In South Australia most home purchases are handled by a registered conveyancer, although a solicitor can also do the work. Conveyancers are registered with Consumer and Business Services under the Conveyancers Act 1994 (SA), which sets out who can prepare the legal documents used to transfer land and the rules they must follow when holding client money in trust. Before you engage anyone, ask for their registration details.
Their job is to look after your interests from the time you sign the contract until the property is in your name. That covers reviewing the contract and the vendor's statement, running searches on the title and the property, calculating adjustments for council rates, water and the emergency services levy, arranging payment of stamp duty, and coordinating settlement with your lender and the seller's representative.
Every residential sale in SA comes with a vendor's statement, known as the Form 1, required under the Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act 1994. It discloses things like mortgages, easements and encumbrances registered on the title, council and planning matters, and other charges that affect the land. Your conveyancer reads the Form 1 alongside the contract and points out anything that could affect how you use the property or what it is worth.
Ideally your conveyancer sees the contract before you sign, particularly if it has special conditions. Once it is signed, the key dates for the deposit, the finance clause and settlement are set, so it pays to get the wording right first. If you are buying with a loan, check that the finance clause allows enough time for formal approval, including the lender's valuation.
For a private sale of residential property in SA, the buyer generally has a cooling-off right that ends at the end of the second clear business day after the Form 1 is served. Weekends and public holidays do not count, and notice to withdraw must be in writing. There is no cooling-off period when you buy at auction, and a buyer who wants to waive cooling-off needs a certificate from a solicitor before signing.
Between signing and settlement your conveyancer completes the searches, checks the finance clause is satisfied or extended, prepares the transfer documents and agrees the final figures with your lender. Most settlements in SA are now completed electronically through an online settlement platform such as PEXA, so you do not need to attend. On the day the funds move, the transfer and your mortgage are lodged for registration, and you can collect the keys from the agent.
A conveyancing bill has two parts: the conveyancer's professional fee, and disbursements, which are the third-party costs of searches and certificates. Both vary between providers and with how complex the purchase is, so ask for a written quote that lists each part and says what is not included.
Separately, you pay government charges that the conveyancer collects and passes on: stamp duty to RevenueSA, and registration fees for the transfer and the mortgage. These are not the conveyancer's fees, but they appear on the same settlement statement, so it helps to know which is which when you set your budget.
The finance side and the legal side run in parallel. Your broker manages the loan application, valuation and formal approval, while your conveyancer manages the contract and settlement. The two need to stay in touch, particularly around the finance clause date and the settlement figures, because a delay on either side can push settlement back.
At Lendology we keep in contact with your conveyancer from the day the contract is signed, so the loan documents are signed, returned and ready well before settlement. We are mortgage brokers, not lawyers, so questions about the contract itself should always go to your conveyancer or solicitor.
Jason and Steve are Adelaide mortgage brokers who give honest advice at no cost to you. No obligation.
The information on this page is general in nature and does not constitute financial advice. Given Finance Pty Ltd (t/a Lendology) ACN 624 144 501 is authorised under LMG Broker Services Pty Ltd Australian Credit Licence 517192.