Real Estate Law Title

The conveyancing process in Australia is complex. Due to the many aspects involved in conveyancing, it is a process that is largely misunderstood by the vast majority of people. Conveyancing refers to the transfer of ownership of a property; it does not begin until a sale has been made. If you’re confused about what is involved in Queensland conveyancing or Gold Coast conveyancing transactions, read on to learn more.

The Contract -

Conveyancing properly begins with the signing of a contracts. The contract is signed by the buyer as an offer; at which point it is provided to the seller for acceptance. Alternatively, the seller returns the contract with amendments as a counter offer. At the same time, a deposit is usually made - typically for about 10% of the purchase price.

Five Day Cooling Off Period -

Following the exchange of contracts, a five day cooling off period typically occurs. This gives the buyer the opportunity to get out of the contract if he realizes that the deal isn’t suitable. A penalty of approximately 0.25 percent is charged to the buyer if he decides to back out of the transaction.

Preparing The Transfer Documents -

In mot instances, the transfer is prepared by the buyer’s solicitor. The documents sent to the seller’s solicitor as the sellers signature is required. Once the documents are signed, they are returned to the buyers solicitor where they remain until the settlement. At settlement the documents are lodged with the Titles Office so that the property is transferred to the buyer.

Making Land Enquiries -

All property inspections, assessments and other enquiries are made during the period between the cooling off and the settlement. The buyer takes this opportunity to make these enquiries before finalizing the terms of their mortgage with their lender. This is the time to find out if there are any problems that need to be cleared up.

Mortgage Documents And Requisitions On Title -

Next, the mortgage document will be prepared by the lending institution. Requisitions on title are also sent to the seller, who then passes them along to the purchaser. These requisitions may alert the purchaser to disputes involving the property, such as boundaries and other details. This allows the buyer to fully understand what they are getting themselves into.

Settlement Statement -

The settlement statement is finalized by the seller to advise the buyer precisely what is included upon the settlement.

Insurance -

If the property is financed, the lender will require proof that the property about to be purchased is insured adequately. This proof must be provided before settlement can officially be reached.

The Final Search -

A final search of the title must be conducted on the day of the settlement. It is done to ensure that the property is free of any restrictions or interests.

Settlement -

Settlement is the final step in the conveyancing process. Settlement takes place once the transfer of funds occurs in an exchange for the release of all title and title deeds interests (if any). The buyer’s solicitor either hands these documents to the buyer’s bank for registration, alternatively registers them on the buyers behalf with the titles office. At this point, the seller’s solicitor provides the settlement cheque to the seller.

Renting any home means entering into a legal agreement - a tenancy agreement setting out the rights, duties and responsibilities of both tenant and landlord.

Nowadays, (since introduction of the Housing Act 1988) most tenancy agreements are what are known as assured shorthold tenancy agreements (ASTs for short). These ‘assure’ the landlord that he or she can, if desired or necessary, regain the property at the end of the agreed rental period. They also assure the tenant or tenants that unless there is a serious breach of the tenancy agreement, he, she or they, can remain in residence at the very least for six months.

For this reason assured shorthold tenancy agreements are most commonly for six month periods only. Tenants can then be asked to leave at the expiry of the six months.

Alternatively, when the fixed term expires, the landlord may grant the tenants a further fixed term tenancy agreement, or simply allow them to stay on under the same terms. In such circumstances there is no need for a new tenancy agreement; the tenancy simply becomes a ‘periodic tenancy’. Tenants can quit periodic tenancies by giving the landlord one month’s notice, and may be required to leave on receipt of two months’ written notice.

Tenancy agreements provide landlords and tenants with both the express rights and obligations spelled out in the tenancy agreement (always provided these are not at odds with the Housing Acts, with common law rights, or could be deemed ‘unfair’. So, for example, a landlord may not require tenants to give longer periods of notice than is laid down in law, or claim the right to give shorter notice than required).

