Buying.
Buying a residential property in Victoria? We’ll review the contract and section 32/vendor statement for free within a week, or for $195 + GST within 6 business hours.
You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Please inspect the property first and don't sign anything before we see the contract. We can't assist with off-the-plan, mortgagee-in-possession, retirement villages, stratum and company share titles, and commercial properties. We don't review mortgage/loan and guarantor documents, or building contracts. We don't act for SMSF acquisitions. Limit of one free review a week per person/couple buying together.
How does it work?
Find a property that you would like to buy.
Please inspect the property in person first, but don't sign any contract yet!
Send us your details and the contract + section 32/vendor statement.
Please include your email address and mobile phone number where we can reach you on WhatsApp - and please let us know if anyone referred you to us (so we can thank them!). We are unable to assist unless you use WhatsApp.
We'll review the documents you sent us within one week.
Or within 6 business hours, for a fee of $195 + GST.With our standard, free review, we'll send you a detailed voice message on WhatsApp within one week, with a limit of one free review per week, per client. Our urgent review service costs $195 + GST, for a 6 business hour turnaround, delivered via WhatsApp. You can listen (and re-listen!) to our review message on WhatsApp whenever you like and it's a clear record for future reference. We don't provide written reports, but we will email you the text for any suggested changes to the contract. And if anything is missing from the contract that we need to see, we'll let you know.
After you listen to our contract review message, you are welcome to ask any questions (via WhatsApp or email please, as it's usually difficult for us to talk on the phone, due to the high number of settlements and reviews we assist people with every day).
If you buy the property, we'll email you a questionnaire, requesting more details and then we’ll invoice you for half of our professional fee.
Half our professional free is $647.50 + GST (see How much does it cost? below). Our second invoice (for the second half of our professional fee, which is another $647.50 + GST) will be issued about a week before the settlement date, and will be paid at settlement out of the funds available on the day. Our second invoice will also include an itemised list of any out-of-pocket disbursement costs we incurred on your behalf, so you can reimburse us for these third-party expenses (see How much does it cost? below). Our entire professional fee is payable regardless of whether you have already paid for an urgent review.
If you don’t buy the property, there is no charge for our work reviewing the contract (unless you already paid for an urgent review)..
And we’d be happy to review another contract for another property too, no worries, but we can only provide one free review per week per person/couple due to current unprecedented demand. We don’t have an official limit on how many contracts we’ll look at, but in fairness to other people, we can only look at one contract for someone at a time, even if you are considering two properties being auctioned on the same weekend and even if you provide us with both contracts on the same day - you'll need to submit one of those contracts as an urgent review request please. We can only review one contract per urgent review payment.
How much does it cost?
$1,295 + GST is our professional fee for conveyancing, plus any out-of-pocket disbursement costs we incur.
Out-of-pocket disbursement costs include purchaser caveats fees and new property search certificates (because we often need to order a new title search, water certificate, Council rates notice, Owners Corporation certificate and land tax certificate to prepare the pro rata apportioned outgoings for settlement - the certificates included in the contract can expire). If we can avoid you incurring these costs (such as by ordering a free update online), we certainly will! We may also need to order a company search if any party is a company. These fees are payable regardless of whether you have already paid for an urgent review.
How much will you need to pay in addition to $1,295 + GST?
Vacant land, free standing houses and units / townhouses with no active Owners Corporation (body corporate): $300 - $400 + GST (at the higher end, if we are lodging a purchaser caveat to secure your interest). Units and apartments with up to two titles and two active Owners Corporations (body corporates): $500 - $600 + GST (if there are more than two active Owners Corporations, or more than two titles, we'll confirm what the cost will be).
Please note: if you and the vendor sign a contract we have reviewed, but you later terminate the contract (because you cool off, or can’t obtain finance, or because it failed a building and pest inspection), then we reserve the right, in our absolute discretion, to invoice you $647.50 (half of our professional fee) + GST.
Anything else we should let you know?
Default notices, licence agreements and lease assignment agreements each incur additional professional fees, usually $310 + GST. This will be added to our second invoice.
We don't review loan/mortgage and guarantor documents, and we don't issue solicitor certificates.
We carry full professional indemnity insurance and operate an audited solicitor trust account.
