The past two months have seen an enormous amount of changes to the property industry, and in particular, conveyancing transactions.
The release of the 2016 NSW State budget has seen the introduction of a 4% stamp duty surcharge on the purchase of residential real estate for foreign residents and a 0.75% land tax surcharge. As a method of monitoring foreign resident acquisitions all purchasers or persons otherwise acquiring property in NSW will now be required to complete a Purchaser Declaration and provide evidence of their citizenship.
Further, the Amendment of the Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2010 requires the Vendor to provide the Purchaser with a s47 Land Tax Clearance Certificate, which was previously the responsibility of the purchaser. The certificate does not need to be clear or show a nil balance for land tax liabilities but it does need to be provided to the Purchaser in the same year in which settlement is to take place and not be more than three months old.
For more information on conveyancing, or for assistance with the sale or purchase of a property
contact Rachael Thurn on 02 6331 2911.