The buying process in Victoria

Two things shape the sequence in Victoria. The seller's disclosure comes first, as a Section 32 vendor statement the buyer reads before signing. The legal work can be done by a lawyer or by a conveyancer licensed under the Conveyancers Act 2006. A private sale carries a three-business-day cooling-off period; an auction carries none, so on an auction purchase every check happens before the day.

The steps in order

1. Finance first. Get a pre-approval before inspecting; the borrowing capacity calculator gives a first pass. Add duty and the other purchase costs from the stamp duty page.
2. Sort out the grant and the duty relief early. The First Home Owner Grant, the first-home duty exemption and the principal place of residence concession each have their own eligibility test; the grants page has them.
3. Check the agent's licence on the Consumer Affairs Victoria public register (below).
4. Engage the legal side before making an offer. Choose a lawyer or a licensed conveyancer, checked on the register, and send them the Section 32 and contract for any serious contender.
5. Read the Section 32 and the Statement of Information. The vendor statement covers title, mortgages, covenants, easements, zoning and outgoings, not building condition; the Statement of Information carries the agent's comparable sales. Both are on the cooling-off and contracts page.
6. Build the range before the offer or the auction. Recorded comparable sales give a fair-value range; the guide, and once the reserve-price reform commences the published reserve, are read against it. The auctions page has the rules.
7. Inspect. A building and pest inspection is the buyer's to arrange; the vendor statement is silent on condition.
8. Sign, pay the deposit, and note the cooling-off. On a private sale, three clear business days from signing, at a cost of $100 or 0.2% of the price, whichever is greater; none at auction. The deposit, up to 10%, goes to the agent's trust account.
9. Settlement. The date is in the contract. The conveyancer or lawyer settles electronically through a network such as PEXA, between 10 am and 4 pm unless agreed otherwise; the balance and the duty are paid.
10. Move in on time. The grant and the duty relief each require 12 months of residence, starting within 12 months of settlement or completion. For vacant land the duty clock runs from the occupancy certificate (12 months) or settlement (36 months).

Who does the legal work

Conveyancing in Victoria is done by a lawyer or by a licensed conveyancer. A non-lawyer who carries on a conveyancing business for fee or reward has to be licensed by the Business Licensing Authority and comply with the Conveyancers Act 2006. Licensed conveyancers may do some legal work in a transaction, including preparing agreements, transfers, leases and mortgages. Consumer Affairs Victoria keeps a public register of licensed conveyancers.

Lawyers who do conveyancing are regulated separately, by the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner, outside the sources this page relies on. Whether a conveyancer's licence requires professional indemnity insurance was not returned from this environment, so ask before engaging. Give them the Section 32 and contract as soon as they arrive, the finance details, the key dates and the names going on the title.

Checking the agent

Every estate agent licensed in Victoria is on a public register kept by Consumer Affairs Victoria; the Business Licensing Authority issues the licences under the Estate Agents Act 1980. The register shows licensee names, licence numbers and business locations. CAV's search page gathers all of its public registers in one place.

If something goes wrong

Consumer Affairs Victoria handles complaints about estate agents through its estate agent complaint form. Underquoting goes to the Underquoting Taskforce's webform, reached from CAV's buyer page on property prices. A phone number was not returned from this environment.

A problem with a lawyer's conveyancing goes to the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner. CAV licenses conveyancers through the Business Licensing Authority, so a complaint about a licensed conveyancer starts there. Disputes over the contract itself, including a defective Section 32, are legal matters. CAV's guidance is that a buyer may be able to withdraw or take legal action, so that is a job for a lawyer.

How long it takes

The settlement date is whatever the contract says; the usual periods (30, 60 or 90 days) were not confirmed from this environment. What stretches it: an unmet finance condition, a Section 32 that turns out to be wrong, or a title problem the conveyancer finds. An off-the-plan build runs longer still, and the grant's residence clock then runs from completion. What shortens it: an auction, where there is no cooling-off and the buyer is bound from the day. Settlement itself is electronic, within the 10 am to 4 pm window unless the parties agree otherwise; Land Use Victoria moved to digital-only lodgement by 1 August 2019.