Experienced conveyancing solicitor serving Canberra

Residential conveyancing in Canberra and NSW

At KJB Law, we can help you buy and sell existing residential properties in Canberra and New South Wales.

When acting for a seller, we ensure that the contract for sale is prepared in accordance with the relevant legislative requirements. Our process is designed to draw out any issues (legal or otherwise) which may be a cause for concern and bring them to your attention so that there is no unnecessary delay in your sale. If you're buying a property, we fully review the contract for sale to ensure that the seller’s title is legal, the property accords with your understanding of what you propose to buy, and that there are no hidden surprises.

Buying or selling a house can be a complicated process, but at KJB Law we'll help you every step along the way.

Vacant land, contemporaneous building contracts, house/land packages

At KJB Law, we can also help you with conveyancing for vacant land, or guide you through the process of buying off the plan or entering into a separate building contract.

Previously, it was more common for properties being sold off-the-plan to be covered by one contract whereby the buyer paid most of the purchase price after the property was built. This is still common for the purchase of units off the plan. For houses, it is now more common for the transaction to be structured with the buyer first buying the land and the house then being built under a separate building contract. 

There are pros and cons for each type of transaction. However, what these two methods of purchase have in common is that these contracts are usually lengthy, complex, and involve numerous potential traps for a buyer. As such, we believe it's crucial that you get specialised advice before embarking on this process.

Mortgage advice

We can help and guide you with advice on mortgage documentation, including:

• ​new loans;
  
• existing loans;
  
• discharge of mortgage;
  
• loan guarantees;
  
• independent legal advice; and
  
• family loans/gifts.
  

Should you or your incoming mortgagee require a buyer to get legal advice on loan documents (or guarantee documents), we can help. However, please note that where we're acting for you, the buyer in the conveyancing transaction; we cannot then advise the guarantors on the guarantee as the incoming mortgagee will require the guarantors to be independently advised by a different law firm.

We work with mortgage brokers in the planning stages for a loan application or pre-approval. Where buyers are being helped by family to buy a home, those family members who are helping usually want some form of assurance that if their, for example, child enters into/is in a relationship which subsequently ends, that the benefit given does not end up with the former partner.

Those family members also generally want some degree of certainty that should their child get into financial trouble that as much as possible of the money provided is recoverable by the family so that they can help again, another day. There are a number of options open to achieve that. We can help in suggesting options appropriate to the individual circumstances.

Leasing of residential and commercial premises

We're able to help landlords and tenants in relation to problems arising with residential tenancies, informing them of their rights and obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997.

Where a dispute is not able to be resolved amicably, we're can represent landlords and tenants in the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which has exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all matters arising from residential tenancies.

At KJB Law, we can also help landlords and tenants with the leasing of commercial premises in Canberra and New South Wales. This includes preparing the requisite disclosure statement and lease, or reviewing and advising on documents prepared by others, and helping with negotiation of amendments and execution of the documents.

In addition to acting in relation to new leases, we also act on matters involving the assignment of existing leases, which frequently go hand in hand with the sale or purchase of a business.

Land development and subdivision

We can help clients with the legal work associated with developing land.

Our services include assisting developers with the Unit Titling (ACT)/Strata Titling (NSW) of land as well as the consolidation or subdivision of larger blocks. Land development is usually a team effort involving lawyers, surveyors, and the client.

At KJB Law, we can work as part of that team to achieve the client's goals or, where so instructed, provide guidance as to the next steps and which part of that team is best able to help.