Property lawyer secrets: Did you know that debt transfers to you? It is important when you sign a contract for your solicitor to conduct searches on the property. The general searches on the property will be for land tax, rates, water, and body corporate if there is a body corporate on the property. The reason this is important is because once settlement happens and your name goes on title, any outstanding amounts for rates, water, land tax, and body corporate will transfer to you, the buyer.

Why it's important to get your solicitor involved early is to make sure they have the time to conduct those investigations in searches and make sure the seller pays their fair share of any outstanding amounts before settlement or as part of settlement. If you'd like more information on how you can be impacted by outstanding amounts on the property or what the searches reveal in addition to outstanding amounts, please reach out to our friendly team.