Can I buy, sell, lease or otherwise deal with property during this time?

We’re still within the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but you can still buy, sell, lease or otherwise deal with property during this time.

The government has pressed the pause button on group physical inspections and auctions but private inspections (subject to physical distancing requirements), virtual tours and online auctions are going ahead.

The exchange or use of original documents has been greatly reduced during COVID-19. Banks, finance companies and businesses are generally insisting that customers use electronic or online systems to verify documentation. This process greatly reduces or eliminates the risk of passing on the virus. It is an equally important time for real estate agents to ensure parties to sale contracts do the same for property transactions.

Electronic conveyancing provides a simple, non-contact way to complete sales, purchases, leases and other property transactions. PEXA (Property Exchange Australia) is Australia’s online property exchange network and helps lawyers, conveyancers and other professionals lodge transfer documents with Land Registries and complete financial settlements digitally. Here in Victoria, the use of e-conveyancing is now mandatory for most standard transactions involving real property, with paper settlements becoming a rarity. This is good news considering the current circumstances.

Robertson Hyetts is an experienced PEXA electronic conveyancing firm. We’ve been using PEXA since it first began operation in regional areas and were recognised as one of the PEXA Top Peer Rated Firms in 2019. This approach streamlines the process for you.

Our conveyancing and property lawyers can walk you through conveyancing, leasing, commercial and residential land development and other property transactions.

Other benefits include:

Time and cost-effectiveness: e-conveyancing avoids the need for travel and physical attendances involved in drawing cheques, attending physical settlement and lodging documents with land titles offices.

Adaptability: documents can be quickly and easily amended, added to or removed from an electronic workspace as a transaction evolves, often without the need for documents to be physically printed and signed.

Automation: documents are lodged and funds are dispersed automatically and immediately on completion of the electronic settlement.

Simultaneous settlements: in the past, co-ordinating multiple settlements in different locations where each is conditional on the other (such as where a purchase is conditional upon the contemporaneous sale of another property) could be a major logistical hurdle. E-conveyancing systems allow this process to be automated, with settlements completed instantly and automatically only if and when each other “linked” settlement is also ready to complete.

To process your conveyancing, leasing, land development and other property needs, phone or email Robertson Hyetts in Castlemaine on 5472 1588 or Bendigo on 5434 6666.