PEXA is live in NSW and Victoria, however, the release date for Queensland titles and banking transaction has been extended to May 2015, and is anticipated to be extended further.

Once live in Queensland, Craig Ray & Associates will be able to offer our clients the PEXA platform to quickly and directly conduct their conveyance settlements, reducing delays from CBD settlements, funds clearing and eliminating the use of paper documents and bank cheques.

We wish Michaela all the very best for her future endeavours, particularly as she now works towards completing her Practical Legal Training having completed her Bachelor of Laws.

Our legal system recognises two ‘types’ of ownership when there is more than one owner: joint tenancy or tenancy in common.

If you are purchasing real estate with another person (or in more than one buying entity, eg. two trusts) then we will need your instructions as to how the buying parties are going to hold the title after they become the new owners.

In short, joint tenancy means that all of the owners hold equal shares in the property, and if one of the owners dies then their share in the property becomes 0% upon their death. That is, their interest in the property does not follow their Will.

Tenancy in common means that the shares held by the owners can be specified–for example, 1/3 and 2/3 or 3/100 and 97/100. The shares are also devisable, meaning that they form a part of the estate of the owner if the owner dies, and the interest in the real estate will follow the terms set out in the Will of the owner.

The way that you choose to specify the type of ownership on the title can have significant estate planning implications, and is also looked at if you are separating from a spouse for example.

If you have any questions in relation to how you own your property, or you would like to review your estate plans, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

In addition to the new laws, the Real Estate Institute of Queensland has published the tenth edition of the standard contract for the sale and purchase of residential homes. The contract has been endorsed by the Queensland Law Society and is now in use.

There have been many practical changes for those working in and interacting with the real estate industry. Real estate agents now have different disclosure requirements to buyers and sellers. There is no longer a mandatory Warning Statement attached to residential contracts. Forms and procedures have changed, especially in relation to the shortening or waiving of cooling-off periods.

We anticipate that eConveyancing will arrive in May 2015 when we will see the end of bank cheques and paper documents being exchanged at physical settlements. Watch this space in 2015 for news and updates.

If you have any concerns or questions in relation to how the new legislation or contract may affect your conveyance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

“But we paid the mortgage off years ago!“

In short, a mortgage is a legal instrument used by lenders to secure loans. It attaches to the real estate and is recorded on the title to the property.

A loan on the other hand is a contract. A promise by the homeowner to repay a debt.

You may have repaid all of the debt without arranging for the bank or credit union to ‘release’ the mortgage from the title. The releasing of a mortgage is not an automatic process that occurs on the repayment of the loan in full. It is an extra step–that will involve the payment of a Titles Registry fee–that many of our clients are not aware of.

If you are looking at selling your property and you are not sure whether or not it is encumbered by a mortgage, please feel free to contact Sarah Thompson of our office who will be happy to find out if your mortgage has been released.

As with all professional services, lawyers must consider the costs of their overheads when charging their professional fees to their clients.

The program provides interesting listening to anyone interested in the many factors that go into determining the costs charged by lawyers for the drafting of Wills, Powers of Attorney or other documents.

The changes introduce a new set of harmonised privacy principles that all privacy policies of individual business and other relevant entities must comply with. The principles outline matters such as:

• access to privacy policies
• how an individual can access their personal information stored by an entity
• what types of information are collected and held by the entity
• why information is collected by the entity
• how complaints in relation to privacy matters are to be resolved
• disclosure matters

The Office of the Australian Information has produced several fact sheets in relation to the recent changes. These can be accessed on their website.

On 6 May 2014 the Queensland Parliament passed the long anticipated Property Occupations Act 2014. The Act will repeal the current law regulating residential conveyancing, off-the-plan sales and real estate agents in Queensland under the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000. The new law will not take effect until it is “proclaimed”–sometime in the coming months.

The State Government has committed itself to reforming the real estate industry and has conducted lengthy stakeholder consultation.

Once proclaimed the law will:

• abolish the statutory maximum commission that real estate agents can charge
• remove the requirement for real estate agents to disclose to buyers the commission they are charging
• abolish certain consumer protection measures, including the Warning Statement and Body Corporate Information Sheet that presently must be attached to residential contracts
• abolish price guides for properties sold at auction
• abolish the restriction that prevents an agent receiving a commission when they have a beneficial interest in a property as buyer or seller
• remove the statutory cooling-off period for certain buyers who enter into contracts for properties passed in at auctions
• remove the requirement of an independent solicitor’s certificate to be provided to waive or shorten the cooling-off period

Once proclaimed the new Property Occupations Act 2014 will affect many different stakeholders in the real estate industry as it seeks to reduce red-tape, simplify the paperwork involved in buying and selling residential property and deregulate aspects of the real estate industry.

Buyers should be aware of the changes that will soon come into effect. All parties to a residential property transaction are strongly encouraged to seek legal advice before signing a contract.

The Attorney-General’s press release can be found here. The Queensland Law Society’s press release can be found here.

Keep an eye out for our blog updates.