So you’ve been fortunate enough to purchase a property and now you have to negotiate the world of legal jargon! One of our most frequently asked questions is ‘What are disbursements?’
In summary, these are costs incurred by your lawyer or licensed conveyancer above the general conveyancing service fee. Briefly the general fee covers: reviewing and negotiating the contract; investigating the title in detail; keeping in contact with the bank; attending to stamp duty requirements; preparing, stamping and lodging all necessary transfer documentation; arranging and attending to settlement; and overseeing registration of the title into your name.
There is no set fee for a conveyance and this varies greatly. It should be noted that choosing a lawyer or licensed conveyancer based on their fee is not always the wisest path to take! It is a complicated process and a lot can go wrong so having an experienced team who are not cutting corners is definitely the best option.
Disbursements cover a range of activities that are carried out during the conveyance process including:
Obtaining certificates from the government (e.g. title search) and other public authorities (e.g. local council, road, electricity, and water authorities);
Property Transfer and Mortgage registration;
Administrative expenses such as mailing, photocopying and physically attending the settlement;
Organising building and pest inspections; and
Obtaining strata reports where relevant.
All this ‘information gathering’ by your lawyer or licensed conveyancer is excellent due diligence allowing you to make an informed choice about your purchase.
At Jenkins Legal Services we include these searches on your property in ‘Disbursement Costs’, which are costs we are charged by an external third party. We order all searches we deem necessary and of course, make no money from our searches.
If you would like a stress-free conveyance, call our office today to speak to one of our property lawyers or licensed conveyancer.