Areas of Law

Property Law

At MacDonald Law we are passionate about property law. Our passion extends to all property, whether that be commercial, residential or rural. We understand that you are excited about your possible purchase or sale and sometimes that can mean that you miss the ‘small stuff’. Our Conveyancing Team are excellent at ensuring that your transaction proceeds smoothly. We do the checks and balances of all property law matters for you. This means that you can stay focused on the ‘bigger picture’ and know that our knowledgeable team are taking care of your transaction for you.

Our Approach

Our team will work with you on a day to day basis to ensure that your conveyancing transaction runs smoothly. This can be via paper or electronically. Our Director, Sarah-Jane MacDonald, oversees all of the property department and ensures that legal issues which may arise from time to time are dealt with expertly and swiftly. Sarah-Jane and Ashleigh are adept at problem solving and will work with you to navigate and overcome any difficulties which may arise throughout the process.

More complex property matters such as Retirement Village acquisitions or sales, commercial or retail shop leases are handled by our Solicitor Stephanie Wentzel.

Our firm is a registered electronic conveyancing provider and an in-house stamp duty self-assessor as approved by the Queensland Government. These skills help us to ensure your property transaction is as seamless as possible. We hope to be able to support you through your real property or business transaction by providing clear legal advice, plain English explanations and a stress free service.

Ashleigh loves all things real estate, and is excited to help you through your property law transaction.

What We Service

Buying a house or finalising that business deal can be exciting; but it is filled with complicated documents like Contracts, Leases or Agreements. We are able to provide you with advice regarding these documents or the process in plain English. This will help you to feel empowered and focused in your transaction.

We work with property owners and prospective buyers on a daily basis and can ensure your property interests are protected. When you have an initial draft contract, you are able to have the real estate agents send it to our team. We will review it, provide feedback and comprehensive legal advice on how you should move forward.

Alternatively, if you do not have an agent involved in the transaction, we are able to draft the contract for you, based on your instructions.

We are able to work with co owners, or on behalf of individual property owners only. On the flipside, we also can work with co purchasers, or individual purchasers only. It really is up to you to decide who you engage, and finding a property law team that works for you is important.

If you are specifically looking for assistance about conveyancing matters, you can find more information here.

Areas

Commercial & Business Conveyancing
Leases - commercial and retail shop leases
Residential Conveyancing
Rural Conveyancing
Real property
investment properties

Testimonials

"These guys have done conveyancing for me on a number of occasions, Ash works very hard and always meets deadlines and communicates well throughout the whole process. Would absolutely recommend if you are buying or selling property." - Hayden

"I was quite happy with the conveyancing work performed by Mac Law. This sale ended up being a somewhat protracted contract that Ashleigh stayed on top of the whole time and I was always informed on what was going on in the background." - Ryan

"MacDonald Law were prompt, professional and most importantly easy to work with!

We live remotely as well as interstate, and 100% will use them for further ventures." - Kat

Costs

$330 for an consultation for advice only
Fixed fee options available
Please book an initial consultation for us to be able to accurately quote you for any commercial or rural matters.

Want to request an initial consultation?

Initial Consultation

Frequently Asked Questions

What is conveyancing?

Conveyancing is the term used to describe the legal process of transferring the legal ownership of real estate from one person (the Seller) to another (the Buyer).

Who prepares the contract?

The contract is usually prepared by the real estate agent. However, if there is no real estate agent involved, then the contract can be prepared by the lawyer for either the Buyer or the Seller. Regardless of who prepares the contract, we recommend you obtain independent legal advice prior to signing the contract. Once fully signed, all of the parties are bound by very strict legal obligations to one another.

Can I accept another offer on my house, if I already signed a Contract to sell with someone else?

In short - No. You are not able to have multiple contracts on foot for the sale of your real property. A Seller can negotiate prior to signing to include a 'sunset' clause which enables them to continue marketing the property and accept a better offer, in certain circumstances. This is not a standard clause in a standard contract and you would need a lawyer to draft a requisite clause prior to signing if you wanted it to be included.

What is the cooling off period?

Cooling off period start and end dates can be impacted by weekends, public holidays and when you receive a signed copy of the contract by both the Buyer and Seller.

⠀

You must give notice terminating the Contract to the Seller or the Sellers solicitors by 5pm on the fifth business day of your cooling off period commencing. If you fail to do so your cooling off period will expire.

A cooling-off period is only for the buyer, not the seller. Once a seller has signed the sale contract, they cannot back out unless other conditions allow it. Once it lapses, the buyer must go through with the purchase as detailed in the terms of the contract. While the cooling off period does allow the buyer to terminate the Contract at their discretion without providing a reason for termination, there are specific guidelines on how it must be done.

Do I need a special condition if I am thinking about using funds from a family law property settlement to purchase the new property?

It’s still essential to seek guidance from a conveyancer before doing something potentially risky. If something happens and funds are delayed, we need to ensure we have the legal grounds to terminate the contract if we have to.

Should I have a lawyer look over our contract before we sign?

We absolutely recommend that you have a member of our team have a look at the contract and explain to you the conditions prior to signing. In some instances, you may not be able to terminate a contract if you later realise that there are some issues, or there can be significant fees involved with the process. Most people take up the offer to have legal advice prior to signing, but if you choose not too, this does not make the contract invalid.

I have paid my mortgage but my Solicitor says that there is still a mortgage on title. Is this right?

Yes, in many instances this is often right. When you pay out your mortgage, there is no automatic removal of the Mortgage from the title of your property. This is an additional step and costs money to lodge with the Titles Registry. Oftentimes, people do not realise this and so the formal document remains registered. If you go to sell the property, this has to be removed and the fee for the bank to do so, is paid at settlement.

What is transfer duty and do I have to pay it?

Under the standard contact of sale, transfer duty is payable by the buyer of the property. This is in accordance with laws set by the Queensland Government. The amount of stamp duty payable is determined by the purchase price of the property, together with a consideration of any stamp duty concessions you may be entitled to. Calculate your stamp duty and find out more about stamp duty concessions.

When is the contract date?

Unless otherwise specified, the contract is dated on the day it is signed by both parties (eg, both the Buyer and Seller).