Conveyancing quotes in Victoria are quoted in two halves, and comparing only one of them is how people end up surprised. Understanding the split makes it easy to compare quotes honestly.
The two halves of a conveyancing quote
The professional fee is what you pay for the work: reviewing the contract and Section 32, ordering and interpreting searches, dealing with the other side, preparing transfer documents, calculating adjustments and attending settlement. This is the part firms compete on, and it is the part that should be fixed and in writing.
Disbursements are amounts paid to third parties on your behalf and passed on at cost. They typically include the title and plan search, council and water certificates, land tax clearance, owners corporation certificate where relevant, the electronic settlement platform fee, and Land Use Victoria registration fees. These are largely outside anyone’s control and vary by property.
The costs people forget
- Stamp duty — by far the largest transaction cost for most buyers, paid to the State Revenue Office, not to your lawyer. First home buyer concessions and exemptions may apply and are worth checking early.
- Adjustments at settlement — you reimburse the vendor for rates, water and owners corporation fees they have paid covering the period after settlement.
- Lender fees — your bank’s own settlement and loan establishment charges.
- Building and pest inspection — not a legal cost, but one to budget for before you bid.
Fixed fee or hourly?
A standard residential purchase or sale can be scoped in advance, so it should be quoted as a fixed professional fee. Be cautious of quotes that look unusually low: check whether contract review, extra searches, an owners corporation certificate or an off-the-plan matter attract additional charges, and ask what happens if the transaction becomes complicated.
Lawyer or licensed conveyancer?
A licensed conveyancer can handle a clean transaction. A lawyer can do that and also advise you when it stops being clean — a dispute over the deposit, a vendor who will not settle, an unexpected caveat, questions about how the property should be held, or a matter that ends up at VCAT or in court. The practical difference is that you do not have to change professionals in the middle of a problem.
Getting a real number
Any firm should be able to give you a written quote before you engage them, covering the professional fee and an estimate of disbursements. If you cannot get that in writing, that itself is information.