Finding Conveyancers To Help Buy or Sell Your Home

You’re moving! Whatever the reason, it’s time to pack up and find a new home. You have found your ideal property and you are negotiating and signing the papers - but how do you find the right conveyancer?

WHAT IS CONVEYANCING?

When purchasing property there inevitably is legal paper work to be navigated. The job of the conveyancer is to carry out all the legal aspects of the transferral of property ownership from one party to another.The vendor (seller) and the purchaser enter into a “Contract of Sale” for a residential property.

The definition of residential property can be varied, it can mean a house, unit, apartment, townhouse, a house and land package, or vacant land zoned for residential purpose.

The conveyancer is a legal professional who offers expertise during property transactions. It is recommended to engage a conveyancer when you are buying, selling, transferring, subdividing or developing a property. The conveyancer understands the current laws and will assist you from the start to the finish of the transactional process. After this is completed, you'll need to consider how you are going to transport your household items as part of moving into or out of your home

A qualified conveyancer will hold a current and valid Conveyancers Licence with a practising certificate, will be a member of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers and will hold professional indemnity insurance.

HOW DOES A CONVEYANCER HELP YOU MOVE SMOOTHLY?

Legal processes are always heaped with complexity, time-frames, legislation and fees. A conveyancer can remove the x-factor when buying a home and take a lot of the stress and emotion away from what is often a daunting life event.

When you are purchasing a house, some tasks a conveyancer can undertake could be: 

• help review legal documents including the “Contract of Sale” and “Section 32”.
• commit your deposit to a trust account.
• assist in final negotiations of terms.
• educate you about the settlement process.

Other than the purchase price of your property, there are also a number of fees involved in buying a new residential property. The conveyancer will guide you through what you can expect and help you pay fees such as: 

• Stamp Duty aka. Transfer Duty – this is a government tax on property transfers and is calculated according to the purchase price. There are some circumstances, such as first home buyers, where there may be applicable exemptions or discounts.
• Legal Fees – the conveyancer is a fee worth paying to help you pay the fees of all the other fees. Their expertise and experience will make the moving process easier, faster and legally sound.
• GovernmentSearches - it is important to order searches from state government authorities to ensure there are no outstanding liabilities left on the property that the seller should have paid, so you don’t end up having to pay their bill. These may be title searches, land tax searches, council rates, strata corporation searches, water and sewerage enquiries, copies of plans and any additional property specific searches. 
• Outgoings Adjustments – these are costs associated with owning the land such as council rates, water and sewerage use, and strata levies. As these accounts are generally issued to be paid on a quarterly or an annual basis, you may need to re-imburse the seller for these costs on a pro rata basis. 
• Registration Fees – in certain states it can be a considerable additional cost to register the transfer of the title to you and calculated at scale based on the purchase price.

NOT ONLY WHEN YOU BUY, BUT ALSO WHEN YOU SELL

Just as with buying a new property to move into, you also need to consider the “legals” when selling a property.

Most states require you to pay for contract and property disclosure which are lawfully required to sell a property. In some state's agents are permitted to complete a prescribed contract. When you sign a contract for an accepted offer, the seller is responsible for paying sale conveyancing fees which can be built into the purchase price and collected from the proceeds of the sale. Occasionally there may be additional legal services required when selling a property, but this is generally only in 10% of property sales.

HOW MUCH CAN YOU EXPECT TO PAY FOR CONVEYANCING?

There can be vast variations in the cost of engaging with a conveyancer and fees will be dependent on the range and types of work that is undertaken on your behalf. To add another layer of complexity to the pricing structure, different states have different conditions for the sale of properties in their jurisdiction. Nationally though, when utilising the services of a conveyancer you are entitled to know their fees up front and they should be honestly disclosed and have the option to negotiate.

BRISBANE CONVEYANCING FEES

In Brisbane (and Queensland) fees are often presented as:

• For a sale – the portion of the property sell price as a percentage.
• For a purchase – a portion of the property buy price as a percentage.
• Fees (flat) for each item they perform tasks to complete such as drafting contracts, title searches and council searches.
• Overall fee for the management of the conveyancing of the property portfolio.

The cost of conveyancing in Brisbane (and Queensland) can range from $500 to $1300 (@2020). There can be other costs that they may include such as disbursement costs for any transactions, or additional legal tasks or representations made on your behalf. In Queensland these fees average less than $300.  Once this is completed, you can then consider finding the best Brisbane Removalists for your move.

SYDNEY CONVEYANCING FEES

Often (but not always) the Sydney conveyancer may structure their fees according to:

• For a sale – the portionoftheproperty sell price as a percentage.
• For a purchase – a portion of the property buy price as a percentage.
• Fees (flat) for each item they perform tasks to complete such as drafting contracts, title searches and council searches.
• Overall fee for the management of the conveyancing of the property portfolio.

The cost of conveyancing in Sydney (and New South Wales) can range from $500 to $1200 (@2020). There can be other costs that they may include such asdisbursement costs for any transactions made on your behalf. Depending of the attributes of the property and associated administration, some of these may be (@2020):

• Local council building certificate ($250)
• Title search ($20 - $100)
• Sydney Water rates certificate ($65)
• Local council s149 certificate ($53 - $133)
• Local council rates certificate ($65)
• Drainage diagram ($25)
• Land tax clearance certificate ($20 - $25)
• Environmental Protection Authority ($20 - $25)
• Roads & Traffic Authority ($20 - $25)
• Department of Education ($20 - $25)
• Transgrid electricity/power stations ($20 - $30)
• Local council Pool Compliance/Non-Compliance certificate ($150 - $450)
• Administration fees such as faxes, postages or lodgement fees.
• Any other costs that apply.

Once done, start looking early for Sydney Removalists.

MELBOURNE CONVEYANCING FEES

According to Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Melbourne conveyancer must:

• Disclose their fees to their client at the very beginning of the engagement process, or the moment they can be discerned.
• If there are unusual circumstances where the conveyancer is unable to disclose their fees, detail how the proposed fees will be calculated.
• Provide clients with invoices and information about payment terms and conditions.

The cost of conveyancing in Melbourne (and Victoria) can range from $600 to $1400 (@2020). There can be other costs that they may include such as disbursement costs for any transactions, or additional legal tasks or representations made on your behalf.In Victoria these fees average less than $400.

After this, start prepping your move by searching for Removalists in Melbourne for your move.

SETTLEMENT MEANS IT’S TIME FOR SETTLING IN TO YOUR NEW PAD

All legal fees, no matter where you are located, are completed by your “settlement date” and you will be handed the keys to your new future! Now is the time to pop the cork on the champagne (I hope your Estate Agent get you a bottle) and begin the move!

This is where you can let out a deep sigh of relief knowing that you have completed all the hard stuff, at least until you have to start lifting all those boxes!

Congratulations!

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