Conveyancer location and cost

Should the conveyancer be in the same town as the property or close to the buyer, both of which are in the same state? I'm getting a wide range of fees: $350-750 plus costs. Paying less is nice but not if they make a mess of it. What should be paid and how can the competence of the conveyancer be assessed? Years in business, peak body membership, something else? TIA.
 
The conveyencer needs to be in the same state as the property you're purchasing. In Victoria you'll usually find they cost about $1000 inclusive of costs. There is cheaper but I've found that this is about what the better ones charge.
 
I'd suggest finding a solicitor rather than a conveyancer. Will cost a little more but will be well worth it if there is something a little outside the box.
 
I tend to use a conveyancer for normal established properties and a solicitor for off the plan or commercial.

Here are two people I'd recommend considering. As Peter says $1,000 is about right.
Mention my name and they'll give you a couple of free reviews.


Tegan Distel
Licensed Conveyancer

Level 27, Rialto South Tower, 525 Collins Street Melbourne, VIC, 3000
DX 30877 ? Stock Exchange
Tel: (03) 9935 2792
Fax: (03) 9935 2702
Mob: 0428 985 366
Licence No 000861L
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

----

Peter Moore

Danaher Legal
Suite 204 Pacific Tower 737 Burwood Road Hawthorn 3123
t: 03 8862 6323
m: 0413 621 172
e: [email protected]
w: www.danaherlegal.com.au
 
You will find they are about $450 plus costs and have just been through it and got a bill for $790 for a very ordinary quick settlement, i.e. no problems with the house or land and no mortgage etc.
 
The conveyencer needs to be in the same state as the property you're purchasing. In Victoria you'll usually find they cost about $1000 inclusive of costs. There is cheaper but I've found that this is about what the better ones charge.

$1,000 for Victoria? That's pretty pricey. That's a standard price for NSW though.
 
The solicitor I use is based in Wollongong, but is in Sydney a few days a week to do settlements here. (Mine are all in Sydney and did my sisters in Tamworth).

He has phenomenal work ethic and happens to be in property development himself. I prefer solicitors over conveyancers for the advice, they don't take it as a monotonous tick box here, sign here, they really know their stuff.

$900 + searches. Ends up about $1040.

Farid Fanaian
LLB, B Commerce, M Property Development, M Planning
Solicitor
40 Hennessy Lane
Figtree NSW 2525
Ph: 0402 345 315
Fax: (02) 4204 1670
 
Thanks for the above. I like the idea of a lawyer for heavy lifting such as OTP and commercial and a conveyancer for the rest. If an established conveyancer asked, say, $500-600, is this reasonable? I'm still unsure if the conveyancer should be near me or near the property located in the same state but quite a distance from me. Advice on this point would be appreciated.
 
Never use a conveyancer.

Buying a property is serious considering the amounts of money involved. You really need a solicitor who can give legal advice as well.

The solicitor doesn't have to be in the same state, but most solicitors restrict themselves to only doing conveyancing in the same state.
 
Never use a conveyancer.

Buying a property is serious considering the amounts of money involved. You really need a solicitor who can give legal advice as well.

The solicitor doesn't have to be in the same state, but most solicitors restrict themselves to only doing conveyancing in the same state.

We do not use lawyers in WA, only conveyancer, they must be licenced and to obtain this it is not a walk in the park from my research.

I use Solicitors for my stuff over East always in the same State, never had a problem using either.
 
We do not use lawyers in WA, only conveyancer, they must be licenced and to obtain this it is not a walk in the park from my research.

I use Solicitors for my stuff over East always in the same State, never had a problem using either.

I have never purchased a property in WA. Are you saying that WA solicitors don't do coveyancing? I wouldn't think that is the case. A conveyancing course is about half of a law degree but less thorough and the practical component is much less than a lawyer.

for virtually the same price why not use a lawyer. I just don't get it!
 
Terry surely solicitors can do conveyancing for $450? Few forms, sign here, tick a box there, bobs your aunty.
 
