Conveyancing in the Geelong area

In a nutshell, the conveyancing process involves the following steps:

• The parties negotiate the sale of the property
• The vendor provides a Section 32 Statement, giving the purchaser important information about the property
• The parties agree on the sale terms and sign a contract of sale for the property
• When the cooling-off period has passed, and any contract conditions have been met, preparations commence for settlement
• Documents including Verification of Identity and State Revenue Office Statements are prepared
• Arrangements are made for funds to be made available for settlement
• Calculations and adjustments are made for all the funds required for settlement, including land tax, service fees, stamp duty and professional costs
• Settlement takes place at a pre-arranged time and date
• The purchaser becomes the registered owner of the property and can take possession
• Relevant bodies (for example State Revenue Office and rating authorities) are notified of the change of ownership

Since October 2018, Victorian regulations have required that all conveyancing settlements are conducted electronically via the PEXA online platform.

The PEXA platform allows only PEXA-registered lawyers and conveyancers to conduct online settlements. So, you will need to engage a registered conveyancer or conveyancing lawyer to complete the work on your behalf.

The PEXA system is said to improve accuracy and reduce delays in finalising settlements. These are two reasons why eConveyancing transactions are preferred.

A conveyancer deals only with property transactions. In Victoria, conveyancers must hold a licence to conduct conveyancing work.

A conveyancing lawyer must have completed tertiary and professional training to work as a lawyer in Victoria. Because they have completed their legal training, they:

• Don't have to hold a conveyancing license
• Can work in other legal areas such as wills and estates or family law

Conveyancers must be licensed to provide conveyancing services in Victoria. The licence indicates that they have completed the necessary training and will perform conveyancing work with high professional standards. Usually, a conveyancer's expertise is limited to the transfer of real estate.

On the other hand, a conveyancing lawyer can give legal advice about other legal issues, for example, how the contract of sale will operate. They may identify other problems that aren't obvious from the sale documents. A conveyancing lawyer can also draft a contract of sale if you require any non-standard terms.

If your property transaction relates to another legal area, the conveyancing lawyer can often manage that issue as well. For example, if a property will be sold as part of a deceased estate, a conveyancing lawyer with wills and estates expertise can handle the transaction and help to finalise the estate. It saves the inconvenience and uncertainty of seeking additional legal advice in the course of a conveyancing transaction.

We offer a fixed-cost service for our professional conveyancing fees. Search fees and additional legal advice are an extra cost. Please contact us for more information about our conveyancing costs.