Property · Conveyancing
Conveyancing lawyers in Gawler.
Buying or selling a home is the biggest contract most families ever sign. We read it before you do, tell you what each clause means for you, and run the settlement through to the keys. Fixed fee, quoted first.
What we handle
A lawyer on your contract, from signing to settlement.
Conveyancing is the legal work of moving a property from one owner to another: the contract, the vendor's statement, the searches, the money and the transfer. For a simple sale a conveyancer is often enough. We are lawyers, so when something stops being simple, such as a finance clause that does not work, a defect found at the final inspection or a family member lending part of the deposit, the person who has been reading your file can deal with it.
For buyers, we check the contract and the Form 1 (the vendor's statement) before you sign or while you can still cool off, explain the finance and building inspection conditions, work through stamp duty and any first home buyer relief with you, and handle settlement with your bank. For sellers, we prepare the Form 1, answer the buyer's questions and make sure the settlement figures are right.
Much of the new housing around Gawler is sold as house-and-land: a land contract and a separate building contract, each with its own conditions and deadlines. We read the two together, because the costly problems we see tend to come from the gap between them.
If you are here because…
Three moments people call us about a property.
You have been handed a contract to sign.
Send it to us before you sign. We can usually read a residential contract and ring you back within 24 hours, with the clauses that matter marked. Once it is signed, the cooling-off window is short, and there is none at all if you bought at auction.
You are building in one of the new estates.
A house-and-land purchase is two contracts with two sets of deadlines. If the land contract becomes unconditional before your building finance is approved, you can be committed to land you cannot afford to build on. We check both before either one binds you.
Something was wrong at the final inspection.
The heating does not work, a fixture has gone, or there is damage that was not there when you signed. What you can do depends on the contract and on timing, which is usually a matter of days. Call before settlement, not after.
Common questions
What buyers and sellers ask on the first call.
We quote a fixed fee for standard residential conveyancing before we start, with search fees and government charges listed separately so you can see the total. House-and-land, off-the-plan and family transfers are quoted once we have seen the documents.
For a straightforward sale, a registered conveyancer does the job well. A lawyer is worth it when something is not straightforward, or might become so: a dispute with the other side, a building contract, a family loan, a deceased estate or a separation. We can handle all of those without referring you on.
For most residential purchases in South Australia, yes: within two clear business days after the later of signing the contract and being served the Form 1 (the vendor's statement). There is no cooling-off when you buy at auction, other exceptions apply, and the vendor can keep a small part of the deposit. Ask us before you rely on it.
Usually once, for the identity check and to sign the authority that lets us act for you, at our office at 1 Adelaide Road, Gawler South. The rest happens by phone and email, and settlement itself is completed electronically. You get a call when it has settled.
Gawler and the towns and suburbs around it, including Hewett, Evanston, Willaston, Roseworthy, Angle Vale, Two Wells and the Barossa, and properties anywhere in South Australia.
It can. Your bank will want to know whether the money is a gift or a loan, and the answer affects what happens if you later separate or if a parent dies. We can put the arrangement in writing as part of the purchase.
We'll call you back the same business day.
Tell us briefly what's happening. Steven will call you back for a free 15-minute conversation, the same business day. No obligation, no pressure to engage us afterwards.
For certain matters, new national rules mean we verify your identity before we start acting. What to expect →
Thank you. We'll be in touch today.
Your message is with our team. If it's urgent, you're welcome to call us directly on (08) 8522 6025.