Reservoir Settlement Agent and Conveyancer

Who handles the paperwork on a property transfer

Reservoir is part of the Perth Hills, roughly 30 km east of the Perth CBD. Buying or selling property is straightforward when the paperwork is handled properly, and stressful when it is not.

Our office is roughly 35 km to the west. Home appointments are usually workable, and remote settlements are just as straightforward.

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 Reservoir. 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.

What we see settling property in Reservoir

Around Reservoir the lots are generally bigger and the ground steeper than on the plain, and that changes what has to be checked before settlement rather than what the house looks like.

For a buyer, the practical consequence is that more of the pre-settlement work in Reservoir is about the land itself: what is registered on the title, what the shire has recorded, and whether the structures on the property match the approvals held for it.

Around here that usually means:

• checking that sheds, workshops and other structures line up with the approvals held
• shire rates and emergency services levy adjustments at settlement
• properties on onsite wastewater rather than a scheme sewer connection
• transfers where the land is bush-adjacent and the title carries bushfire-related notifications
• title searches on larger and irregular parcels, including access and rights of carriageway

So the sequence matters here. Title first, then the shire and Water Corporation enquiries, then the questions that only come up once you can see what is actually registered. Rushing that order is how a problem surfaces in the last week instead of the first.

Neighbouring areas we work in include settlement agent Hacketts Gully, Bickley, Paulls Valley, Walliston and Pickering Brook.

The checks we run before settlement

Most of what a settlement agent does happens quietly in the background, which is exactly how it should feel. 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.

Licensed for all aspects of conveyancing in WA

We are licensed for every part of conveyancing in WA. The services clients ask for most:

• Lodgement at Landgate – Preparation and lodgement of documents for registration.
• Home settlements – Transfers of established houses, duplexes, townhouses and villa strata, for buyers and for sellers.
• Title searches – Shelley can search a title and explain what is registered against it before you commit.
• Vacant land settlements – Land purchases and sales, including contracts that are conditional on the title issuing.
• Selling – Private homes, commercial property and deceased estates, with documents signed at a time that suits you.
• Buying – Everything from the accepted offer through to registration of your name on the title.
• Application by survivorship – Transferring a property into the surviving owner’s name.

Shelley handles these personally rather than passing them down a chain, which is why clients tend to deal with the same voice from start to finish.

How it works when you are further out

From our Myaree office it is about roughly 35 km to Reservoir, 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:

Quick answers for buyers and sellers

What should I check on the title of a hills property?

More than you would on a standard suburban block. Access arrangements, easements, rights of carriageway and any notifications registered against the land all matter on larger hills parcels. We search the title and explain what is on it in plain terms before you are committed.

Do I pay transfer duty before settlement?

Not with us. We arrange stamping through State Revenue Online, so duty is dealt with as part of the settlement rather than needing to be paid beforehand.

Who tells the council and Water Corporation about the change of ownership?

We do, as part of the settlement. You do not need to contact them yourself, although you will want to arrange your own connections for power, gas and internet.

Don’t have time to get to an office?

Our services include Reservoir 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.