Contact Us

In short, absolutely nothing. They are different terms for the same function during the settlement process and are interchangeable terms.
What does a settlement agent/conveyancer do?
We know we’ve done our job well when it seems to our customers that we’ve hardly done anything at all. You sign some documents, complete an identity check with us and before you know it, your settlement is done! But if it goes that smoothly, it’s because your conveyancer has done an awful lot behind the scenes. Settlement agents, as well as preparing documents for you to sign and verifying your identity, also liaise with real estate agents to ensure conditions of your contract are completed and your bank to make sure they have completed all their paperwork with you and are ready to settle on time. We also make sure the right documents are lodged at the right time and that the money goes where it needs to at settlement. Additionally, we liaise with the ATO and RevenueWA to make sure stamp duty and tax obligations associated with the contract are correctly paid on your behalf. We do all this and more, whilst maintaining communication with you at all times.

Whilst you can conduct your settlement yourself, the ever-expanding list of obligations required by both buyers and sellers during the settlement process makes it more and more likely that those self-conveying will miss a vital part of the process which causes delays to settlement resulting in financial penalties. Typically, people who decide to self-represent will end up engaging the services of a conveyancer once they realise how overwhelming the process can be, which usually ends up costing more in the long run as the settlement agent must pick up a settlement that may have errors that need rectifying. Our extensive experience and team of experts means that we know exactly what we need to do to get you settled on time and without a fuss.

At settlement, legal documents that transfer a property from one party to another are lodged at Landgate (the Land Registry Office in Western Australia) at the same time that payment for the property is disbursed to the seller. In the past, this was a physical exchange of documents and bank cheques in Perth CBD; the settlement agents for the buyer and the seller, along with any banks on each side, would meet in a room and swap the transfer documents for bank cheques. Although this is still sometimes the case, more typically we now settle electronically which means the legal documents are lodged through an electronic portal whilst the seller’s funds are deposited directly into their account.
How long does the settlement process take?
It depends on the timeframes stated on the property contract and whether any banks are involved, but typically a sale or purchase of property takes six to eight weeks from signing a contract to settlement.

A property is one of life’s largest assets and so it’s important to protect against fraud. Settlement agents are required to verify the identity of any person selling property to guard against scammers fraudulently selling property that does not belong to them. Additionally, we are required to identify both buyers and sellers as there are a number of documents that we are required to digitally sign on your behalf at settlement and therefore, we need to know that we are signing on behalf of the correct person, which we can only do once you have been identified. We have an obligation to store your personal data securely so rest assured that we will adhere to best practices for data protection.