Conveyancing (Buying & Selling Property)

Buying or selling real estate is a major financial transaction. The wrong advice can result in costs that range from tens of thousands, to millions of dollars. The best thing you can do to minimize your risk is to obtain the best professional advice available.

At Thornton + King, we are market leading property law and conveyancing specialists.

Your Experts in Buying and Selling Property – Why choose us?

• There are over 18,000 law firms in Australia. In the 2024 Australian Law Awards our property law and conveyancing team was ranked in the top 10 Australia wide.

• We have more Law Society Accredited Property Law Specialists than any other boutique law firm in Australia.

• We complete over $2billion of real estate transactions each year, and our award-winning firm has a history of providing advice on property law transactions which dates back to 1924. There is nothing in property law that we haven’t seen or done before.

• Our lawyers are recognised as industry leaders and are often called upon by the Law Society of NSW and other organisations to teach courses to the legal profession on property law and conveyancing best practices. Several of our lawyers serve on committees at the Law Society of NSW where they can draw upon their decades of expertise to influence law reform and policy.

Who we work with

• While we have acted for everyone from first home buyers to billion-dollar property funds and government organisations, we excel at providing commercial and highly specialised advice to serious property investors and developers, high-net-worth individuals, and family offices. We are in our element when we can act as trusted legal advisor, providing you with a combination of practical guidance and detailed technical expertise.

• We work best when we understand your commercial objectives and can help you with your entire property portfolio – including acquisitions, leasing, and sale of assets. We provide personalised and specialist advice based on your property objectives.

• If we agree to work with you, there’s no job too big or small. Our lawyers have experience doing property deals ranging from leasing a small coffee cart to selling CBD office towers.

Conveyancing for Buyers

When acting on the purchase of a property, we make the following promises to our clients:

1. We provide clear, detailed, and thorough advice, much quicker than other legal and conveyancing firms. This is because we are specialists. We are able to accommodate urgent, same day requests.

2. We run through your contract with you over the phone to ensure that you fully understand your purchase.

3. We negotiate on your behalf to ensure that your contract meets your commercial objectives and protects your interests.

4. We draw upon over a century of experience providing advice in property transactions, to deliver commercial insights and give you a competitive edge on your purchase.

Conveyancing for Sellers

One of the key elements for a swift and successful sale is a correctly prepared contract. At Thornton + King, our team of Accredited Specialists in property law draw upon their decades of experience to prepare a contract that is tailored to your individual needs, and the unique characteristics of your property.

An incorrectly prepared contract can have many consequences, and may include:

1. Breaching the warranties or disclosure obligations in the Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation, causing buyers to get out of the contract or sue you for breach of contract or warranty. This may unexpectedly trigger commission payments to your real estate agent despite contracts falling through.

2. Financial or other legal consequences under the contract due to failure to comply with your contractual obligations.

3. Scaring away potential buyers due to poorly drafted or unfair contract terms. This will result in less competition for your property which will likely lead to a lower sale price.

Once the contract is issued to buyers and their lawyers or conveyancers commence negotiation, it’s also important that you have an experienced property lawyer representing your interests to ensure that buyer’s requests can be responded to quickly and efficiently, to keep momentum in the sale process, and while also ensuring that your legal interests are protected.

Conveyancing Matters We Help With

Thornton + King’s team of specialist property lawyers and senior licensed conveyancers can assist you with your commercial or residential property. Our team can assist with all types of property and conveyancing transactions, including:

• Residential, retail, commercial, and industrial property transactions

• Review of property purchase contracts, including same-day contract reviews.

• Preparation of property sale contracts

• Negotiating contract amendments

• Advice in relation to strata inspection reports

• Independent legal advice for guarantor or loan documents

• Grant eligibility and advice on stamp duty exemptions

• Advice regarding foreign buyer surcharges (Purchaser surcharge duty and surcharge land tax), and the Foreign Investment Review Board

• Off the plan sales and purchases

• Company title conveyancing transactions