Baxters Solicitors

People purchase real estate for many different reasons. Whether you are buying your first or subsequent home, a residential rental investment property, or investment property for commercial or residential development project Baxters Solicitors has the experience and expertise to assist you in the legal aspects of that transaction.

At Baxters Solicitors we handle property conveyancing in Queensland as well as New South Wales. Being located at Burleigh Heads, only a short drive from the New South Wales border means we have a client base that sees us regularly handle property transactions in New South Wales.

People often think the purchase of a residential property is a simple straightforward matter. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Conveyancing in Queensland is complex and affected by at least 20 different pieces of State and Federal government legislation, contract conditions, extensive case law and practice guidelines from various government and quasi-governmental authorities and departments.

Since opening in July 1989 Baxters Solicitors has had a strong focus on property conveyancing and has acted in the conveyance of literally thousands of residential homes, units, townhouses, apartments and vacant residential land located throughout Queensland.

Baxters Solicitors have extensive experience acting for purchasers of commercial property. Transactions involving purchases for your business to occupy or property that is tenanted as an investment, shopping centres, office complexes, industrial parks and stand alone commercial, retail and industrial are all well within the experience and expertise of Baxters Solicitors

From the early stages of securing properties under put and call options, due diligence enquiries and planning, mid stage matters such as preparation of “off the plan sale contracts”, body corporate documents such as Community Manage Statements, easements and covenants for local government infrastructure or to comply with development conditions, and the final process of selling and settling the finished product,  Baxters Solicitors has a wealth of experience in the development project life cycle. Projects handled include residential duplex and triplex projects through to large unit complexes, low rise mixed use buildings, green acre land subdivisions and rural subdivisions.

Whether buying or selling a property you need to ensure that the contract is properly drafted to accurately reflect the terms of the transaction, record important matters such as tenancies, inclusions, exclusions, GST treatment, conditions of the deal and the entities that are involved.

As a purchaser you need to ensure that all matters required to be disclosed by the seller are disclosed including statutory disclosures like body corporate disclosure statements, contaminated land, non-residential uses of vacant land, proposed resumptions by government authorities, liability for maintenance of waterway infrastructure, asbestos materials, disputes with adjoining owners are just some of these issues.

As a seller you need to ensure that all statutory notices are given including notices under the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act, Body Corporate and Community Manage Act, local government regulations such as Gold Coast City Council Local Law 17 (relating to maintenance of works in waterway areas), the Land Sales Act and Property La Act. Often failure to give required notice is fatal to the contract, and gives a buyer the right to terminate the contract at any time before settlement and, in some circumstances, to hand the property back after settlement. Buyers may also be able to claim compensation and/or damages as well.

Once the contract is signed the purchaser needs to ensure that appropriate searches are undertaken to confirm what the seller has told them about the property and that there are no undisclosed issues with the property such as proposals to resume the property, body corporate special levies being considered, caveats or other registered interests over the title. If the property is leased we can review and advise on the terms of the leases and verify representations in that regard.

Further negotiations often take place after the contract has been signed in the event that conditions such as building and pest inspections, property valuations or other due diligence enquiries are unsatisfactory and the buyer seeks to renegotiate the terms. Or if a buyer is unable to meet the terms and conditions negotiations may occur as to the terms on which the seller is willing to accommodate the buyer’s non compliance.

Sellers need to ensure that buyers stick to the terms of the contract and that at settlement proper adjustments are made to ensure that rates, levies and other amounts paid by the seller for future periods are recovered.

If financiers are involved for either buyers or sellers, then one must navigate the complex requirements and processes these organisations have to ensure you are able to meet your obligation to settle on the settlement date under the contract.

There are also other methods of purchasing properties other than straight purchase contracts. These can include put and/or call option agreements, rent to buy agreements or purchases with components of vendor finance.

All these issues are well within the experience and expertise of Baxters Solicitors.