How our pricing works
There is no price list on this page, and that is deliberate. What there is instead is the whole structure: what our fee covers, what a disbursement really is, what pushes a matter up, and what we never add to the bill. Read it, then ask us for your figure.
The structure
Every conveyancing quote is built from the same two things
Once you can see both parts separately, comparing any two quotes gets a great deal easier.
Our professional fee
This is what you pay us for the work: reading or preparing the contract and the vendor statement, ordering and interpreting the searches, dealing with the agent and the lender, preparing the transfer, and running settlement.
We agree it in writing before anything starts. It does not climb because your matter turned out slower than we thought, and it does not climb because you rang us a lot.
Disbursements
These are amounts we pay out to somebody else on your behalf, mostly searches and certificates that only the issuing authority can supply. They are not our income.
We pass them on at exactly what they cost. No markup, no percentage added for handling them, no rounding up. Ask to see what was paid and to whom, and we will show you.
In detail
So what are we actually buying on your behalf?
Each of these tells you something about the property that the contract on its own will not.
Title search
Confirms who owns the land and what is registered against it: mortgages, caveats, covenants and easements. This is the one that finds the surprise sitting on a title.
Copy of the registered plan
The plan showing boundaries, dimensions, and where an easement physically runs. Worth having before you plan a shed or a pool.
Council certificate
Rates owed, any charge the council holds over the land, and the outgoings adjusted at settlement so you are not paying for the vendor's period.
Water authority statement
Current water and sewerage charges, whether the property is connected, and whether a sewer runs under the part of the block you wanted to build on.
Land tax certificate
Tells us whether land tax is outstanding. Without it, an unpaid liability can follow the land to the new owner.
Owners corporation certificate
For anything in a body corporate. Discloses the fees, the insurance, the maintenance fund balance and any special levy already on the table.
VicRoads property enquiry
Confirms whether the land is affected by a proposed road widening or acquisition. Rare, and worth knowing before you sign.
Not every matter needs all of these. What the property is, and where it sits, decides the list. We order what yours needs and leave the rest.
Not ours
Stamp duty and registration fees are government charges
Duty goes to the state revenue office. Registration fees go to the land titles office when the transfer is lodged. Both land in your settlement figures, which is why people assume they are part of what the conveyancer charges. They are not. None of it is ours and we add nothing to it.
Concessions and exemptions exist, and eligibility is set by the revenue office rather than by us. We complete and lodge the duty forms as part of the conveyance. If the real question is your tax position, or whether owning through a company or a trust changes what you owe, that belongs with your accountant or a solicitor. We will say so rather than guess.
Where each amount actually goes
- Professional fee
- To us, for the work. Agreed before we start.
- Disbursements
- To the authority issuing the search or certificate. Passed on at cost.
- Stamp duty
- To the state revenue office. We lodge the forms, we do not take a share.
- Registration fees
- To the land titles office, for registering the transfer and any mortgage.
Why quotes differ
What makes one matter cost more than another
Two purchases on the same street can carry different fees. The reason is nearly always one of these.
An owners corporation
An extra certificate, plus rules, accounts and insurance records that have to be read properly. What sits in that fund, and what levy is coming, changes what you are buying.
Buying off the plan
Sunset dates, the developer's right to amend the plan, and a settlement that follows registration rather than a diary date. Everyday work in Clyde North, and more of it than a standard purchase.
Unregistered land
The title does not exist yet. That means waiting, checking on registration, and a second round of work once the lot gets its own title.
A deceased estate
Ownership has to move through the estate before it reaches a buyer, so there are more parties and more documents. If probate has not been granted, or someone is contesting the will, that part belongs with a solicitor and we will say so.
Manual settlement
Almost everything settles electronically now. When something forces a paper settlement, there is a physical exchange to organise and more hands involved on the day.
A matter that changes shape
A late finance condition, a second title, a vendor who cannot produce a document. When a matter genuinely changes, you hear what it means before the work is done.
The part that matters
What we never charge extra for
Most of the unpleasant surprises in conveyancing are not big line items. They are small charges for things you assumed were included. Here is our list, so you can hold us to it.
Get my quote- Phone calls and emails, however many there are
- Reviewing the contract and vendor statement before you sign
- Explaining the same thing again, in plainer words
- Liaising with your agent, your broker and your lender
- Chasing the other side when they go quiet
- Reading the owners corporation certificate properly instead of filing it
- Answering you on a Saturday when your auction is on a Saturday
Comparing quotes
How to read anyone's conveyancing quote, including ours
Ask every practice you speak to the same questions. The answers tell you more than the number does.
Questions worth asking
- Is that the professional fee only, or does it include disbursements?
- Are disbursements passed on at cost, or is something added on top?
- What is excluded, and what would trigger an extra charge?
- Does the fee change if settlement is delayed or the matter runs long?
- Who does the work, and can I speak to that person directly?
- Is there a file opening, printing or administration charge at the end?
- Will I get the scope in writing, or just a number?
Signs a quote is going to grow
- A figure given before anyone has seen the contract or even the address
- Headline pricing with the word "from" and no ceiling anywhere
- Disbursements described as an estimate that never gets confirmed
- An hourly rate sitting quietly underneath the advertised fee
- No written scope, only a number in a text message
- A separate charge for each phone call or email
- Nobody asks whether the property has an owners corporation
Questions
What people ask us about money
Why is there no price list on this page?
A published figure either overstates your matter or understates it, and the second one is worse. What sits on your title, and how the matter settles, decides the work involved. Ask us instead and you get a number that holds.
Is the quote fixed?
The professional fee is agreed with you in writing before any work starts, and it does not move because the matter ran longer than expected. Disbursements are passed on at cost. If something changes what needs doing, you hear about it before the work happens.
What is a disbursement?
Money we pay to somebody else on your behalf, almost always a search or a certificate. Title, the registered plan, the council certificate, the water authority statement, the land tax certificate, and the owners corporation certificate where there is one. Charged at cost with nothing added.
Do I pay stamp duty to you?
Duty belongs to the state revenue office, not to us. It is usually paid at settlement, so it shows up in the settlement figures, but none of it is ours and we add nothing to it. Registration fees for the titles office work the same way. For advice on your tax position, ask your accountant or a solicitor.
Why does an apartment cost more than a house?
An owners corporation adds a certificate to obtain and records that have to be read properly: the levies, the insurance, the maintenance fund, and any special levy already flagged. That reading is the part that protects you.
When do I pay?
You will have the fee and the payment terms in writing before we start. Ask in the first conversation and we will set out how it works for your matter.
Is a cheaper quote a worse quote?
Not automatically. What matters is whether the number covers the whole job. Ask what is excluded and what would add to it. A fee that looks low at the start and grows by settlement was not cheaper, it was quoted later.
Do you charge for a quick question before I sign?
No. Call us. If it is a quick answer you will get a quick answer. If it is bigger than that, we will tell you what a proper look involves before you commit to anything.
Your number
Now ask us what yours will be
Tell us what you are doing and roughly where the property is, and we will come back with a figure and what it covers. No obligation, and the first conversation costs nothing. If you would rather talk it through, call 0450 016 397.
Get my quoteOffice 4, Level 1, 105A High Street, Cranbourne VIC 3977
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Weekends by appointment