Conveyancing & Property Law

The majority of our conveyancing transactions are the sale and purchase of residential properties.

As your conveyancer, Curwen Walker Conveyancing assist you throughout the entire process from the initial contract review or preparation until settlement day. This includes preparing and negotiating special conditions to protect you, providing assistance in obtaining finance approval or discharging your mortgage, and explaining the PEXA conveyancing platform and stamp duty in simple terms.

Aside from the standard residential conveyancing, we are also able to advise on important matters relating to commercial, industrial and agricultural conveyancing, including: water entitlements, the transfer of road and agricultural licenses, planning and zoning restrictions and lease terms.

We will work in conjunction with your accountant to ensure capital gains tax and GST considerations are adequately addressed.

Contracts and settlements for the sale and purchase of retirement village units usually differ from standard purchase and sale contracts. For example, settlements may involve the exchange of cheques and not take place via PEXA.

Curwen Walker Lawyers are able to liaise with the Retirement Village’s lawyers to ensure a smooth settlement.

The planning zone your property is in often dictates what you can and can’t do to your property. Curwen Walker Conveyancing are able to search and advise on any such restrictions.

We are also able to work with local Council to prepare and lodge your Section 173 Agreement. A Section 173 Agreement is often a condition of a planning permit you obtain if you wish to build on your property, and places restrictions on the development of the land.

Once you have engaged a surveyor to create your proposed Plan of Subdivision or Plan of Consolidation, we complete the process by preparing and lodging the proposed Plan with Land Use Victoria, and providing you with the newly issued titles once the Plan registers.

In more complex matters such as boundary realignments, Curwen Walker Conveyancing then complete a separate ‘NICO’ transfer to ensure the proprietorship on the titles matches the new Plan.

Prior to the commencement of the current Torrens Title system, land was referred to as ‘General Law Land’. At settlement, the ‘Deed of Conveyance’ would be added to a stack of past Deeds for the same property and this ‘Chain of Titles’ made up the title.

Since 1 January 2000, conversion from General Law Land to Torres Title land has been mandatory to be able to transfer the land. Curwen Walker Conveyancing are able to apply to Land Use Victoria for such conversion to occur, allowing you to sell your property.

Curwen Walker Conveyancing are able to prepare residential lease agreements which protect your interests as a landlord by including provisions for a bond payment and damage to the property.

Similarly, Curwen Walker Conveyancing are also able to ensure your legal protection if you are a tenant wishing to sign a proposed lease agreement.

If you are wishing to lease or rent a property such as a shed, warehouse, office space or industrial site, we are able to negotiate lease terms on your behalf to best protect and enhance your interests.

Whether you are buying or selling a business, we work closely with your accountant to ensure the business financial statements are accurate, and GST and lease implications are considered.

Curwen Walker Conveyancing also prepare or review the Contract of Sale for the business, and also the property on which the business operates (if relevant).

Following your family law matter, Curwen Walker Conveyancing are able to complete any property transfer required by Court Orders or a Binding Financial Agreement. Similar to standard residential conveyancing, these transfers take place online via PEXA, and will usually involve liaising with Banks to organise refinancing of a loan.

If you require a family lawyer, please visit the Family Law section of this website for further information.

Whether or not our Office handled your Deceased Estate matter, we are able to transfer any property from the deceased’s name to Executor of their estate, and then to beneficiaries in accordance with the Will, or remove the deceased person from title where there are a number of proprietors.

Curwen Walker Conveyancing understand such transfers often take place during a difficult time in people’s lives. We are here to explain every aspect of the transfer in simple terms, including costs, the online conveyancing platform, and stamp duty.

If you require an estates lawyer to assist with the administration of a deceased estate, please visit the Wills and Estates section of our website for further information.

Since 2016, Land Use Victoria has issued electronic titles rather than paper titles.

However, anyone wishing to sell or transfer a property purchaser prior to 2016 must produce the paper title for destruction. If you have lost your paper title, we are able to apply to Land Use Victoria for a new electronic title to be issued. This involves a number of searches being conducted, as well as statutory declarations and an application being prepared.

If you wish to guarantee a loan for a borrower who is a company or an individual who has insufficient equity or borrowing capacity, we are able to provide you with advice surrounding your obligations, the potential risks, costs and interest that you could be liable for as a guarantor. Following this advice, we will provide you with a Solicitor Certificate.

Curwen Walker Lawyers note that we cannot provide financial advice to you as to the viability of the loan and/or the borrower’s capacity to repay the loan. We highly recommend that you consult an Accountant or Financial Advisor for this purpose.