Hicks Oakley Chessell Williams Lawyers are excited to announce that Bernard Mackey has been appointed to the role of Principal Lawyer – Property. In Bernard's capacity as Special Counsel in Property Law, he has demonstrated excellent leadership skills as well as being an exceptional lawyer. He is a true asset not only to the Property Team but to the greater HOCW Team and ultimately our clients too. Read More
The Bank of Mum and Dad refers to parental funding. It’s common for parents to want to help their children get a head-start in life, if possible, by advancing money for them to buy their first home. This article examines the risks to the parents from a property law and a family law perspective. Read More
The Victorian Homebuyer Fund is a shared equity scheme enabling eligible homebuyers to receive an interest free contribution of up to 25% towards the purchase price of a property in exchange for the State taking a proportional interest in the property by way of a registered mortgage. This allows homebuyers to purchase a property with a deposit as low as 5% and avoid paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance. An approved lender then contributes up to 70% of the funds required. Read More
The State Government announced this year that it will be introducing a new “windfall gains tax” from 1 July 2022. Developers and landowners will face a windfall gains tax of up to 50% applied to planning decisions to rezone land. This tax is likely to affect landowners who intend to rezone land for property development, as the land value will significantly increase once it has been rezoned for property development purposes. Read More
Hicks Oakley Chessell Williams Lawyers merged with Boothby & Boothby Lawyers in 2020 and are pleased to have been able to continue to deliver legal services to Boothby & Boothby’s Gippsland based clients. Now, in 2021, we are delighted to announce that we will be working out of an office in Korumburra. Read More
Vendors have been aware of their obligations under a vendor's statement (section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic) (Act)) to provide specified written information to a purchaser, prior to the purchaser signing the contract. A vendor providing false or incomplete information in breach of section 32 is guilty of an offence, and in addition the purchaser, in many cases, may be able to rescind or cancel the contract at any time prior to settlement. Read More