Property 
& Development

We have years of expertise advising on property and development issues from start to finish, from purchasing and developing land or creating and lodging a plan of subdivision. Andrews Crosthwaite Lawyers can assist you throughout the process and the many legal and commercial issues you might face.

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Our services to developers include:

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Buying and selling property (off the plan or otherwise)

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Off the plan purchases carry intrinsic risks for purchasers including:

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• Uncertainty and potential delays in completion;

• Insolvency of the developer or builder during construction/development;

• Changes occurring from what was advertised or included in the contract;

• A reduction in value of the property after contract date; and

• Refusal of the bank to provide finance at settlement because of a reduction in value or change in the purchaser’s circumstances.

 

Partition Agreement

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• A partition agreement is an agreement between property owners (tenants in common) to facilitate the transfer of portions of the land post subdivision to the various owners whilst taking advantage of certain exemptions in the Duties Act. In short, a partition agreement can assisting minimising stamp duty.  The concept is that, where property is jointly owned as tenants in common in whatever shares, those registered proprietors can, after the subdivision of that land, take real estate to that proportionate value free of value. The process involves the preparation of an agreement and dealings with the SRO followed, typically, by the transfer of the various lots to the particular owner and the re-organisation/refinancing of mortgages.

 

Easement and Easement Disputes

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• We have experience in dealing with easement disputes, that is, where an area of land is owned by one person, but another person or organisation is given the right to use that area of land for a specific purpose. A common example is drainage easements which give the Council the right to access or maintain drains.

 

Plans of Subdivision

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• A plan of subdivision allows a party to divide land into multiple new parcels of land that can be dealt with separately. Andrews Crosthwaite Lawyers can assist throughout the whole process including the lodgement and registration of the new lots. We often assist with the conveyancing of the new lots once the subdivision has been registered.

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