Conveyancing Lawyers Melbourne

Do you need a Melbourne Property Lawyer?

Most of us come across “conveyancing” at some stage of our lives, whether we are buying or selling a property, developing land, or sorting out an access dispute with a neighbour. Our experienced Melbourne conveyancing lawyers can assist with all your needs.

What is Conveyancing?

Conveyancing involves the process of transferring the legal ownership of real estate from one person (or legal entity, such as a corporation) to another. Most people are quite familiar with the concept of a property conveyance, and as a result might underestimate the potential for complexity and risk.

Not only are there strict deadlines involved in a conveyance, but there is also potential for fundamental mistakes, misunderstandings, or fraud. Whether you are buying or selling property, our conveyancers can help by ensuring that you are aware of your rights and obligations, and protect your legal and financial interests.

Selling Residential Property

Most residential properties in Victoria are sold either by auction or by private treaty.

Auction is usually considered the most reliable way of achieving the true market value for a property, because all willing buyers can come together at the same time and the highest bidder secure the purchase. There is, however, a bit more involved than selling by private treaty.

In Victoria, it is also common to sell a property via private treaty. In this case, you list your property for sale at a set price or range. Generally, there is less pressure on the vendor with a private sale, rather than an auction. This allows the vendor to have greater control over the terms and conditions of the sale.

A private treaty sale may be the right choice for unusual properties or if you are willing to wait for the right buyer to come along.

We recommend discussing these aspects of the selling process with your Real Estate Agent.

Buying Residential Property

Buying a property is exciting. If you are a buyer, the onus is on you to organise the finance, conduct your due diligence searches, and make sure that the property is right for you. Although the rule is “buyer beware”, there are some safeguards in place to protect you. For instance, there is a cooling-off period of three business days in Victoria when you buy a property privately, which allows you to change your mind and withdraw from the sale. Finding an experienced conveyancer in Melbourne can help you through the process.

When you buy at auction, not only do you not have the benefit of a cooling-off period, you also cannot make your offer conditional. If you are the top bidder, you must be ready to sign a contract and pay 10% of the purchase price when required. In contrast, if you buy under a private treaty, you may be able to make an offer conditional on getting approval from your financial lender, the sale of another property, or a satisfactory building or pest inspection.

Settling your Melbourne Conveyancing transaction through PEXA

For many years, completing a transaction to buy or sell property involved the physical meeting of lawyers and financial institutions to check and exchange documents and settlement cheques. Documents would then need to be physically lodged with government authorities to transfer the title and change ownership details.

E-conveyancing has streamlined this process through an electronic platform known as PEXA which removes the location and time barriers of traditional settlements. E-conveyancing enables property lawyers, conveyancers, and financial institutions to transact online, improving transparency and efficiency and streamlining manual processes and paperwork.

Our conveyancing and property lawyers in Melbourne are experienced with PEXA online conveyancing, a system which visually tracks the progress of each stage of your matter, facilitates the online lodgement of documents and gives our clients faster access to sales funds.

Melbourne Conveyancing and Property Lawyers

We assist our Family Law clients with all conveyancing aspects of their financial settlements, including the purchase or sale of properties, and refinancing mortgages/loans, pursuant to Court Orders or Financial Agreements.

If you need assistance with conveyancing in Melbourne and the surrounding areas, or with any property matter, please contact melbourne@maeveobrien.com.au or call 03 9857 0099.