Course Title: The Conveyancing Process

Part B: Course Detail

Teaching Period: Term2 2008

Course Code: MKTG5150

Course Title: The Conveyancing Process

School: 650T TAFE Business

Campus: City Campus

Program: C6070 - Advanced Diploma of Business (Legal Practice)

Course Contact : Joanne Mackay

Course Contact Phone: +61 3 9925 5540

Course Contact Email:joanne.mackay@rmit.edu.au


Name and Contact Details of All Other Relevant Staff

Doug Cole 99255424 douglas.cole@rmit.edu.au

John Marshall 99255453 john.marshall@rmit.edu.au

Nominal Hours: 51

Regardless of the mode of delivery, represent a guide to the relative teaching time and student effort required to successfully achieve a particular competency/module. This may include not only scheduled classes or workplace visits but also the amount of effort required to undertake, evaluate and complete all assessment requirements, including any non-classroom activities.

Pre-requisites and Co-requisites

LAW5040 Legal Process [VBM898]
LAW5042 Property Law [VBM896]

Course Description

This module covers main features of law of contract relative to sale of land, formality required to achieve a binding contract for the sale of land, terms commonly implied or express in a contract for the sale of land, statutory intervention in contracts for the sale of land, Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995, Estate Agents Act 1980 and secret commissions by agents.


National Codes, Titles, Elements and Performance Criteria

National Element Code & Title:

VBM900 The Conveyancing Process


Learning Outcomes


1. Specify the main features of the law of contract with relevance to contracts for the sale of land.
2. Determine the extent to which formality is required for a contract in relation to the sale of land to be binding and apply to a relevant case study.
3. Specify and analyse the terms that are usually included in a contract for the sale of land, and ascertain whether the source of the terms is statutory contractual or the common law.
4. Analyse the various rules that must be observed by the conveyancer in legislation that regulates the contract for the sale of land.
5. Analyse the main provisions of the current domestic building contracts legislation in Victoria. Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995, with reference to the provision of indemnity in respect of building works.
6. Analyse the main provisions of the Estate Agents Act in relation to the obligations of the real estate agent to provide documents to a purchaser and, in relation to conflict of interest situations that the real estate agent must avoid.
7. Establish the nature of a secret commission and commission above the approved scale, and assess the consequences for the estate agent. Determine the principles of commission payment to a third party, and the relevance to the estate agent’s commission.


Details of Learning Activities

Students are expected to attend class and to engage in the learning process by completing class activities for each topic. Completion of class exercises will require access to the relevant legislation such as the Sale of Land Act. Students should have a full copy of this Act by week 2 in class. This is vital for successful assessment in the tests.

By week 8 students should start preparing for the auction activity. This requires them to attnd an auction and write a report and present their fingding to the class in the last few weeks of semester. This assessment requires planning ahead and attendance at a public auction of a property well ahead of the actual presentation.


Teaching Schedule

Week Beginning    Topic and  Assessment


Week 1 – 7 Jul        Introduction – REVISION – course outline and discussion Class activities all semester 10%
Week 2 – 14 Jul     Commonly used forms of contracts of sale of land,
Week 3 – 21 Jul     Cooling-off, Section 32 Statements (section 3 manual)
Week 4 – 28 Jul     Contravention of Section 32 and consequences
Week 5 – 4 Aug      Deposits, Finance Clauses.
Week 6 – 11 Aug    Insurance issues  20% Case study test
Week 7 – 18 Aug    Insurance, Real Estate Industry.
Week 8 –  25 Aug   Real Estate Industry (attend auction/ start research in next 2 weeks)
        Mid Semester Break (Student Vacation) – 1 to 5 Sept
Week 9 –    8 Sept   Auction report research
Week 10 – 15 Sept Misdescription and requisitions (section 2 manual),
Week 11 – 22 Sept Statutory Certificates and adjustments.
Week 12 – 29 Sept Terms Contracts
Week 13 – 6 Oct     Breach of contract
Week 14 – 13 Oct   Domestic Building legislation, Illegal structures, Consumer legislation (section 5 manual)
Week 15 – 20 Oct   Major test – Open Book – 40%
Week 16 – 27 Oct   Auction/research Presentations-30% (all students to attend)
Week 17 – 3 Nov    Auction/research Presentations-30% (all students to attend)
Week 18 – 10 Nov  Review/ resits


Learning Resources

Prescribed Texts

The Conveyancing Process manual, published by TAFE VC, available in the Business Bookshop


References


Other Resources

Estate Agents Act 1995

Estate Agents (Professional Conduct) Rules 1999

Estate Agents (Contracts) Rules 1999

Sale of Land Act 1962

Transfer of Land Act 1958

CCH, Victorian Conveyancing Law Practice, (available online in the Library)

Wikrama Voumard - The Sale of Land  5th edition Law Book Co. (soon to be available online in the Library)

Libbis, S and Murphy, S  ConveyanceWorks, Law Crest


Overview of Assessment

Assessment will consist of written tests and an assignment.


Assessment Tasks

CLASS ACTIVITES ALL SEMESTER                       10%
CASE STUDY TEST WEEK 6                                   20%
MAJOR TEST WEEK 15                                            40%
AUCTION/RESEARCH REPORT WEEK 16, 17,  30%

To pass this course students must satisfactorily complete all assessments and have a total mark of not less than 50%.


Assessment Matrix

  in class activities 10% case study test 20% research assignment 30% major test 40%
Law of contract and forms X  X  X  X
Formalities  X  X  X  X
Terms of Contracts  X  X  X  X
Legislative requirements  X  X  X  X
Building contracts rules  X    X  X
Estate Agents industry  X    X  X
Secret commissions  X    X  X

Other Information

It is the student’s responsibilty to familiarise themselves with the policies relating to plagiarism, late/ missed assessments, special consideration and other relevant student information contained on the Hub and in your diaries.

Course Overview: Access Course Overview