Agreement for sale and purchase
A written and binding contract that forms the basis for a sale and purchase.
Back up offer
An agreement that becomes effective when an earlier agreement falls through.
Certificate of title
The “ownership papers” that record all of the official details of a property.
Commission
The fee charged by a real estate agent. It can be a fixed fee, or a percentage of the sale price, or a combination of both
Covenant
A restriction on the title to land that describes the obligations and rights affecting a property
Fee Simple Title
Land that is owned outright without another’s interests associated with it.
Enduring Powers of Attorney
A document that allows decisions to be made by another person on behalf of you. Authority can be given over your property or to assist in matters of your care and welfare.
Leasehold
Land that is owned by someone else to whom a person pays a fee for the right to occupy.
Cross Lease
When more than one person owns the same piece of land and each person leases a part of the land from the co owners.
Unit Title
Each person owns their own unit, apartment or shop. There is a body corporate to whom each owner pays a fee to cover things such as insurance, rates and maintenane on common use areas.
Timeshare
A person purchases the right to use a property for a particular time of each year
Strata Title
A type of ownership devised for multi storey apartment buildings and horizontal subdivisions and where there are also areas of common use
Land Information Memorandum (LIM) report
This is a report produced by the local council that contains informaton about the land and environment where a particular property is situated.
Mortgage
This represents the security that a lender has over property. The mortgage is registered against the title of the property and needs to be discharged or cancelled when the property changes hands
Mortgagee
The lender, often a bank, who has a mortgage over a property
Mortgagee sale
The sale of a property by a mortgagee whose loan agreement with the property owner has been breached. This gives the mortgagee a right to sell the property.
Mortgagor
The owner of a property who has borrowed money and who has a mortgage against a property.
Possession date
The date of the actual change of ownership of a property when a new owner can move in.
Purchaser
The person buying a property.
Pre-nuptial agreement / Property Relationship Agreement
A document that defines who will own which assets in the event that a relationship breaks down.
Vendor
The person selling a property.
Will
A legal document that is drawn up to distribute assets after a person’s death.