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What is conveyancing?

In legal terms, conveyancing is the transfer of real property. It is where the rights, title and interest in land are transferred from one legal entity to another.

You need a qualified practitioner to complete a transfer of real property and you will rely on them to review paperwork like the Contract of Sale and Form 1 (sometimes called a Vendors Statement). Your conveyancer should highlight any red flags or concerns within that documentation so that you are entering the transaction with your eyes wide open.

In Australia most transactions take place on digital property exchange platforms such as PEXA or Sympli. Your conveyancer will arrange for the legal transfer from the seller to the buyer and complete the settlement process – ensuring that all parties to the transaction come to the ‘virtual table’ at the same time.

Tell me more about the process:

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The conveyancing process explained.

Get your conveyancing sorted fast – online from start to finish and backed by a team of experienced SA conveyancers. Find out what’s involved in the conveyancing process and how conveyancingSA.com.au can ensure a smooth settlement for your property.

Our standard fee is $880(INCLUDES GST)

So how does it work?

We are South Australia’s first pure online conveyancing service. Being online we’re able to reduce overheads. You benefit with simplicity and lower fees.

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All online

Get your conveyancing sorted fast – online from start to finish and backed by a team of experienced SA conveyancers.

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Value for money

Being online we’re able to reduce overheads. You benefit with simplicity and lower fees.

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SA’s best conveyancers

We get conveyancing in South Australia. You can trust in our Adelaide-based conveyancers to take care of your property transactions in SA.

What is Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding (FRCGW) and what is a Clearance Certificate?

If you’re selling a property in South Australia valued at $750,000 or more, it’s important to understand Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding (FRCGW). This is a 12.5% tax applied to property sales where the vendor is a foreign resident, and the contract price meets or exceeds $750,000. The tax is designed to ensure that foreign sellers meet their tax obligations to Australia, as it can be difficult to recover tax debts from non-residents after they leave the country. The withholding secures a portion of the funds to mitigate this risk.

Since the threshold was lowered on 1 July 2017, FRCGW now affects all vendors in South Australia selling properties with a contract price of $750,000 or higher. Previously, the threshold was set at $2 million.

Vendors need to apply for a Clearance Certificate to avoid having 12.5% of the sale price withheld from their property proceeds. It can take up to 21 business days to receive the certificate, so the vendor or their conveyancer should apply as soon as possible after the contract is signed, especially in cases of shorter settlements.

In most cases, the process is straightforward, but delays may occur if the vendor hasn’t lodged a tax return in the past two years or owes tax. In these situations, the application is sent to a different section of the Australian Taxation Office, which may cause further delays.

If the Clearance Certificate is not available by the time of settlement, the transaction can still proceed. However, the purchaser’s conveyancer must withhold 12.5% of the sale price and remit it to the Australian Taxation Office at settlement.

I am buying my first home – is there stamp duty relief available in South Australia?

Yes! First home buyers may be eligible for a stamp duty relief on the transfer of land in certain circumstances. Here are the conditions under which you may be eligible:

  • Buying a new home* (this includes properties such as a house, flat, unit, townhouse or apartment).
  • Purchasing an off-the-plan apartment.
  • Securing both land and a new home together, typically under a comprehensive building contract.
  • Purchasing vacant land with the intent to build your new home on it.

*Note: The definition of a “new home” for the purpose of this relief may vary. It’s always a good idea to confirm the specific details as they pertain to your situation.  Find full details here: Stamp Duty Relief for First Home Buyers in SA.

Will conveyancingSA.com.au assist me with my application for stamp duty relief?

Absolutely! If you are eligible for Stamp Duty relief, conveyancingSA.com.au we will assist you with making your application. We have a dedicated team well-versed in the process and requirements for stamp duty relief applications and we will manage the entire application on your behalf for $55, including GST.

We recommend reaching out to our team at conveyancingSA.com.au for further information and to start the application process. We’re here to make your first home buying experience smoother and more affordable!

Stamp Duty Relief for First Home Buyers

Stamp Duty Relief for First Home Buyers

You might also be eligible for Stamp Duty relief as a First Home Buyer. Learn more about the eligibility criteria here First Home Buyer Stamp Duty Relief in South Australia

What is conveyancingSA.com.au?

conveyancingSA.com.au is South Australia’s first pure online conveyancing service. Its promise is simple, digital, stress-free property conveyancing with the client in the driver’s seat.

Created and developed in South Australia, our Adelaide conveyancing team is backed by SA’s largest property transaction provider. Our purpose is to assist buyers and sellers in their home purchase or in selling property, who wants more control, transparency and a faster, simpler way to do things.

Our clients follow the easy to understand directions in our portal to arrange online settlements with conveyancingSA.com.au. Because our service is 100% digital, we can price it very economically.