Irrespective of what the tenancy agreement says, tenants are entitled to the ‘quiet enjoyment’ of their home and landlords may not demand access without notice or enter the premises when the tenants are not present. Landlords have a duty of care towards their tenants, and tenants have a duty of care towards the property they are renting.

Tenants are also entitled to feel safe in their rented home and to be assured of this by being given a copy of a current gas safety certificate, and (if the property is furnished) knowing that all the furniture provided has appropriate fire safety labelling.

This does not mean that there is one standard form of tenancy agreement, and landlords and tenants have scope to agree a considerable number of the terms included. Perhaps the most important are the rent to be paid, when it is payable, whether in advance or in arrears, whether a deposit is paid, and whether furnishings are provided or not.

Unless stated otherwise, private sector tenancy agreements entered into since February 1997 are automatically shorthold assured tenancy agreements.

But there are exceptions - holiday lets, where no rent or a very low rent, or a rent in excess of 25,000 GBP is charged, where the tenant is a company, or where the accommodation is shared with a resident landlord. For these exceptions, different types of agreement are needed - ‘common law’ tenancy agreements which stand on their own merits outside the restrictions and protections of the Housing Acts.

In England and Wales, unless the tenancy agreement is to be for a fixed period in excess of three years, the tenancy agreement could be verbal (even so, certain information - about deposits, gas safety and energy performance - must be provided by the landlord in writing). However, a written tenancy agreement is strongly advisable in all cases since verbal agreements are notoriously difficult to enforce.

Tenancy agreements may be between the landlord and one tenant or a number of tenants - for example a couple living together as partners. From the landlord’s point of view, two or more signatories to the AST are better than one since each will be ‘jointly and severally’ liable for the full rent - meaning that if one does not or cannot pay, the other tenant is responsible in law for the entire amount.

Houses can also be divided into multiple tenancies where each tenant has exclusive use of a particular part of the property (say a bedroom) specified in the tenancy agreement, with access to and use of common areas. It makes sense to have multiple rather than joint tenancies where the tenants are not related and may intend to live in the property for different periods.

Tenancy agreements are important documents, enforceable in law, and both landlords and tenants should take great care before signing such agreements. They must be satisfied that the agreement contains only terms with which they are able and content to comply.

Unregistered land is simply land or buildings that have not been registered with HM Land Registry. This means that there is no title plan of the land showing the boundary lines and there is no title register showing the proprietor, this means that the owner will have old fashioned title deeds to prove ownership of the land, these deeds could be stored at the owners home address or with the mortgage company if there is a outstanding mortgage on the land.

So how do you go about finding the owners of unregistered land? Well there is no simple answer. There is certainly no database that you can access to find out and although more and more land is getting registered as it has to now when it is sold in a process called first registration, there are still an estimated 40 million plots of unregistered land in England and Wales, most of these are in rural areas although it is surprising how many buildings in built up areas are still unregistered, most of know of a property that has been left empty since we were young.

If you do find a piece of land that you wish to buy and you can agree a price with the owner there are several legal points that are worth considering:

• The purchase of the land with an unregistered title involves investigation of the title deeds on each transaction
• Sale of unregistered land triggers first registration of the title.
• Unregistered land titles are subject to Land Charge Act of 1972
• Rights affecting unregistered land must be registered as land charges at land Registry

There are more so it is worth looking into the legal requirements of registering the piece of land with Land Registry.

Unregistered land will always be an interesting area of discussion right up until the day when all land and properties are registered but that day is a long way away.

There are several ways to find out who owns land and several land searches that you can do. You should first use a company to perform some simple land registry searches for you, these can be cheap but immediately let you know who owns the land if it is already registered. Secondly if the land is unregistered you should immediately perform a Search of the index map to see if land registry has any information relating to the property. Finally if you still draw a blank you may be best to try and obtain professional help, there is at least one company that specialises in finding the owners of unregistered land.

Good luck finding who owns land.