is best to get hold of this information before you indicate what you are prepared to pay for the property. Why? If significant sinking fund body corporate levies are coming this is going to have a downward effect on market value.
Once you have these documents what do you need to look at?
- How up to date is the Sinking Fund Forecast?
- Have major expenditure items in the Sinking Fund Forecast actually be carried out when scheduled by the forecast?
- Has there been any additional recent major sink fund expenditure that was not forecast by the Sinking Fund Forecast?
- Do the minutes hint at any other major work required on the building that is not allowed for in the Sinking Fund forecast?
- Once these questions are answered you can start to make some estimates of what the sinking fund levies for the next few years may be.
This is an example of how practical our Property, Conveyancing and Body Corporate Lawyers are. We have lawyers with Body Corporate Law experience in both our Brisbane and Gold Coast offices.
More information: www.corneyandlind.com.au
by Andrew Lind on February 2, 2010
One key, when buying property, is to make sure that you have a written unconditional finance approvalfrom your financier before your purchase contract become unconditional as to finance.
Conditions such as:
- Subject to a satisfactory valuation;
- Subject to lenders mortgagee insurer approval,
are often in the fine print.
If these conditions apply, you would be wise to have these conditions satisfied before having an unconditional commitment to proceed to settlement of your purchase.
If you are purchasing a property off the plan you need to be aware the the financier will usually want to formally value the property once construction is complete. If this applies to you you may want to consider adding a condition to your purchase contract that the purchase is subject to it valuing up at a certain level once construction is completed. This is likely to be resisted by vendors but in a buyer’s market there is little harm in asking.
Finally you need to be aware that almost every finance approval that I have read techinally allows the bank to “pull the plug” and not advance the money at any moment right up until the time the money is actually advanced. This risk is perhaps small as after all banks are in the business of lending money however in a context where banking shocks are not unknown this little talked about risk perhaps needs to be aired.
All good reasons to get our Property and Conveyancing legal team in your corner. So whether you need Conveyancing in Brisbane, the Gold Coast or anywhere in Queensland let our Conveyancing Solicitors look after you. You will notice the difference.
For more details of how the team at Corney & Lind can help you see our web site.
by Andrew Lind on February 1, 2010
One of a number of very significant differences about buying and selling real estate in Queensland is that “time is of the essence” of land contracts.
This means that time limits must be strictly complied with.
If the Settlement Date is 5 February 2010 and one of the parties is not ready willing and able to settle, that party is in default of contract and the other party who is not in default may terminate the contract without any other reason or being completed to provide notice to settle within a reasonable time.
So if you are buying and your funds are not ready on the settlement date the seller can terminate, take your deposit and reserve their rights to other damages against you including for example a loss of a resale of the property.
Good reasons, if you’re are buying or selling real estate in Queensland, to have our expert Property and Conveyancing Solicitors look over a contract before you sign it so that they can bring their experience to bear on whether in the usual course the time limits will be achievable.
To find out more about how our Brisbane Lawyers and Gold Coast Lawyers can help you visit the Corney & Lind web site and our Legal Resource Centre.
