Commercial Property Conveyancing in Singapore
Offices, shophouses, retail and industrial units, bought or sold. The mechanics resemble a residential transaction; the diligence, the financing and the regulatory position do not.
Commercial conveyancing resembles a residential transaction in shape and very little else. The documents are negotiated rather than standard, the diligence is wider, and the regulatory position can decide whether the deal is worth doing.
Diligence is where the value is
Title and encumbrances, yes, but also permitted use, outstanding notices, the state of any existing tenancies, and anything registered against the property that would affect what you can do with it.
What comes out of diligence renegotiates as many deals as the market does. It is worth doing properly and worth starting early.
Use is the question people assume is settled
What the current occupier does is not proof of what is permitted. Where your intended use differs from the approved use, that is a matter for the authorities and it has its own timetable.
Establish this before committing, not after.
Financing runs in parallel
We act for lenders as well as borrowers on property financing and refinancing, so the security documents and the conditions attached to them are familiar rather than novel. In practice that means fewer surprises late in a transaction, which is when surprises are most expensive.
Tax treatment differs
Commercial property carries its own stamp duty treatment, and GST may apply to the price in a way it generally does not on residential property. Both are worked out at the outset.
How we help
How we help
Act on the acquisition or disposal
Sellers, purchasers and financiers, on private commercial and industrial property. The transaction documents are negotiated rather than standard, which is where most of the value is.
Run the diligence properly
Title, encumbrances, permitted use, outstanding notices and anything registered against the property. What you find here decides the price as often as the market does.
Deal with use and zoning
Whether the property can lawfully be used as you intend, and what would be required to change that. This is the question buyers most often assume is settled and most often is not.
Handle the financing
We act for banks and for borrowers on property financing, so the security documents and the conditions precedent are familiar territory rather than a surprise.
Liaise with the authorities
URA, SLA and BCA as the matter requires, including approvals and consents that have their own timetables.
Complete and register
Transfer, security registration, and the tidying-up that follows.