Yes. It certainly is important.

All settlements agents are to be licenced which gives them the ability for you to authorise them as an independent party to represent you in your property settlement transaction. A settlement agent will get you from contract to settlement by preparing all the legal documentation and monetary transfer required to effect settlement successfully.

A settlement agent is needed for all property ownership transfers as they prepare the legal documentation and complete the financial transaction between the seller and buyer to change the ownership of property. Given the level of expertise required, you need to ensure that your agent is fully qualified to complete such tasks so your interests are protected.

No, not at all.

It is your right to choose which settlement agent you would like to appoint.

If you wish to appoint us to act for you in the Settlement of your property, you will need to notify the selling Real Estate agent who will then forward the contract documentation to us. At that point, we will forward to you an Appointment to Act for you to complete and then we look forward to working alongside you through the transaction. If there is no selling Real Estate agent involved, please ensure that we receive a copy of the full contract document and any annexures to enable us to assist further.

Excellent news!

You will need to ask your financier to forward an approval letter to both us, and the selling Real Estate agent, so we can commence preparing further legal documentation such as Transfer of Land documentation etc.

Firstly, what is VOI?

VOI stands for ‘Verification Of Identity’. VOI has been put in place with the intention of reducing and better managing the risk of fraud in Western Australian property transactions.

It sets out the minimum requirements for identifying a seller or seller’s agent (ie. someone acting under a Power of Attorney) when dealing with property transactions, or a buyer when lodging a mortgage over a property.

When the VOI is performed in Australia (as is the case with most of our settlements), we can choose to perform the VOI ourselves. Real estate agents are not required to carry out VOI, although they are still required to follow the procedures set by their own office in relation to completing a 100 point ID check at the time of listing a property.

Many sellers, however, begin the settlement process unprepared to complete the VOI process.

If you’re a seller, ensure you confirm the location of your identity documents when you list your property for sale. If you don’t have identity documents, apply for them early, before the settlement process has begun.

By doing so, you can ensure a smooth and hassle-free settlement.

Find out more at Landgate’s website.