Most of what goes wrong in a property deal was in the contract all along.
Greenline Legal acts on residential and commercial conveyancing in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland — reading the contract before you are bound by it, ordering the searches that say what you are actually buying, and carrying the matter through exchange to settlement.
Conveyancing is the legal work that moves title to land from one person to another. Most of what decides whether that goes well happens before anyone signs: what the contract says, what the searches disclose, and what was left out of both.
We act on residential and commercial property transactions in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. It is the only part of our practice that is not New South Wales alone.
Where we act
A licensed conveyancer, or a solicitor?
Both can act on a conveyance in New South Wales. The difference shows up when the transaction stops being a conveyance. A licensed conveyancer is licensed under the Conveyancing Licensing Act 2003 (NSW) and may carry out conveyancing work — legal work connected with a transaction that creates, varies, transfers or extinguishes an interest in land. A solicitor holding a current practising certificate is not confined to that category of work.
It matters when a matter turns: a failed settlement, a caveat lodged over the land, a deceased estate that owns the property, a company or trust as purchaser, a lease that comes with the building, or a claim against the builder about what you have just bought. None of those are conveyancing work.
Before you sign
The contract for sale is a negotiable document, not a form. Special conditions are routinely added by the vendor's solicitor, and their job is to move risk. What we read for is the same in every state — what is included in the sale, what the vendor warrants, what happens if completion is late, when the deposit is at risk, and what the attached documents say about the land rather than the building standing on it.
What it costs
We quote per matter and you get the figure in writing before work starts, with disbursements — searches, certificates, and lodgment and registration fees — and GST identified separately from our professional fees. Transfer duty and your lender's fees are payable by you to someone else and are not part of a quote for our work.
Questions buyers and sellers ask us.
Do I need a solicitor, or will a conveyancer do?
Both can act on a conveyance in New South Wales. A licensed conveyancer is licensed under the Conveyancing Licensing Act 2003 (NSW) and may carry out conveyancing work — legal work connected with a transaction in land. A solicitor is not confined to that. The difference matters if the matter turns into something else: a failed settlement, a caveat, a deceased estate, a trust or company purchaser, or a claim about the building.
How long is the cooling-off period in New South Wales?
It depends on the contract and on how the property is being sold — an ordinary residential exchange, a purchase at auction and an off-the-plan contract are not treated the same, and the period can be brought to an end early by a certificate given on your behalf. Rescinding within it is not free either. Tell us how the sale is happening and we will tell you what applies to your contract, before you are asked to sign anything.
Can I change the contract, or do I have to take it as written?
It can be negotiated. The contract for sale is a negotiable document and the special conditions in it are usually drafted by the vendor's solicitor to move risk. Completion period, deposit amount, inclusions, access before completion and warranties are all commonly amended. Whether a vendor agrees is a commercial question, but nothing in the document is fixed simply because it is printed.
Do you act in Victoria and Queensland as well?
Conveyancing is the only part of our practice that is not New South Wales alone — we act on property transactions in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. Everything else we do, including building disputes, commercial leases and estates, is New South Wales work. Each state has its own contract, its own vendor disclosure regime and its own cooling-off rules.
What is the difference between the vendor's documents and my searches?
The vendor must attach certain prescribed documents to the contract before you sign. Your own searches are ordered separately and go further, and they are the ones that most often change a decision — they tell you about the property and what surrounds it, rather than about the title alone. Which are worth ordering depends on the property, the council and whether it is a lot in a strata scheme. We tell you which we are ordering and why.
Tell us what's happened.
Send us the contract before you sign it, whichever side of the transaction you are on. You will get a plain reading of what it says, what it leaves out, and what it will cost us to act.
Information on this site is general in nature and is not legal advice, and may have been overtaken by a change in the law. Contacting us does not create a solicitor–client relationship.