top of page

OTHER SERVICES

 

Other property-related matters

 

We can also assist you with other property-related matters, including the following:

 

  • Transfers: the transfer of the legal title of land from one person to another, other than by way of a sale or purchase. For example, the transfer of a land:
     

    • from one family member to another (without any monetary consideration being paid);

    • pursuant to the terms of a court order; or

    • to a surviving joint owner, an executor/administrator or a beneficiary on the death of a registered owner.

​

  • Easements, restrictions and positive covenants: creating, varying or cancelling:
     

    • an easement (a right to use another person's land for a specific purpose), e.g. the cancellation of an abandoned easement;

    • a restriction (restricting a landowner's use of the land), e.g. the extinguishment of an obsolete restriction; or

    • a positive covenant (requiring a landowner to carry out a particular obligation), e.g. varying the terms of a positive covenant.
       

  • Possessory title applications: applications to the Registrar General NSW for title to land by possession. 

​​

  • Altering a tenancy or severing a joint tenancy: changing how the registered owners of land hold the land. For example, where:
     

    • all of the registered owners of land holding as joint tenants want to alter the tenancy so that they instead hold as tenants in common in equal shares;

    • all of the registered owners of land holding as tenants in common in equal shares want to alter the tenancy so that they instead hold as joint tenants; or

    • one or more (but not all) of the registered owners of land holding as joint tenants want to sever the joint tenancy so that they instead hold as tenants in common in shares equivalent to the interests that they held as joint tenants.  

​​

  • Notices of death: transferring the title to land to a surviving joint tenant on the death of a joint tenant.
     

  • Transmission applications: transferring the title to land to an executor/administrator or a beneficiary on the death of a registered owner.
     

  • Strata scheme terminations: applications to the Registrar General NSW to terminate a strata scheme.
     

  • Caveats: the lodgment, withdrawal or lapsing of caveats.
     

  • Powers of attorney: the preparation, execution and registration of general and enduring powers of attorney.

​

For any of the above (and other) property-related matters, we can:
 

  • advise you on the appropriate process, the steps and the evidence (if any) required; 

  • carry out any necessary property searches and enquiries on your behalf; 

  • ensure that you comply with all statutory requirements, e.g. the serving or publication of any required notices or the provision of statutory declarations;

  • ensure that you pay any transfer duty;  

  • arrange for the appropriate documents to be prepared, signed and registered (if required);

  • liaise with any other stakeholders (if required); and

  • deal with any questions raised by any other stakeholders, the Office of State Revenue or NSW Land Registry Services.
     

Where possible, we will electronically lodge all documents at NSW LRS.

​

Legal costs 

Our legal costs - powers of attorney

​

We charge a fixed professional fee for general and enduring powers of attorney (using the standard NSW LRS forms of power of attorney). A registration fee will also be payable to NSW LRS, if a power of attorney is to be registered.

Our above fixed professional fee generally includes:

  • advising on and preparing the power of attorney in accordance with your instructions;

  • attending to the execution of the power of attorney by all parties; and

  • arranging for the power of attorney to be registered at NSW Land Registry Services (if required).

 

If additional work is required (beyond the standard work noted above), we may have to charge an additional professional fee for this additional work. If we anticipate having to charge you an additional professional fee during the course of a transaction, we will let you know as soon as possible.

Our legal costs - other property related (general)
 

1. Professional fee

Our professional fees are competitive and affordable. They vary according to:

 

  • the nature of the property;

  • the transaction type;

  • the complexity of the legal issues; and

  • your requirements and expectations. 

 

At the beginning of a transaction, we provide you with an estimate of our professional fee. If circumstances change during the course of a transaction requiring us to revise our estimate, we provide you with a revised estimate as soon as possible. 

 

2. Property searches, ELNO fees, registration fees and mortgagee consent costs


In addition to our professional fee, you may also have to pay for:

​

  • certain searches that we carry out on your behalf in relation to your property and other properties, e.g. title searches or copies of registered dealings ("property searches"). We obtain these property searches from external information providers and incur the cost on your behalf. The cost of property searches varies, depending on the nature of the property and the transaction; 

  • the fee charged by the external service provider to verify your identity remotely;

  • the fee charged by an electronic lodgment network operator (ELNO) to complete and lodge a document electronically at NSW Land Registry Services (if applicable);

  • the fee charged by NSW Land Registry Services for registering a document; and

  • the cost of any registered mortgagee providing its consent (if required).  

​

The above costs can vary, depending on the nature and complexity of the transaction; however, we provide an estimate of these costs at the beginning of a transaction.
 

Exclusions

​

If we act for you in relation to any of the above (and other) other property-related matters, we do not:

​

  • negotiate or advise on commercial terms;

  • advise on development consents or development potential;

  • review or advise on any building, pest, environmental, strata or other such property reports; or

  • provide any financial or taxation advice.

Legal costs agreement
 

All of the above legal costs will be set out in a costs disclosure and/or costs agreement at the beginning of a transaction.

bottom of page