Conveyancing Terms Glossary

Conveyancer: A legal specialist who is qualified to act in a property transfer.

Conveyancing: The act of transferring property title from one person (Vendor) to another (Purchaser).

Contract: A contract for the sale of land between a Vendor and Purchaser to buy and sell a specified parcel of land.

Cooling-Off Period: A period of days which commences immedialty after entry into certain contracts during which the purchaser may rescind the contract, usually subject to a small monetary payment to the other party.

Deposit: A sum of money, usually 10% of the purchase price, put down to secure the article, a vendor may require a deposit to signify genuiness.

Deposit Bond: A guarantee made by a financial institution that in the event the purchaser defaults from the contract the financial institution guarantees to pay the 10% deposit owed to the vendor.

Disbursements: Miscellaneous expenses other than our fees which paid on behalf of another person and for which reimbursement will eventually be demanded of that person ie. certificates from councils etc.

Easement: A right enjoyed by a person in regard to the land of another person.

Exchange: The formal process within a conveyancing transaction in which we physically trade contracts with the purchaser. This is when the contract becomes legally binding.

Purchaser: This is another name for the buyer of a property.

Requisition On Title: A series of questions, inquiries, and requests addressed by a purchaser of an estate of land to a vendor regarding the vendor's title.

Section 603 Certificate: A certificate applied for through the local concil of your proposed purchase which outlines any outstanding accounts for rates and/or water. These are used to calculate the amount of money each party (vendor and purchaser) is liable for respective of the time each party is in ownership of the property.

Settlement: The completion of the transaction when ownership of the property is transfered from the vendor to the purchaser.

Stamp Duty: A tax imposed by all Australian states on documents or transactions that affect or record the transfer of the ownership of assets.

Strata Title: Is a form of Torrens Title which relates to properties which form part of a Strata Plan. Properties included under this title are usually units, villas and townhouses.

Torrens Title: The most common type of title to land. Once you are registered as the proprietor.

Transfer: A document, usually a piece of paper showing the title particulars of a property, which passes title to a purchaser.

Unconditional Finance Approval: When you have met all the criteria of your lender and we have written confirmation that it is unconditional. Finance may be conditional upon a valuation. This does not constitute unconditional finance.

Vendor: This is another name for the seller of a property.