Settlement Agent Cottesloe

Your settlement, handled from offer to keys

Part of Perth’s western suburbs, Cottesloe sits roughly 10 km south-west of the Perth CBD. Once an offer on a Cottesloe property is accepted, the transaction moves from the real estate agent to a settlement agent, and that is where we come in.

We are based in Myaree, about 7 km to the south-east, and home appointments are part of the service.

Buying or selling a house is a lengthy and complex process and obtaining professional advice will help ensure your smooth and successful property settlement in Cottesloe. The main job of a settlement agent is to transfer the ownership of the property and depending on whether you are buying or selling has various different components.

The local detail behind your settlement

Close to the city, the housing mix in and around Cottesloe runs well beyond the standalone house, and a good share of transactions here involve apartments, villas or survey-strata lots.

In practice that means a Cottesloe settlement can involve a strata company, a body of by-laws and levy adjustments that a green-title transfer never touches. Buyers of apartments and villas here also need to understand what is actually being bought, since a strata lot and the common property around it are not the same thing.

Settlements we regularly handle around here include:

• established green-title homes with older notifications on the title
• investment properties sold with tenants in place
• coastal strata schemes with higher levies for building maintenance
• strata company information, certificates and by-laws
• adjusting strata levies and identifying any special levy

Practically, that means we do not sit on anything. The documents that come from third parties are requested the day we receive the contract, because they are the ones we cannot speed up later.

We also act for buyers and sellers nearby in Bicton settlements, East Fremantle, North Fremantle, Attadale and Palmyra.

The work behind a settlement that runs on time

Settlement is a process with a fixed date and a lot of moving parts. The list is long: title searches, enquiries to the council and Water Corporation, strata information where relevant, verification of identity, preparation of the transfer, duty assessment, settlement figures, settlement itself, then notification to the authorities and registration at Landgate.

One practical tip for buyers: do not book removalists for first thing on settlement day. Settlement happens when the funds and documents are exchanged, and until it does, the keys are not yours to collect.

You will not need to attend settlement. It is completed electronically, which is now the standard process in Western Australia, and we confirm the outcome with you straight away.

Settlement services we provide

Whatever the property is, the settlement work is covered:

• Title searches – Shelley can search a title and explain what is registered against it before you commit.
• Transfer duty through State Revenue Online – We arrange stamping, so duty does not need to be paid before settlement.
• Court order transfers – Transfers arising from a separation or family court order.
• Lodgement at Landgate – Preparation and lodgement of documents for registration.
• Strata settlements – Apartments, villas and survey-strata lots, including strata information and levy adjustments.
• Home settlements – Transfers of established houses, duplexes, townhouses and villa strata, for buyers and for sellers.
• Buying – Everything from the accepted offer through to registration of your name on the title.

If what you need is not on that list, ask anyway. Most property questions have a straightforward answer, and it costs nothing to find out.

No time to get to an office?

We come to Cottesloe clients rather than expecting them to come to us. From our Myaree office, about 7 km away, we can meet you at home, including on weekends, to go through the documents and complete the verification of identity check required of sellers.

Prefer to keep it simple and do it all by phone and email? That is entirely workable. Settlement itself is completed electronically in WA, so nobody has to attend in person. Call Shelley on 0428 336 878 to sort out a time.

We offer cost-effective and stress-free settlement

We are licensed in all aspects of conveyancing in Western Australia. Other services that we offer:

Common questions from clients

Are strata levies adjusted at settlement?

Yes. Levies, along with council rates and water, are apportioned to the settlement date, so each party pays for the period they own the property. It appears on the settlement statement and we go through it with you.

How long does settlement take?

The settlement date is set in the contract rather than by us, and in Western Australia it is commonly somewhere between 30 and 60 days from an accepted offer. We work backwards from that date, and we will tell you early if anything threatens it.

What does a settlement agent cost for a Cottesloe property?

Our fee depends on the property and what the transaction involves, so we quote before you commit. Ask for a quote and you will get a clear figure rather than an estimate that moves later.

Don’t have time to get to an office?

Our services include Cottesloe home appointments, including weekends to sign confusing documentation and to conduct a verification of identity check for sellers to avoid going to Australia post. However, we are also able to work remotely to do all this over the phone or in person.