We act on Parramatta property from Bella Vista. A conveyance is decided by the contract, not the postcode.
Greenline Legal has one office, at Bella Vista, and none in Parramatta. A New South Wales conveyance is run on documents and settled electronically, so what counts on a Parramatta purchase is the strata records and the disclosure documents — not the distance to your solicitor.
Greenline Legal acts on conveyancing in Parramatta and across the City of Parramatta local government area. We do that from the firm’s only office, at Bella Vista. There is no Parramatta shopfront and no Parramatta team, and this page is not suggesting otherwise.
A New South Wales conveyance runs on documents: the contract and its attachments, the searches and certificates ordered from the council and the authorities, and a settlement completed through an electronic lodgment network rather than across a table. What decides a Parramatta purchase is what those documents disclose, and they read the same in Bella Vista as on Church Street.
In Parramatta, most of what sells is a strata lot
Around the Parramatta CBD and the river the stock runs heavily to apartments and mixed-use buildings, so the ordinary purchase here is a strata lot rather than a house on torrens title.
- On top of the title, the plan and the section 10.7 planning certificate, a strata contract must carry the further documents prescribed by the Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2022 (NSW).
- The useful information sits in a records inspection under section 182 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW): levies, the capital works fund, special levies struck or under discussion, defect and insurance correspondence. That right belongs to an owner, mortgagee or covenant chargee, or a person they authorise — which is why the standard strata contract has the vendor authorise the purchaser to make it.
- Where a strata scheme covers only part of a building — apartments over retail, with a shared basement — a strata management statement registered under the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 (NSW) sets what those parts share and how the cost of lifts, fire services and access is split. It is not the by-laws, and it is the document most often left unread.
Off the plan, and the sunset date
Parramatta produces a lot of off the plan contracts, and one is a different instrument from a transfer of an existing dwelling. Under the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) the vendor must give a disclosure statement with the proposed plan before signing, a change to a material particular can give the purchaser rights, and the cooling-off period is longer than on an ordinary residential contract.
A sunset clause ends the contract if the plan is not registered by a stated date. Under the same Act a vendor cannot rescind under one at will — that takes the purchaser’s written consent, an order of the Supreme Court, or a circumstance prescribed by regulation. Read that date, and what the contract lets the developer change before registration.
One thing we do not act on. Our building and construction practice acts for builders, contractors and developers. If you buy a new apartment and later want to bring a defect claim against the builder or developer, that is not work we take on for an owner. Better you know that now than after you send us the file.
Buying it to rent out
Where the lot is tenanted, the residential tenancy under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) continues after completion and binds you as landlord, so the agreement, the rent, the end date and the bond are checked before exchange. Land tax under the Land Tax Management Act 1956 (NSW) is adjusted at settlement only where the vendor is liable and the contract provides for it. Surcharge purchaser duty under the Duties Act 1997 (NSW) can apply to a foreign purchaser, including through a trust.
Selling
On a sale the work moves earlier. Under section 63 of the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 (NSW) an agent must not offer residential property for sale until the proposed contract, with everything required to be attached, is available for inspection.
Questions about Parramatta property.
You are not in Parramatta. Does that matter?
Not for the mechanics of it. Greenline Legal has one office, at Bella Vista, and we act on Parramatta property from there. A New South Wales conveyance is run on documents and completed through an electronic lodgment network, so the contract review, the searches, the exchange and the settlement do not turn on how close your solicitor sits to the property. If you would rather meet in person, that meeting happens at Bella Vista.
What should I look at before signing on a Parramatta apartment?
The strata records, first. A records inspection under section 182 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) shows the levies, the state of the capital works fund, any special levy struck or under discussion, and correspondence about defects or insurance. Then the by-laws, which govern things like pets, parking and short-term letting. Where the scheme covers only part of a building, add the strata management statement.
The developer has a sunset clause. Can they just cancel?
Not at will. Under the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) a vendor wanting to rescind a residential off the plan contract under a sunset clause needs the purchaser’s written consent, an order of the Supreme Court, or a circumstance prescribed by regulation — and the Court must be satisfied that making the order is just and equitable in all the circumstances. Read the date the clause fixes before you sign.
We are buying it as an investment. Is anything different?
Two things, usually. If a tenant is in place, the residential tenancy continues past completion and binds you as landlord, so the agreement, the rent, the end date and the bond are checked before exchange rather than after. And the tax position changes: land tax is adjusted at settlement where the vendor is liable and the contract provides for it, and surcharge purchaser duty under the Duties Act 1997 (NSW) can apply to a foreign purchaser, including through a trust.
Tell us what's happened.
Send us the contract and the strata documents before you sign or bid, and we will tell you whether we can act, what reviewing it would involve and what that would cost.
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.