We have experienced, in the last 6 months, buyers undertaking a deeper level of due diligence on properties, particularly as to how the building was constructed and the way in which its construction was originally approved. This may be due to the less frenetic pace in which transactions are

The term ‘electronic conveyancing’ does not mean the use of digital signatures on contracts or the use of artificial intelligence to regulate and advise on your legal obligations under a contract for sale (although it may well do soon!). For now, electronic conveyancing refers to the manner in which financial

In the last couple of weeks, residents of Sydney Olympic Park’s Opal Tower have been evacuated because of fears that the building is structurally unsound and may collapse. While residents are now being told by the builder (a Japanese company called ‘Icon’) that it is safe to re-occupy, people’s confidence

Those who have had to pay stamp duty or who work in property may be aware that stamp duty, like income tax, is charged according to fixed brackets (see diagram below). However, those brackets have not been changed since 1986. Back then the median house price in Sydney was $100,000

Real estate agents will be bolstered by a recent decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal on the subject of ‘misleading and deceptive’ in sales campaigns. The case of Hyder v McGrath Sales Pty Ltd [2018] NSWCA 223 related to the sale of a luxury ($9.4m) property in the Eastern

In a fiercely-competitive market for listings, this can often happen: A vendor signs an exclusive agency agreement with one agent (the first agent), who introduces a buyer to the property; No immediate offer and acceptance between the buyer and seller happens; The vendor terminates the exclusive agency agreement with the

Developers often use ‘put and call options’ when buying residential lots as an alternative to traditional contracts with long-dated settlements. The motivation for them doing this is usually just to defer payment of stamp duty while they progress their development application. However there are risks for vendors that you need

  Although there has been a number of frauds in conveyancing transactions over recent years, an incident involving a former MasterChef contestant hit the headlines over the weekend and has caused a panic in the conveyancing and real estate industry. Apart from the celebrity aspect, the other thing about this

Introduction ‘Release of deposit clauses’ are becoming increasing common in property transactions today. A  release of deposit clause allows a vendor of a property to have ‘early access’ to the 10% deposit prior to settlement. This is usually to enable the vendor to, in turn, put a deposit down on

It has become very common for vendors to advertise properties as ‘perfect for AirBnB or short-term rental’. But very often this is being done without a proper understanding of the legal position of short-term letting in NSW. In short, there is much uncertainty and complexity surrounding the issue. The NSW