Common Conveyancing Terms: A Glossary

Buying or selling property for the first time (or even the third or fourth time) is likely to expose you to a whole new range of terms that can prove to be rather daunting.  

To assist you to navigate the players involved, we have prepared this glossary of parties you might come across in common conveyancing transactions.  We’ve given general descriptions and used relatively plain English to avoid you reaching for the dictionary.  See if you can work out into which definition you fall (hint, it’s likely to be more than one!):-

Registered Proprietor:  

A Registered Proprietor is the legal owner of the property, and is sometimes referred to as the Proprietor on Title.

Vendor:                                            

A Vendor is the owner of the property being sold to a Purchaser.  A Vendor can also be referred to as the Transferor or Registered Proprietor.

Purchaser:                                        

A Purchaser is the person who is buying the property.  A Purchaser can also be referred to as the Transferee or Incoming Proprietor.

Transferor:                                      

A Transferor is the owner of the property who is transferring their interest to another party (either by selling or gifting the property).

Transferee:                                    

A Transferee is the person who is becoming the owner of the property (either by buying the property or receiving it as a gift).

Conveyancer:                                  

The Vendor and the Purchaser will have a Conveyancer each. In certain circumstances, both parties can engage the same business/firm to provide that service.  Whilst a Conveyancer is not a Lawyer, a Lawyer can be a Conveyancer and will bring an additional level of expertise to the property transaction.  For the purposes of interpreting the Contract, the terms “Legal Practitioner”, “Lawyer”, “Solicitor” and “Conveyancer” are all interchangeable.

Agent:                                              

An Agent is the real estate agent who advertises the property for sale, arranges inspections, negotiates the purchase price and other terms, and facilitates the signing of the contract.  They are sometimes referred to as the Selling Agent or Estate Agent.

Nominated Purchaser:                  

After a contract is signed but before the transaction settles, it is possible for the Purchaser to nominate a new purchaser to step in its shoes and become the Incoming Proprietor instead.  This new person is known as the Nominated Purchaser.

Mortgagee:                                      

A bank or lender who supplies funds in exchange for registering a mortgage over the property is called a Mortgagee.  The Vendor’s bank is known as the Mortgagee on Title, and the Purchaser’s bank is known as the Incoming Mortgagee.

Mortgage Broker:                            

A Mortgage Broker is a person/business who assists the Purchaser/Transferee to obtain the best loan for their needs by looking at many different banks/lenders.

Landlord:                                        

A Landlord is the Registered Proprietor of a property who has agreed for another person or company to have exclusive possession of the property under a Lease in exchange for regular payments of rent.  A Landlord can also be referred to as a Lessor.

Tenant:                                            

A Tenant is the person or company who has the right to possession of the property under a Lease.  A Tenant can also be referred to as a Lessee.

Managing Agent:                            

A Managing Agent is the real estate agent who manages the tenant and lease on behalf of the Landlord (eg, collects the rent and arranges maintenance).

Attorney:                                          

An Attorney is a person who has been appointed via a carefully drafted Power of Attorney document to make decisions and sign documents on behalf of someone else.

Caveator:                                          

A person/company who is not the owner of a property may choose to lodge a caveat on a title where they believe they have a legal entitlement to all or part of that property.  That person/company is known as a Caveator.

Legal Personal Representative:  

A Legal Personal Representative (LPR) is most commonly the executor of a Will of someone who owned property in their sole name when they passed away.  The title will usually show the Registered Proprietor as “James David Smith as Legal Personal Representative for Jane Gloria Smith deceased”.

Surviving Proprietor:                      

When a property is owned jointly between two or more people, the person who remains alive when one of the Registered Proprietors passes away is called the Surviving Proprietor.

Rating Authorities:                          

Rating Authorities are typically the local council (such as Baw Baw Shire Council), and the local water authority (such as Gippsland Water or Southern Rural Water).

State Revenue Office:                    

The State Revenue Office (SRO) is a Victorian Government body responsible for the collection of Land Tax and Land Transfer Duty (Stamp Duty).

Land Titles Office:                          

The Land Titles Office (LTO) is a Victorian Government body that will issue a new Certificate of Title with the Transferee’s name as the Registered Proprietor following settlement.  The LTO is sometimes referred to as Land Use Victoria, Land Registry Services or the Registrar of Titles.

PEXA:                                              

Electronic settlements are now compulsory in Victoria and PEXA is the platform that we use to complete financial settlements electronically.  Each transaction has a workspace into which the Conveyancers and Mortgagees log in to lodge documents with the SRO and LTO.

If you would like to discuss your conveyancing transaction, please call our Drouin or Warragul offices to make an appointment, or book online.  We would be pleased to discuss your specific circumstances with you.

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