Emerald Conveyancing will arrange preparation of a Statement of Adjustments approximately 7 – 10 days prior to settlement.

Local Council, Water rates, Land Tax and Owners Corporation fees (if applicable) will be adjusted as at the settlement date, or other date that the Contract of Sale may require adjustments to be carried out. The vendor will pay rates and taxes on the property until the settlement date (or other date required pursuant to the Contract), and the purchaser will pay from the settlement date (or other date required pursuant to the Contract) to the end of the respective rating period. Any outstanding rates and charges together with any arrears and interest, which the vendor may owe, will be deducted from the balance due to the vendor and will be paid following settlement.

Please note that any government charges applicable to the vendor, ie Discharge of Mortgage, etc will be deducted from the funds due to the vendor.

Electronic Conveyancing (e-Conveyancing) is an initiative championed by the property industry with the view of simplifying the process of property exchange. e-Conveyancing minimises the manual processes and paperwork associated with property settlements by enabling conveyancers and financial institutions to transact together online. It enables the lodgement of documents and complete financial settlements online. e-Conveyancing also reduces the risk of errors and delays giving our clients greater certainty of successful, on-time settlement and speedy exchange of settlement funds.

We are proud to advise we are a member of PEXA (Property Exchange Australia Pty Ltd) the online Settlement Portal.

If you intend to purchase a property at auction you should be aware of the following:-

a. Any Building, Pest or other Inspections which you may wish to carry out should be completed prior to the auction date

b. If a loan is required to assist with the purchase please ensure you have received finance Pre-Approval from your Finance Broker/Banker

c. Ensure you have access to 10% deposit on the day of the auction, ie via electronic funds transfer, personal cheque or pre-drawn Bank Cheque payable to the Real Estate Agents’ Trust Account

d. There is no three (3) business day cooling off period when you purchase at auction, nor are you able to make the Contract conditional upon finance, etc

e. If you purchase three (3) business days either side of the auction date you are not entitled to three (3) business days cooling off, ie if the Auction is to take place on a Saturday and you submit an offer on the Wednesday prior to or after the auction this would apply

Settlements in Victoria are currently carried out with funds being received by way of Bank cheque/s. Please note that your Bank can take up to three (3) business days to clear Bank cheques from the date deposited into your account.

Your lender may accept receipt of the full settlement proceeds to enable repayment of your Mortgage, with the balance due to you being credited to your nominated account. If your lender doesn’t collect the balance of settlement funds the alternative is to collect the Bank cheque/s from our office the business days after settlement, or we can arrange for depositing of the funds into your nominated account.

If you don’t have a Mortgage over your property you are able to collect the Bank cheque from our office either on the day of settlement, or the business day after settlement. Please note the collection time is dependent on the venue and time where settlement will occur. Alternatively, we can arrange to deposit funds into your nominated account on the settlement date.

A Statement which the vendors’ representative may serve which may enable the deposit to be released to the vendor prior to settlement (if qualify pursuant to Section 27 of the Sale of Land Act). The deposit can only be released to the vendor prior to settlement if:-

A – The amount secured by the vendors’ mortgage does not exceed 80% of the sale price
B – The loan is currently in order and there are no arrears
C – A satisfactory letter is provided by the vendors’ lender confirming details of the mortgage over the property (which includes Items a & b referred to above)
D – The Contract is not subject to any conditions, ie the vendor to attend to works, etc prior to settlement

A Section 32 Statement is a document prepared by the vendors’ representative which contains information about the property such as:-

• A title search showing a diagram of the land/unit, the location of any registered easement, Mortgage, Covenant or other restriction/s
• Council and water rates (Owners Corporation fees and Land Tax if applicable)
• Building permit/s granted in the past seven years
• Services which are not connected to the property
• Any fencing or other notices (if applicable)
• Planning Information and details of any planning overlays and proposed amendments to the planning scheme