Terry surely solicitors can do conveyancing for $450? Few forms, sign here, tick a box there, bobs your aunty.

... and organise a representative to attend the settlement, perform title searches, various registration searches, due diligence, etc.

$450 is a bargain basement price and for that, they're going to cut a few corners.

For a regular residential transfer, personally I go with a conveyancer over a solicitor. They tend to be a little more cost effective and they're usually better at it because it's all they do, all day, every day.

You do need them to have access to a solicitor if things go pear shaped however. The person I usually recommend has a team of property law specialist solicitors right down the corridor in the (extremely rare) event that they're needed.

Most of the problems I've seen with conveyancing occur when it's a solicitor doing the work. I'm sure they're good solicitors, but conveyancing is not what they do most of the time.
 
... and organise a representative to attend the settlement, perform title searches, various registration searches, due diligence, etc.

$450 is a bargain basement price and for that, they're going to cut a few corners.

Pfft, $450 is too much, it should be cheaper. Get uni law students to do it part time after their shifts at McDonalds ends.

After all when spending many hundreds of thousands of dollars on a property, scrimping and umming and aahing over quality legal representation is surely the thing to do?
 
... and organise a representative to attend the settlement, perform title searches, various registration searches, due diligence, etc.

$450 is a bargain basement price and for that, they're going to cut a few corners.

For a regular residential transfer, personally I go with a conveyancer over a solicitor. They tend to be a little more cost effective and they're usually better at it because it's all they do, all day, every day.

You do need them to have access to a solicitor if things go pear shaped however. The person I usually recommend has a team of property law specialist solicitors right down the corridor in the (extremely rare) event that they're needed.

Most of the problems I've seen with conveyancing occur when it's a solicitor doing the work. I'm sure they're good solicitors, but conveyancing is not what they do most of the time.

How do you know it is a 'regular' conveyancing transaction at the start? And you should always use a property lawyer.

I am a lawyer, but I am still using a property lawyer for a 'simple' conveyancing transaction at the moment - because he knows more than me about this area.
 
Interesting thoughts above. My first property was a long time ago, DIY conveyancing, no lawyer, no conveyancer, just a mate who guided me through the calculations. The adjustments were painful to calculate. Only one major mistake, fixed at the last minute.

Guidance is sought regarding a BA. I have detailed information about the town, property value, likely rent, and related information. Someone is needed on the ground to negotiate for me. I see no point engaging someone who will buy the property for an amount that is too high. Put another way, I have a reasonable expectation of what can be achieved. This is of course more than I would like to pay, but reality is needed.

It is unclear if it is a appropriate to engage a BA with a written instruction to buy the property for $X or less. I also do not know what the normal terms are for this sort of deal, just negotiation. Is it fee on success, half up front and half on success, something else? Also, what sort of fee would be appropriate?

Google is not very helpful, and neither is PBAA. I'm getting 10 000 hits from all over the place - USA, UK, nanny services. LOL! It seems that Google does not understand the words <"buyer's agent" Horsham Australia>. The Yellow Pages is equally bad, not listing the BA I have been considering. Should the BA be in the same town?
 
I use a conveyancer for my clients who also is a property lawyer and will match any written quote.

Best of both worlds and has definitely come in handy on more than one occasion.
 
How do you know it is a 'regular' conveyancing transaction at the start? And you should always use a property lawyer.
Whilst some transactions are obviously more complex, you don't know if a simple transaction is going to become complex, but realistically most property transfers are fairly straight forward. The point I'm trying to make is to use a conveyancer that has good backup from a competent legal team if necessary.

I am a lawyer, but I am still using a property lawyer for a 'simple' conveyancing transaction at the moment - because he knows more than me about this area.
... and I find that most conveyancers are actually more competent in facilitating residential property transfers than most lawyers are, even though they're not as qualified on paper. I admit that my sales experience is limited, but over the thousand+ purchases I've been involved in, problems have occurred far more consistently when it was a solicitor doing the work than a conveyancer.
 
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