Settlement Agents for Ocean Reef Buyers and Sellers

The settlement side of buying or selling

Part of Perth’s northern suburbs, Ocean Reef sits roughly 25 km north-west of the Perth CBD. When a property goes under offer, someone has to search the title, deal with the rates and water, arrange duty and get the transfer registered. That is our job.

Our Myaree office is roughly 32 km to the south. A home appointment is usually possible, and the whole settlement can just as easily be done remotely.

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 Ocean Reef. 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.

Why these settlements are not all the same

Ocean Reef is on Perth’s growing edge, where a meaningful share of transactions are vacant land, house-and-land packages and homes only a few years old rather than long-established properties.

Typical local settlements look like this:

• developer covenants and design guidelines noted against the land
• keeping finance approval valid while titles are pending
• coastal strata schemes with higher levies for building maintenance
• vacant land purchases where the title has not yet issued
• house-and-land contracts and the timing between land settlement and build start

The practical consequence for a Ocean Reef buyer is that the important dates are often not the ones you would expect. Finance approval has to stay valid while titles are pending, and the timing of duty, first-home concessions and any grant depends on what is actually being bought and when it settles.

So the work here is as much about tracking and communication as it is about paperwork. Titles issue when they issue, and the value of having someone on it is that you find out early rather than on the day.

We also act for buyers and sellers nearby in Joondalup settlements, Iluka, Heathridge, Connolly and Currambine.

What we handle once the contract is signed

The job of a settlement agent is to transfer ownership of the property and to make sure nothing is missed on the way. 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.

If settlement is going to be late, the contract usually has something to say about it, including interest. Telling us early gives us room to sort it out; telling us on the day does not.

Settlement in WA is now conducted electronically, which means no one drives across town with bank cheques. We complete it online and let you know the moment it is through.

Our conveyancing services

Licensed for all aspects of conveyancing in WA, the work we take on includes:

• 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.
• Transfer duty through State Revenue Online – We arrange stamping, so duty does not need to be paid before settlement.
• Strata settlements – Apartments, villas and survey-strata lots, including strata information and levy adjustments.
• Selling – Private homes, commercial property and deceased estates, with documents signed at a time that suits you.
• Title searches – Shelley can search a title and explain what is registered against it before you commit.

Every one of these is quoted before we start, so you know the cost before you commit to anything.

The distance does not change the service

From our Myaree office it is about roughly 32 km to Ocean Reef, so a home appointment is usually straightforward to arrange, weekends included. That covers signing the documentation and the verification of identity check required of sellers.

If it is easier, the entire settlement can be handled remotely instead, by phone, email and electronic signing, with nothing for you to attend on settlement day. Call Shelley on 0428 336 878 to talk through which works better for you.

We offer cost-effective and stress-free settlement

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

Your questions answered

Am I eligible for first home buyer concessions?

That depends on the property, the price and your circumstances, and the rules are set by RevenueWA rather than by us. Tell us what you are buying and we will point you to the current position rather than quoting figures that change.

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 happens if the other side is not ready on settlement day?

It happens, and the contract usually deals with it, including interest for the delay. The important thing is that you tell us as soon as you know, because a problem raised early can normally be worked around.

Don’t have time to get to an office?

Our services include Ocean Reef 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.