Buying or selling a property in Melbourne often feels like navigating a series of checkpoints, some expected, some surprising. The legal transfer of property, known as conveyancing, involves many steps, and understanding those steps helps you stay calm, confident and in control. While every situation has its own quirks, this guide gives you a realistic overview of what to expect and how long the process generally takes in Melbourne.
What is Conveyancing?
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring property ownership from one person to another. In Melbourne (and more broadly in Victoria), this means everything from contract preparation to settlement, searches, title transfers, and more. It’s what makes the property legally yours.
Because property transactions involve large amounts of money, legal rights, and sometimes complex history (easements, boundaries, mortgages etc.), having an experienced conveyancer or solicitor is wise. They handle the paperwork, compliance, and co-ordinate between buyer, seller, lenders, councils and land registry.
A Typical Timeline
In most Melbourne residential transactions:
- The “exchange of contracts” occurs, and a settlement period is agreed (commonly 30-90 days in many cases).
- The conveyancing process usually takes around 4-8 weeks from exchange until settlement (assuming no major hitches).
- For more complex deals (commercial property, off-the-plan, long chains) it can stretch to 8-12 weeks or more.
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of what typically happens:
Pre-Offer/Preparation
Before you even make an offer (or as a seller before listing), many of the groundwork tasks start. For a buyer, this might mean getting your finances in order, speaking to a broker, and doing initial inspections. For a seller, it means compiling the property title, getting the vendor’s statement (Section 32 in Victoria), and making sure there are no outstanding issues.
While this phase doesn’t always get counted in “weeks of conveyancing”, being prepared here can save you time later.
Offer & Contract Review
Once you decide on a property and your offer is accepted, you’ll receive or review the Contract of Sale. In Victoria, the seller must provide the Vendor’s Statement (Section 32) which details title, zoning, permits, encumbrances, and other relevant information.
Your conveyancer will review the contract, highlight special conditions or potential risks (for example, building defects, easements), and you’ll sign the contract and pay a deposit. At this stage a “cooling-off” period may apply for private sales (3 business days in Victoria) except at auction.
This stage can take a few days to a week or more depending on how quickly you act and how complex the contract is.
Exchange & Agreement of Settlement Date
When buyer and seller both sign the contract and all conditions are agreed, the contract is exchanged. The settlement date is set (e.g., 30, 60, 90 days later) depending on what was negotiated.
From this point, things tend to move into the “pre-settlement” phase where the conveyancer ramps up their searches, paperwork and co-ordination.
Pre-Settlement Period
This is often the busiest phase for the conveyancer, and it can last several weeks. What typically happens:
- Title search, register searches (easements, covenants, planning restrictions) and any other due-diligence work.
- Finalising finances, ensuring the buyer’s mortgage (if any) is approved, arranging for funds, preparing for bank requirements.
- Adjustments being calculated (rates, water charges, strata levies) so that the seller and buyer pay their fair share up to settlement.
- Property inspection (often a final inspection shortly before settlement to ensure the property is in agreed condition).
- Insurance set up by the buyer from the date of contract so any damage before settlement is covered.
- Co-ordination of documents for settlement: transfer documents, discharge of seller’s mortgage, lender instructions, land registry lodgements.
Because there are many moving parts (buyer, seller, agent, bank, council, conveyancer), delays can happen. If documentation is incomplete, or the lender is slow, or there are title issues, it may drag on.
Settlement Day
This is the “end-goal” day. On settlement day:
- The buyer pays the remaining purchase price (via conveyancer/lender)
- The seller’s mortgage (if any) is discharged
- The transfer of title is lodged with the land registry (via electronic platforms like PEXA in many cases)
- The buyer receives the keys and becomes the legal owner (subject to registration finalisation)
Factors That Speed Up or Slow Down the Timeline
While the above gives a good guideline, keep in mind the timeline flexes based on:
- Complexity of the property: Off-the-plan, units with many owners/strata, heritage listings, commercial property, all tend to add weeks.
- Finance/mortgage delays: If the buyer isn’t pre-approved or things change mid-process, this can stall things.
- Documentation and communication: Slow responses from any party (buyer, seller, lender, conveyancer) can add days/weeks and so does any document errors.
- Searches and legal issues: Unexpected title issues, planning restrictions, easements, outstanding rates can delay settlement.
- Settlement period agreed: Sometimes parties agree to longer settlements (e.g., 90 days) which stretches the process out.
- Use of electronic conveyancing: Places like Victoria increasingly use digital platforms which can help reduce paperwork delays.
- Change in circumstances: Unexpected life events, changes in finance, or change in property condition can all affect the timeline.
Practical Tips to Stay on Track
If you’re about to buy or sell in Melbourne, these tips help reduce stress:
- Engage your conveyancer early, as soon as you’re serious about the process.
- Get your finance in order (pre-approval, understanding of costs) before you sign the contract.
- Review the vendor’s statement (Section 32) and contract carefully to understand what you’re signing.
- Stay responsive, if your conveyancer asks for documents, send them quickly.
- Schedule inspections early and final inspection just before settlement.
- Plan for settlement day by ensuring funds are ready, documents signed, you know who to contact.
- Keep communication lines open between you, your agent, conveyancer, lender.
- Be realistic about the budget for costs (stamp duty, transfer fees, legal costs).
- Even after settlement, keep your records safe as you never know when you might need them.
The Bottom Line
Conveyancing in Melbourne is a sequence of legal and practical steps you move through from offer to settlement. If everything goes smoothly, you might wrap it in about 4-8 weeks from contract to settlement. But given real-world uncertainties, you should be prepared for a longer timeframe if issues arise.
Understanding each phase, knowing what your conveyancer is doing and your role in it, and keeping tabs on your finances and documents can make the process much less stressful. When things are done well, you’ll get to settlement day with confidence and this often means keys in your hand and your new property in your name.
If you’re thinking of buying or selling in Melbourne, taking the time to map out the timeline and talk to a good conveyancer early on can save you a headache down the line. If you are on the lookout for one, get in touch with us Easy Link Conveyancing and our expert team will be at your service.