Recent adjustments to stamp duty across NSW and Victoria aim to kickstart the economy and Real Estate Agents, property lawyers and conveyancers will benefit.
In Victoria, stamp duty will be slashed up to 50%, but this will only apply to newly built homes up to the value of $1 million and will be available until June 2021. Alternatively, those in Victoria buying pre-existing homes can expect to receive a 25% discount, again up to $1 million.
In NSW, stamp duty reforms are still underway with final decisions being announced in March, but under the current proposal, home buyers will be able to choose if they would prefer to pay stamp duty or an ongoing annual land tax.
It is hoped that these changes will bring people back into the property market, which suffered heavily during the height of COVID-19.
There has also been reported growth in the number of properties coming into the market now consumer confidence has recovered. Real Estate Agents are seeing an influx of requests for settlements to take place during the Christmas and New Year period as well as for interstate service as people look to move with remote working now normalised.
If you’re noticing growth in the number of clients approaching you for property matters and struggling with the volume or don’t currently have the expertise on board to assist with interstate matters, there is a solution.
SettleIT is smart technology that allows you to outsource any upcoming lodgments and property settlements – both manual and electronic. This means if you have never completed an electronic settlement before, or you can’t meet the relevant people face to face to complete a manual settlement, you can rely on the Australian-based team at SettleIT to act under your instructions, post unconditional contract exchange.
SettleIT can help maintain profitability throughout the holiday period as the team will be working throughout December and January, so you don’t have to. With over 100 years of combined experience, SettleIT can help your firm handle more volume and can assist when times are busy or when cover is needed.
If you’re looking to expand your services to interstate lodgments and settlements, you can do so without registering with an ELNO. The SettleIT team are registered and can use their own accounts to do this for you.
Similarly, if you are seeing substantial growth in your property matters and already have annual leave booked, did you know you can keep those matters moving forward by verifying identity remotely? With remote verification of identity (VOI) technology WebVOI, there is no need to plan face to face meetings that impact your summer break.
The property industry is one of the most frequently targeted industries for fraud activity. This is due to the large amounts of money being transferred between people and the transparent nature of the industry.
Lee Bailie, Head of Securexchange, a smart technology helping lawyers, conveyancers, real estate agents, buyers and sellers to keep their property safe from cyber activity, says, “Every transaction is listed on a major listing site, so every property in the market and their agent is available for everyone to see, including scammers. Private documentation and contract requirements make it more vulnerable. There’s also a lot of parties involved meaning more chance for things to go wrong.”
Securexchange is a multi-award-winning technology that offers end-to-end property services in one simple, secure platform. As an easy-to-use, secure, collaborative workspace, Securexchange provides you with one place to request, share, sign and exchange all documents and funds involved in a property matter.
What makes Securexchange unique is that users are invited into the workspace. So, rather than sending trust account details or contracts, via email, where they could be intercepted by hackers – all parties are invited into the workspace to complete the relevant tasks associated with a property exchange. Since the launch in March 2018, Securexchange has protected over 5000 parties involved in property deals since March 2018. It keeps all property deposit funds and private documents 100% safe from hackers, backed by a financial guarantee.
Catherine Martin of CV Martin Legal Services said, “Securexchange has been most helpful for my business. It has not only made things easier, more efficient and secure, but it has eliminated a lot of issues that have arisen.”
If your clients are looking to buy a new home, it pays to do your due diligence and work with smart technology that can support your firm. Your firm’s profitability doesn’t have to take a break simply because you would like to, and you don’t need to risk losing new clients because of volume and limited with resourcing. There are easy ways to ensure your firm can move property matters forward without you being heavily involved.
