New laws are expected to come into force on 1 December 2019 when the Conveyancing Legislation (Amendment) Act 2018 and Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Amendment Regulation 2019 commence.

These impose further disclosure requirements on vendors selling off the plan properties and provide new remedies and...

The first steps often taken by business owners in establishing their business are:

• to obtain an Australian Business Number (‘ABN’) and
• to register their business name through the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (‘ASIC’).

Under the Business Names Registration Act 2011 (Cth) (‘th...

Picture this – you advertised your property for sale, endured countless open houses and inspections, and finally, someone offered you a price which you accepted, contracts exchanged, and now the packing begins before you move out on settlement.

You could be forgiven for thinking that there is no lo...

If you have purchased a property with someone else, it is likely that you’ve at least had an initial chat about sharing the costs of owning the property – but have you discussed what happens if one of the co-owners wants to sell their interest in the property?  Or worse still, if one of the co-owner...

Property purchasers and especially real estate agents should take note of a Supreme Court decision handed down last week in relation to representations made regarding a property’s right of way (aka “easement for carriageway”), and whether the property owners had the right to park on the right of way...

PEXA ("Property Exchange Australia") is the new electronic property settlement portal, making life easier for solicitors and conveyancers, but what are the benefits to you as a client?

To name just a few:

• Less room for error - There is less chance of issues arising at settlement causing delays,
...

The New South Wales Government introduced legislation last year bringing into effect surcharges on stamp duty and land tax, to be payable on residential property purchased or owned by anyone falling within the definition of a “foreign person”.

Who is a Foreign Person?

Section 4 of the Foreign Acqu...

It is not uncommon that the most significant asset of a Deceased’s Estate is their home.  It is also not uncommon that there are a number of beneficiaries entitled to a share of the Estate, which will of course require the Deceased’s home to be sold and the proceeds of the sale distributed between t...

As you may be aware, owners of certain types of property are required to pay capital gains tax when the property is sold.  This is normally accounted for when the vendor does their next tax return.  However, in the case of foreign residents, compliance has been poor and it has proven difficult for t...

A few years ago, Shire Legal acted for a client purchasing a property at Kurnell.   There was nothing particularly unusual about the transaction – it was a standard family home being sold from one family to another.

However initial enquiries carried out by Shire Legal suggested that the recent reno...

Rising house prices across Sydney have made it difficult for people trying to enter the property market. In response to this we are seeing more and more people buying property with friends or family members rather than trying to go it alone.

This can be a great solution because sharing the costs of...

As some people may be aware the government passed new legislation, the Conveyancing Amendment (Sunset Clauses) Act 2015 (NSW), at the end of last year with the sole purpose of amending the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) to prevent a developer from unreasonably rescinding an off-the-plan contract for a ...