We are NOT a national outfit trying to cover the nuances of property transactions in all Australian markets, nor are we a marketplace for small-sized conveyancers. As the conveyancing process varies from state to state, our Adelaide SA team specialises in the South Australian market.

conveyancingSA.com.au is a standalone conveyancing firm, with an experienced team in dealing with the Adelaide and SA regional property market. Our company has invested heavily in technology and the development of the smarts to conduct conveyancing online – simply, reliably and without stress.

Why did you start conveyancingSA.com.au?

We wanted to create a conveyancing service that was efficient, convenient, transparent, and customer-friendly. With the rise of digital technology, we saw an opportunity to create an online platform that would make the process of buying and selling property easier for particular clients.

So we set out to create conveyancingSA.com.au – a service that would offer all of these things and more. We’re proud to say that we’ve been successful in our mission. We’ve provided great service for clients who need top-quality Adelaide conveyancing services for clients who prefer an online transaction at a lower cost. And we’re always looking for ways to make our service even better.

How much does conveyancingSA.com.au cost?

A residential buy or sell transaction is priced at $880 including GST.

Identity is verified online and clients can upload their own documents into the portal to conduct their transaction. Our fee covers up to two verifications and if there are more than two parties involved, a fee of $20 for each additional party will be charged.

We do not charge for additional items like liaising with your bank or storing your documents. We are upfront and transparent – there are no nasty surprises at conveyancingSA.com.au.

We value loyalty. If you add a transaction to one you are currently doing with conveyancingSA.com.au. (e.g. you are doing your purchase conveyancing through us and you sell a property before the property you are buying has settled), we will discount the second transaction by $100.

Who should use conveyancingSA.com.au?

conveyancingSA.com.au is ideal for standard residential transactions including those transactions with an incoming or outgoing mortgage.

Users of our conveyancing service are comfortable with conducting their business transactions online even when they are high value.

Our clients value being able to conduct their business out of hours and that suits our digital offering.

Because we have been able to streamline the conveyancing process digitally, our clients can expect to pay substantially less than a traditional conveyancing service.

How is conveyancingSA.com.au different?

We think we’re very different. South Australian conveyancing has a long and proud history and conveyancingSA.com.au is a natural extension of the very personalised and manual conveyancing services available in South Australia. But we are very different.

Increasingly consumers are becoming comfortable with managing their financial transactions in a digital environment and they appreciate the convenience that helps their busy lives. By transacting in a digital environment, our clients benefit from greater transparency in the progress of their transaction.

You can login at any time and see what stage your transaction is at and what comes next on the journey to settlement.

An added bonus is the savings that can be passed onto our clients because we have invested heavily in our technology.

Will I have a dedicated conveyancer?

In order to maintain our lower price structure we have created internal efficiencies including a Shared Services team.

Clients have access to a support email address for any queries (support@conveyancingSA.com.au).

The Shared Service concept means that if anyone is away or not at their desk, there will always be someone to answer your question.

There is shared visibility over your transaction and that means you’ll get an answer to your query fast.

Can I get help from a conveyancer if I need it?

You can be assured that behind your transactions there is a team of conveyancers who are licensed in South Australia.

Our conveyancers are all members of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers (SA). If you have any questions or concerns you can send an email or complete a webform and request assistance from our Shared Services team.

You’ll receive a notification each time we send you a message so you’ll have total visibility over the progress of your transaction and when we have any tasks for you to complete.

What should I know about your fee quotation?

Our information and our fee quotation is provided to you on the basis of the information you have supplied to us. If there is any variation to that information, and there is a need to revise our quotation, we will always contact you first to explain clearly the reasons for the variation and to gain your agreement before we continue.

When we quote you, we let you know about the third party charges you can expect to pay in addition to our professional fee. Take a look at the What Costs Should I Know About? section to learn more about the fees and charges that may be applicable to your purchase or sale. These fees are what we call Government and Statutory fees which means they’ll apply regardless of who is doing your conveyancing. We’ll help you work out just what those fees will be so that you won’t have any nasty surprises.

Why do you ask for so much stuff?

There are a number of important forms and information that we need from you to make sure that we conduct your transaction in line with legislation and regulations in South Australia and that we complete all of the required checking.

We know that some of this can be tedious, but you can be assured that we only ask for what is absolutely necessary.

The sooner you can provide the documents we require the better – this is so we can work together to avoid any delay to your settlement.

You can be assured that we will return information to you quickly from our side and if you can do the same, that will keep us on track.

We can also assure you that we take the greatest precautions with your data security and privacy. You’ll notice we ask you to register your account to sign up with two-factor authentication.

We will not take any chances with your data or your privacy.

Each time we request information from you, you’ll receive a notification from us to check into the conveyancingSA.com.au portal, to retrieve the message. Safe and secure.

That’s our promise – to keep you on track and informed.

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