Solicitor’s certificates

Understand what you’re signing

So you need to get a solicitor's certificate before the bank will approve your loan? We can help.

A solicitor’s certificate is a certificate of independent legal advice. It confirms to a lender that a borrower or guarantor has received independent legal advice and understands the potential liabilities and risks involved in signing the security documents.

Issuing a solicitor's certificate is a lot more than just witnessing your loan documents or signing a single sheet of paper. This is not the case. Before a solicitor can sign off on a solicitor's certificate, they need to:

• verify your identity in person

• read the documents so they understand them

• advise you on the documents so you understand them, both via a meeting and a written letter of advice.

We make sure that:

• you understand the consequences of signing the loan documents. For example, you understand what counts as a default under the loan. And guarantors need to understand that they could be chased by the bank even if the borrower themselves has not been pursued.

• the security is being lodged on the correct property

• the repayment obligations and interest rates you are signing up for matches your understanding.

It is a lot of work. Many solicitors refuse to sign these documents because the task at hand is legally complex, time sensitive and high risk. At Nest Legal, we've designed our process to be as efficient as possible, so we can get you the 'sign off' you need as quickly as we can, so your deal doesn't fall through.

And we do it all for a fixed fee of $550 for standard solicitor’s certificates and $770 for complex ones (reverse mortgages or self-managed superannuation funds).

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Types of solicitor’s certificates

Advice on mortgages / solicitor’s certificates

Entering into a mortgage agreement carries significant risk, particularly the risk that your property can be seized and sold if you default on your obligations. It is important that you fully understand your obligations under any mortgage. For certain types of mortgages, your lender may require that you obtain independent legal advice on a mortgage and we can provide a solicitor’s certificate in respect to legal advice, if required.

Fee: $550

Advice on guarantees

Guaranteeing someone else’s loan carries extreme risk.

You will often have no control over whether the borrower complies with their obligations or defaults on the loan, and so care needs to be exercised before putting your funds and assets at risk.

Due to the high risk of these transactions, lenders will commonly insist that the guarantor obtain independent legal advice before allowing them to guarantee a loan.

Fee: $550

Advice on Self Managed Super Fund loans and guarantees

There are additional complexities when loans are being obtained to fund a SMSF property purchase.

Lenders will commonly insist that the directors and guarantors of the SMSF obtain independent financial and legal advice before allowing them to obtain a loan. We can provide a solicitor’s certificate in respect to legal advice, if required.
Usually our advice to borrowers is completed in conjunction with advice from your financial planner.

Fee: $770

Reverse mortgages

For many people, the family home is their primary asset. Various lenders now offer ‘equity unlock’ products to release funds from your home. This can help when a homeowner is ‘asset rich but cash poor’.

It is critical that you understand what you are signing up for, as these loan products can result in home owners losing more equity in their homes than they planned.

We can review the documents and advise you on:

• Is there a cap on the ownership amount that the lender is granted in your home, or will they potentially own it entirely one day?

• If you live for a long time, could your estate end up owing the lender more than the property is worth?

• Are you selling part of your property to the lender? Or is it a genuine loan?

• What constitutes a default on the loan and what are the consequences of such a default? Could the lender potentially kick you out of your home?

• What are your insurance and maintenance obligations?

Fee: $770

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