What happens at (electronic) settlement?

At settlement the parties to the Contract (the buyer and seller) fulfill their obligations.

The buyer and/or their lender (the Incoming Mortgagee) provides the balance of the purchase price (including the adjustments), and also pays the following amounts at electronic settlement:

• Stamp duty, if applicable
• Land Use Victoria fees:
  • Fees for any seller’s dealings, e.g. a Discharge of Mortgage or Withdrawal of Caveat
  • Transfer fee
  • Mortgage fee, if applicable
• Electronic settlement fee
• Conveyancer’s fees

The seller’s conveyancer or the Mortgagee on Title provides the Certificate(s) of Title in electronic form, converting each paper Certificate of Title to electronic form as necessary, and the seller’s conveyancer also arranges for the interested parties to provide all of the electronic dealings that will remove the mortgages and caveats from the Title(s).  In some cases the deposit (or that part of it not retained by the selling Agent to pay their invoice) is added to the settlement funds.

The funds comprising the balance of the purchase price (including the adjustments) and the deposit if applicable are distributed between the vendor, the interested parties (the mortgagee and/or caveator) and the rating authorities (e.g. Council, Water, Owner Corporation and Land Tax) that need to be paid.  All funds are transferred by EFT or BPay.

The electronic dealings and the Title(s) are lodged with Land Use Victoria as part of the settlement, and the dealings are usually registered immediately.  A new electronic Certificate or Certificates of Title showing the buyer as the registered proprietor is issued to the Incoming Mortgagee if applicable, otherwise to the buyer’s conveyancer.  The new Certificate(s) of Title can optionally be issued in paper form, but this is not recommended, as paper Certificates of Title are easily lost, are relatively difficult to transport, and are expensive to replace.

For trusted and reliable conveyancing services in Northcote, contact Glenferrie Conveyancing on 03 9815 2351 for more information.