Your Settlement Agent in Scarborough

From offer to settlement day

Scarborough lies roughly 10 km north-west of the Perth CBD, within Perth’s northern suburbs. The settlement side of a sale is unglamorous, deadline-driven work, and it is what Jacaranda Settlements does every day.

With our office roughly 16 km to the south, we can meet you at home, including weekends, or handle everything 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 Scarborough. 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.

Scarborough property and the paperwork that comes with it

Property in Scarborough is typically an established home on a suburban lot, so settlements here usually turn on getting the standard checks done properly and on time rather than on unusual title issues.

In this part of Perth we are most often dealing with:

• older titles carrying notifications or encumbrances worth explaining before settlement
• subdivided lots being sold individually
• beachside apartments and villas where strata by-laws cover short-stay letting
• established green-title transfers
• survey-strata rear lots and shared driveway arrangements

That mix is why we do not treat any two Scarborough settlements as identical. An original green-title home, a rear survey-strata lot and a villa in a small group all settle differently, and the checks that matter change with each.

Practically, that means the title search goes out immediately, enquiries to the council and Water Corporation follow, strata figures are requested where there is a strata company, and the adjustments are calculated to the day so nobody pays for a period they did not own.

The same applies in the surrounding suburbs: Doubleview, Trigg, Karrinyup, Wembley Downs and Innaloo.

Behind the scenes of your settlement

There is a reason people do not do their own conveyancing, and it is not the difficulty of any single step. We check the title and anything registered on it, deal with the council, Water Corporation and any strata company, complete the verification of identity requirements, prepare and lodge the transfer, arrange transfer duty through State Revenue Online, produce the settlement statement, settle, and notify the authorities of the change of ownership.

Rates, water and strata levies are adjusted at settlement, so a buyer reimburses the seller for the portion of the year already paid. It surprises people, so we set it out clearly in the settlement statement rather than leaving it as a line item.

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.

The settlements we handle

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

• Buying – Everything from the accepted offer through to registration of your name on the title.
• 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.
• Application by survivorship – Transferring a property into the surviving owner’s name.
• Court order transfers – Transfers arising from a separation or family court order.
• Home settlements – Transfers of established houses, duplexes, townhouses and villa strata, for buyers and for sellers.

Not sure which of these applies to your situation? Call and describe the property, and we will tell you what is involved.

Where and when we meet you

Not everyone can get to an office between nine and five, and you should not have to. Our office is in Myaree, roughly 16 km from Scarborough, and we offer home appointments, including weekends, to sign documentation and to complete the verification of identity check sellers need, so there is no trip to Australia Post.

If it is easier to do everything remotely, that works too. Settlements in Western Australia are completed electronically, so you will not need to attend settlement itself. Call Shelley on 0428 336 878 to arrange a time that suits 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:

What buyers and sellers ask us most

The property is a rear survey-strata lot. Is that different to a normal transfer?

Slightly. A survey-strata lot has its own title, and there are often shared arrangements from the subdivision, such as a common driveway or shared services. We identify those and explain them before settlement.

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.

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 Scarborough 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.