Confused real estate agents bombard conveyancers over seller disclosure
Question marks over the level of resources in legal and conveyancing industry needed to adopt Seller Disclosure as deadline looms.
CONVEYANCERS are being bombarded almost daily by real estate agents who are seeking clarification about the incoming seller disclosure regime.
“I’ve got agents emailing me almost every second day going, ‘George, how much does it cost? How long will it take? Are you doing it? What do we do?’” said Brisbane solicitor George Sourris.
The shake-up under the Property Act 2023 highlights the need for consumer education alongside roadshows and training for property professionals.
With just 11 weeks to go before Queensland’s 1 August deadline, Sourris says many questions remain unanswered.
“It’s still up in the air with how it’s going to practically work.”
George says he has attended both the Queensland Law Society Symposium and REIQ’s roadshow events, adding: “I’ve been to more sessions than the vast majority of practitioners out there.
“Pretty much whatever’s been on offer, I’ve paid for and gone to.”
“Not knocking the major bodies – everyone is doing their best, and the sessions have been informative. It just seems like there are too many unknowns, its logistically appearing to be quite a challenge.”
“In saying that, we will work it out, we still have time.”
But like many conveyancers and lawyers, he still doesn’t yet have the full picture.
While legal tech has a role to play, there are still many unknowns. And Sourris says getting it wrong has serious consequences.
“If the form’s not filled out correctly, there’s termination rights and losses that can be suffered.”
And he warned the legal industry isn’t resourced to absorb the full burden.
“If every vendor was to say, ‘We want the lawyer to prepare it,’ we’d have a huge capacity problem.”
“It’s going to take weeks. We can’t just roll our sleeves up and write a letter.”
“We have to pull this data from councils, from elsewhere, and order searches.”
Agents, he said, are already known to chase updates fast.
“This will be worse than agents waiting for buyer pre-contract advice. It must be done properly. If corners are cut, people will get bitten.”
