With the wild weather in New South Wales of late, the question has come up – what happens if the property you are buying is damaged between exchanging contracts and settlement? What are your rights? Does the vendor have to fix the damage? Do you have to settle?

Part 4 Division 7 of the Conveyancing...

Unfortunately it’s a fact of life that many houses in bushy areas, such as the Sutherland Shire, are subject to termite invasions. It is actually more common than not for homes in the Shire to already have pre-existing termite damage.

But what if the pre-existing damage is so substantial, that it t...

Unfortunately not all owners within a strata scheme are aware of their rights and obligations regarding strata ownership, which can lead to problems with other lot owners, the strata manager, and the owners corporation.

What does strata ownership involve?

Strata title refers to the type of ownersh...

More and more clients are coming to Shire Legal to set up a family trust, usually on the advice of their accountant or financial adviser.  But this begs the questions – what is a trust?  And why is it recommended that you set up a company to run the trust?

What is a trust?

A trust is a relationshi...

Strata title is a form of ownership used for multi-housing developments, such as:

• units

• townhouses

• villas

• detached dwellings within a defined area.

The strata plan divides the building(s) and the associated land into:

• individual lots (owned by the various lot owners); a

  ...

Gaining access to your recently purchased property to commence renovations can provide you with an opportunity to save time before moving into your new home or alternatively, reduce any time your new investment property remains vacant. However, there are inherent risks involved and the potential ben...

In recent weeks there has been a story in the news about the evacuation of a unit block in Harris Park after a sink hole opened up alongside the building. The recent heavy rain combined with the flooded excavation site next door caused the wall of the excavated site to wash away to such an extent th...

As part of the normal conveyancing process, the purchaser will make enquiries with the vendor about the Title of the property.  These are referred to as “requisitions on title”.

The purpose of requisitions is to ask the vendor information which may not have been disclosed in the contract or discove...

A Granny Flat is typically a self-contained unit within or attached to another home, often with the intent that the elderly resident can be close to family and help if required.

For social security purposes, a granny flat arrangement does not necessarily require a separate residence – it just needs...

It is not uncommon for a landlord to make extensive investigations into a tenant’s financial situation, to minimise the risk that the tenant will fall into financial hardship and not be able to pay the rent.

But what if the landlord suffers financial hardship?  What then are the tenant’s rights?

I...

Like many commercial transactions, the transfer of ownership of property is underpinned by the common law doctrine of “buyer beware” (aka “caveat emptor”).  That is, the purchaser needs to make sure they make their own enquiries and carry out their own pre-purchase inspections to be satisfied as to ...