Blog by Contrax

Confused about Occupation Certificates and Building Certificates in NSW property sales? Our latest blog demystifies these crucial documents, explaining when you'll see them and why they matter to buyers. Get the insights you need for a smoother property purchase.

Explore comprehensive insights on NSW property auction rules, from reserve prices and cooling-off periods to bidder registration. Includes a practical case study and answers to common questions.

Learn about Land Tax in NSW - how it's calculated, rates, thresholds, and exemptions. Also, understand adjustable land tax, and what to look out for in your property contracts.

This guide for first-time home buyers in Sydney covers critical aspects of the process: location, property type, financing, and inspections. Make informed decisions and find your dream home with these essential insights.

Jake founded Propti to assist property professionals in obtaining high-quality reports from reliable inspectors, surveyors, and valuers. In this post, we discuss what types of reports are on offer, which reports he thinks are necessary, and what kinds of things they can pick up on. Enjoy!

Our client was shocked when they arrived at the property they were purchasing on the morning of settlement. They walked into the kitchen, ready to do their final inspection, only to find that the dishwasher had been unceremoniously yanked from its spot. What happened next will shock you (not really).

With the First Home Buyer Choice Act passing last November but not accessible until 16 January 2023, we waited eagerly for the first opportunity to help clients take advantage of this new legislation. Last week, we had our first experience with the new scheme.

Creating a home office environment that truly boosts your productivity is key if you are going to be working from home a lot, especially now that WFH at least for part of the week has become the workplace norm.

When a property is sold with existing tenants, you're often asked what the minimum notice periods are for the tenant to vacate. Here's a quick reminder of the notice periods for tenants, which you, as the new landlord, will have to honour in New South Wales.

The day I learned that double-checking isn’t enough when it comes to contract admin

If you’re a conveyancing practitioner, the chances are you’ve been kept up late at night by the fear of submitting wrong payment details in PEXA vendor destinations.

As a committed conveyancing professional, all the details and numbers you need are probably right there in your brain and, most of the time, quite easy for you to recall on demand.

A warning for all conveyancers: There are weird, wonderful, downright outlandish contract clauses lurking in the fine print

What are the most common issues encountered by home buyers? This case study discusses the frustrations of buying a home and how Contrax technology and platform solved manual tedious work and simplified conveyancing.

Welcome to Contrax. Next-gen convenience and increased profitability for conveyancing practitioners. Here’s how to get started in four easy steps.

Do you find the administrative time required to review property contracts and manage the entire process to be a significant burden? Meet Judith and the discovery of a platform that would revolutionize the efficiency of property contract administration.

Moving house? Messy partner? Drowning in kids' toys? In this post, Leena Terry, a professional organiser and founder of Bliss Organisation, shares some tips on getting organised and staying in control of your spaces.

Let's dive into what it's like to live in the Blue Mountains in NSW just west of Sydney. What are the best areas? Is it safe? And much more, including housing prices and the top things to do in each area.

Jacq shares her five most important things buyers should look for from an Interior Designer's perspective. Jacq also tells us what suburbs or spots in NSW she loves and any trends, colours, materials, products, or brands that have piqued her interest.

Are you thinking about moving to regional NSW? When we look back on the last two years the world has faced, it’s no wonder we have been seeing an influx of home-buyers vacating the city and moving out into the countryside. Moving to the countryside might be the first thing on your 2022 (and beyond) bucket list. If it is, we have a unique location for you to consider: New South Wales Snowy Monaro Region.

The first instalment of our two-part series with Jacq. We cover how she started her Interior Design business and what she sees as her primary role as an Interior Designer. She then provides some practical advice on the most cost-effective Interior Design upgrades and some of the traps to avoid when buying a home to renovate.

Cities like Sydney are expanding, and the high prices, mainly near the CBD and coastline, are driving buyers to the region’s outskirts and further. But that doesn’t mean fewer options or that having a property outside of the major region is not a good investment. But where to go? Here’s our list of some of the best areas to look outside of Sydney.

Sarah has been transforming and revolutionising commercial real estate spaces across Australia, North America and the United Kingdom for over a decade. In this conversation, we chatted about the challenges facing commercial real estate in light of Covid-19 and the outlook for the future.

Many home decor styles can inspire you, but here are seven used by some recent Contrax buyers that might help you narrow down your frame of reference, including modern, contemporary, minimalist, traditional, bohemian, rustic and beach.

Navon Planning assists clients with navigating the red tape when dealing with councils. Specialising in residential and commercial projects across Sydney, Navon Planning has in-depth knowledge of the planning system to ensure projects are delivered on time.

Swimming pool compliance is a crucial issue for all of us, including homeowners and prospective homeowners. In the past 25 years, almost 1000 children under the age of 5 have drowned. Tweens, teens and adults are certainly not immune to the dangers that can lurk in a suburban backyard if the proper precautions aren’t taken. 

The process of buying your home can be overwhelming. It can be stressful and long, and exhausting. But it doesn’t have to be. We've broken down the not so common things you might want to look at on inspection day before signing on the dotted line. These are the 8 things to look for before buying your home… and we think the list might surprise you.

In the whirlwind of scrolling through listings, heading to inspections, dealing with your bank and Monday morning phone calls from real estate agents, it’s easy to overlook some of the costs associated with securing your own little piece of the world. One of these costs is transfer duty.

Studio Katz Architecture and Interiors is an emerging and dynamic multidisciplinary studio who are design-focused, with a humanist and pragmatic approach to architecture and design.

One of our top tips for saving for your first home is to check whether you're eligible for any government assistance. We’ve broken it down to give you a snapshot of what might be available if you’re looking to purchase a property in NSW. This post covers the four kinds of assistance currently available to NSW first home buyers, including two types of cash grants, transfer duty reductions, and a savings scheme using your super.

If you are just beginning your journey towards purchasing your first home, or even if you are on the path to buying a second, this guide will walk you through some easy tips and tricks to save money for your house deposit and help you turn your dream into a reality.

So, you’ve got your deposit and you’re ready to dive into the property market! We hate to be the bearer of bad news but have you thought about the additional costs involved? Read on to find out more about the total cost of buying a home.

One of the most common questions we get asked about buying property is how deposits work. Read below for our rundown on this very integral part of the property buying process. What is a Deposit? ...

We’ve all heard of them but what actually is a buyer’s agent and what do they do?The basicsA buyer’s agent is a licensed professional who represents, you guessed it! - the buyer. In this case, you. They are perhaps best described as a real estate agent’s opposite. Real estate agents represent the vendor: the person selling the property. In short, a buyer’s agent’s job is to identify potential properties for you to buy and then negotiate the purchase on your behalf.

What is negative gearing?Negative gearing refers to the financial practice where an investor borrows money to invest in a property and the cost of the loan’s interest is greater than the rental income said property generates. So, to break this down into its most simple terms, negative gearing means interest on loan > rental income.