You need a conveyancer when you sell your house because the settlement process is complex; one wrong step and you could lose money or be fined.
This is why it is common for sellers to start wondering who pays who, when and how much, as soon as they've successfully negotiated the sale of their property (with your McGrath Real Estate agent, of course).
With settlement just around the corner, your real estate agent will have completed much of their work on your behalf and passed the baton for the next stage of the sale process to your conveyancer.
Why you need a conveyancer
The first of the two most important facets of the conveyancer’s role is to ensure that the transfer of property is carried out and recorded in accordance with the law.
The second facet is to distribute and account for the funds arising from the sale of the property to those organisations and people that have a claim to it, including you.
This involves preparing adjustment statements and settlement statements, and accounting for all monies expended or held in trust.
Making it legal and squaring it away
As you can see, the work carried out by your conveyancer is complex and it takes a specific level of expertise to achieve settlement on time and with accuracy.
Some of the most crucial tasks include:
- Discharging any mortgage liability against the property is a critical conveyancing task to enable legal transfer of title from you to the buyer.
- Your conveyancer will calculate adjustments to rates and taxes and arrange payment of these along with any outstanding property accounts.
- They will also arrange for payment of the selling agent’s fees and deduct the fees for their conveyancing services, including any out-of-pocket expenses.
You’ve reached the bottom line
Finally, after all these commitments have been met, your conveyancer will arrange for the balance of the sale price to be paid to you.
The good news is that since 4 July 2016 South Australia has used electronic conveyancing, which means that funds will be transferred to your account immediately after electronic settlement has been finalised.
This is a time saving for you of between one and four days over the former system of manual settlements.
National Electronic Conveyancing (NEC), which is being introduced progressively throughout Australia, operates on a secure platform that protects electronic documentation and online funds transfers for both buyers and sellers.
McGrath Real Estate has strong relationships with local conveyancing firms and our agents will be happy to recommend a professional with a great track record to help you finalise the sale of your home with the minimum of fuss.