Conveyancing in Hornsby and the Upper North Shore

In NSW, the cost of conveyancing ranges between $1,500 to $3,500 depending on the nature of the conveyance and cost of disbursements. Your solicitor/conveyancer may ask that you pay an initial amount into Trust to help cover some of the immediate disbursements. The remaining balance to be paid will ordinarily be deducted at settlement.  Most solicitors and property conveyancers will do fixed fee conveyancing. You should however understand what you are getting.  For example, does the fee include explaining the Contract of Sale and negotiating any changes?  What happens if the sale goes wrong?

Disbursements are third-party fees incurred during the conveyancing process. These include charges such as search fees (e.g., council and water rates, strata searches), registration fees, PEXA fees, remote verification of identity (VOI), and stamping fees. At Sapphire Legal, we ensure you understand all the disbursements involved, providing clear explanations and managing the process efficiently.

If the transaction involves a mortgage, often your lender will require that a solicitor is used for the conveyancing.  All settlements must occur via PEXA, an online conveyancing platform. Unless you are a registered user of PEXA, you will not be able to do your own conveyance.

Not necessarily.  Solicitors are qualified lawyers, so they can offer a full range of legal services. Licensed conveyancers are specialised in property but can’t deal with complex legal issues.  Should a problem arise, you may need to change who is representing you. 

Deciding whether to use a solicitor or a conveyancer can be difficult.  Both are able to handle a property transaction however there are some important differences.  A solicitor is qualified to offer a range of legal services.  If a problem were to occur, or a complex legal issue needed to be addressed, a solicitor will be able to provide this service. If you need advice on other areas such as family law or changing your will, you may feel that a solicitor is the better choice.  If however you believe the sale is unlikely to be complicated or you do not require any other services, you may be happy for a conveyancer to do the work.  

Most Contracts of Sale have a settlement period of 42 days – this is the time from exchange of contract to date of settlement. You may however wish to negotiate a longer, or shorter timeframe.  In 2022, the average time from commencement of marketing to completion was approximately 150 days.

You do not have the right to dictate who may be around the children when they are with the other parent – this goes both ways. The exception to this is where there exists a genuine safety concern.  In such cases, you should apply to the Court for an order that prohibits the children being in the presence of that person.  It is important to be realistic about the idea that your ex may at some point re-partner, if they have not already done so – life goes on after-all.  It is not healthy, or productive, to spend literally years of your life in dispute over parenting and property – to do so will come at a cost to your health, finances and the good opinion of your children.  Should you hold serious concerns about the welfare of your child in the company of another adult, you have a responsibility to ensure that your child is safe – this may include withholding the child from spending time with the other parent until such issues are addressed.  That said, if such grounds are found to be false or unjustified and you find yourself in court, you should expect the other party to use your behaviour as evidence against you in their affidavit.   

Yes.  The vendor and seller will choose their own solicitor/conveyancer.  In some rare cases, it may be the same person however this should be avoided in the event a conflict of interest arises

Yes.  Each party is responsible for paying the professional costs of their respective solicitor/conveyancer.  In addition to the professional fees you will be charged disbursements including but not limited to, search fees, PEXA fee, mortgage discharge fee (seller), Land Registry fees, verification of identity fee’s, council and water rate adjustments.  

It is strongly advisable that you engage a solicitor or conveyancer BEFORE you sign the Contract of Sale.  Your solicitor/conveyancer will be able to advise you on the terms of the Contract and try to negotiate changes, if needed.  If you are selling, you must have your Contract of Sale prepared BEFORE your property goes on the market.  

If preparing the Contract of Sale, you will need to provide them with a copy of the most recent Council/Water Rates or Strata notice.  If selling under a Power of Attorney, the original document will also need to be given to your solicitor.  Regardless of whether you are buying or selling, your solicitor/conveyancer will also need to obtain two forms of proof of identity.