Buying your first home in Brisbane is a monumental achievement. Whether you are eyeing a character cottage in Ipswich, a modern townhouse in Logan, or a family home in Forest Lake, the excitement of finally securing a property is often matched by the stress of navigating the financial fine print. While most first-time buyers focus on the purchase price and their deposit, a suite of "hidden" costs: government fees, searches, and legal requirements: can quickly inflate your bud

The Settlement Day Timeline For a buyer, settlement day is usually a waiting game. While your solicitor is working in the PEXA workspace, this is what the day often looks like: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Your solicitor completes a final check of the PEXA workspace to confirm the bank has loaded the funds and all digital signatures are in place. You should stay available by phone in case there are any last-minute bank queries. 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM: The quiet period. Most settlements i

The landscape of selling property in Queensland has undergone a fundamental shift. Gone are the days when the burden of discovery rested almost entirely on the buyer: the old "caveat emptor" or "buyer beware" approach. As of August 2025, the Property Law Act 2023 is firmly in effect, mandating a rigorous disclosure regime that every seller must navigate before their property even hits the market. At the heart of this regime is the Form 2 Seller Disclosure Statement. This docu

The Queensland property market in 2026 is moving at a pace that few could have predicted. While Brisbane’s median house price has surged past the million-dollar mark, savvy buyers and investors have turned their sights toward the Western and Southern corridors. Ipswich and Logan are no longer just "affordable alternatives"; they are the epicentres of a genuine property boom. With Ipswich’s median house price hovering around $841,000 and Logan’s population recently surpassing

If you are buying or selling a home anywhere in Queensland such as in Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, or Forest Lake right now, you’ve likely heard about the "Form 2." Since August 2025, the way property is sold in Queensland has undergone its biggest change in decades. The old rule of "buyer beware" (where it was 100% up to the buyer to find any hidden issues) has been replaced by a mandatory Seller Disclosure Scheme. At Lightning Legal, we know that legal updates can feel overwhe

If you're thinking of selling property in Queensland from 1 August 2025, there’s an important new legal requirement you need to know about - SELLER DISCLOSURE STATEMENT. Sandy Stuart from Lightning Legal talks about Seller Disclosure Statements for qld sellers

The threshold for the first home buyer transfer duty concession in Queensland increases to property values up to $700,000 - $800,000.

Here’s your local conveyancer’s insight into each of these family friendly suburbs: Forest Lake, Doolandella, Heathwood and Pallara

Wondering how the property market will fare following the Coronavirus shock? The news isn't all that bad for real estate investors

Sandy Stuart Principal Solicitor of Lightning Legal lives in Pallara QLD. She offers a great fixed price conveyancing service