As you all know, the COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact worldwide. Even though the restrictions are currently easing in Queensland, unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic may still have a significant effect on your conveyance and for that reason we are here to help you out more than ever!
How can we help you during the COVID-19 pandemic with your sale?
To ensure that we can assist our clients with the same level of service during COVID-19 as we do other times, we have:
- kept both our Brisbane and Sunshine Coast offices open with normal operating hours so that we are able to be contacted with ease at any time;
- with limited availabilities for Justices of the Peace and Commissioners for Declarations, we have been available for the witnessing of any legal documents which we would have otherwise not been involved with which has greatly assisted sellers in meeting timeframes for conditions and settlement under the contract;
- taken extra precautions to ensure that any client meetings be spaced out in our large boardrooms with no physical contact;
- implemented client meetings via Skype, Zoom and Microsoft teams;
- set up our IT systems to ensure you are able to contact us and work with us wherever you may be;
- used PEXA (more information on PEXA can be found here) to ensure that there has been no face to face contact, unless absolutely necessary with clients or other parties; ‘PEXA’ stands for Property Exchange Australia and is the only Electronic Lodgement Network and is a faster and smoother way for matters to settle opposed to physically attending settlement and exchanging physical documents;
- been using online verification of identity by sending links to your phones and emails so that you do not have to physically attend our office or a Post Office.
Is there anything extra needed to be done by you?
You don’t have to physically do anything extra, however there are more factors for you to take into consideration prior to signing a contract during these times.
Some of these factors are:
- longer timeframes for finance, building and pest and any other condition under the contract as they could be impacted by further closures or unavailability of parties (including financiers) for buyers, therefore there may be delays on your sale;
- special conditions specifically regarding any change of circumstances which may come around under COVID-19; and
- the preparation of the release of mortgage by your mortgagee (if any) may take longer and may impact the timeframe for settlement, therefore it is crucial you sign the release of mortgage as soon as possible once you have a fully executed contract of sale.
It is important that you speak with us first so that we can provide you with the relevant advice and guidance prior to signing a contract to try and work around these factors during the pandemic.
Selling a property? Who should you speak to?
If you are getting cold feet or sweating over entering into a contract, contact us. We will be able to walk you through the process and make sure that you’ve got all the conditions and timeframes you need to protect you by ensuring that you make all enquiries in relation to your sale.
Our team have assisted thousands of people sell their house, unit or land over the past 25 years. Contact our team of experienced property lawyers and conveyancers to discuss your property sale during COVID-19.
The information provided in this article is for general information and educative purposes in summary form on legal topics which is current at the time it is published. The content does not constitute legal advice or recommendations and should not be relied upon as such. Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of this article, FC Lawyers cannot accept responsibility for any errors, including those caused by negligence, in the material. We make no representations, statements or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of the information and you should not rely on it. You are advised to make your own independent inquiries regarding the accuracy of any information provided on this website. FC Lawyers does not guarantee, and accepts no legal responsibility whatsoever arising from or in connection to the accuracy, reliability, currency, correctness or completeness of any material contained in this article. Links to third party websites or articles does not constitute any endorsement or approval of those sites or the owners of those sites. Nothing in this article should be construed as granting any licence or right for you to use that content. You should consult the third party’s terms and conditions of use in relation to any third-party content. FC Lawyers disclaims all responsibility and all liability (including liability for negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages and costs you might incur as a result of the information being inaccurate or incomplete in any way. Appropriate legal advice should always be obtained in actual situations.
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