Your property lawyer has an important part to play in the house buying process and lawyers rated a mention in many a Blog article in 2010. Here are the articles that highlight how helpful (and essential) a lawyer is when buying a house – read on and you will realise why it is a good idea to get a quality property lawyer early on in the house buying process and then make good use of them!

1. Your Property Lawyers Tips on House Buying Traps

Your property lawyer has experience in multiple house buying and selling transactions. They know all about what can go wrong, what things most commonly do go wrong, and what mistakes people make. This article has info on what a property lawyer thinks are the most common traps of house buying.

2. The Title Search

Here at Propertytoolbox we think it is really important to get a title check done really early on when you are thinking about buying a house - it is a cheap (and quite often free - if you have a nice lawyer) way of find out a lot about a property - it can really save you time and money as sometimes the title holds a few surprises! We tell all in this article 'A property title search - what is it?'

3. Lawyers & Settlement

Just what is your lawyer up to on settlement day? This is your lawyers big day in the house buying process - though they have helped you out with advice and a few checks up to this point - settlement day is the day where all the action happens! So just what happens? Find out here in our article on 'What happens on settlement day - the lawyer'.

These blog articles give some insight into what your lawyer is up to - the legal stuff re buying a house. If you want to find out more - check out the settlement section of the Propertytoolbox house buying guide.

Settlement day is the day that (all going to plan) money changes hands, the name on the title changes and you get the keys to your new home.

Wondering what your lawyer is up to on settlement day? This is what they should be sorting out for you:

• Your lawyer pays the vendor your money as per the settlement statement via the vendor’s lawyer. The vendor’s lawyer confirms receipt of the money.
• Your lawyer notifies you that settlement has occurred and you can now take possession of the property – usually by phone.
• The vendor’s lawyer now starts the process by which ownership of the property passes to you. They will release of the Landonline documents to your lawyer who immediately updates the documents with the discharge of the existing mortgage, the transfer of title to you, and (if you are borrowing money) registers the new mortgage against the title.
• The vendor's lawyer notifies the relevant Councils and Quotable Value of the sale and gives them of your details as the new owner of the property.
• Your lawyer then puts together a record of all the information gathered during the course of the transaction and sends this to you along with the bill.

So on settlement day there is quite a lot going on – no wonder, on the odd occasion, settlement doesn’t occur on the expected day.

Want to find out more about settlement day? We have a whole section dedicated to settlement day in our Propertytoolbox house buying guide.

Unfortunately settlement day sometimes has a few hitches and in a worst case scenario you could find that settlement does not occur as expected. There are many reasons that this can happen and it is usually that time just ran out for all the necessary things to be done to complete the settlement day transactions. This is particularly the case when a settlement involves a chain of house sale and purchases.

You need to prepare for this contingency. Have a backup plan, a place to stay, a few days overlap on your current accommodation. Remembering also that settlement is usually on a Friday, and if it does not occur, Monday is the next day available day for this to happen. This can be a real hassle! It is always best to give yourself a few days to move then you can be reassured that if settlement is delayed you are unlikely to be left out in the cold.

You may be liable for some costs if you do not settle on time. As a minimum there is penalty interest payable at a rate set out in your sale and purchase agreement – this rate is usually a premium interest rate far in excess of your mortgage interest rate. Additionally you could be liable for any expenses incurred by the vendor directly related to your late settlement for example storage and accommodation costs.

Sometimes, settlement may happen, but the vendor may have not moved out! There have been many people who have found themselves waiting in a moving truck outside their new home while the old owners were still moving out. This usually just means a long night of unpacking in the dark – but with a very disorganised vendor you may have to find alternative accommodation through no fault of your own.

Failing to settle, or not being able to move in when you planned, rarely happens, but if it does happen, make sure you are not left homeless!

For more tips, hints and handy advice for the house buying process – check out our house buying guide.