How much does conveyancing cost in Queensland?

Legal fees for a standard home sale or purchase in Queensland usually run from about $800 to $2,500. At Coastside Law a sale is a fixed $990 and a purchase is a fixed $1,499, both including GST. On top of the legal fee you pay searches and government fees, and buyers pay transfer duty.

The buyer's side does more of the work: reviewing the contract and special conditions, ordering searches, tracking finance and building and pest dates, handling transfer duty and registering the transfer. The seller's side is mainly the contract, disclosure and settlement.

Searches (title, council rates and water, body corporate for units), the electronic settlement (PEXA) fee and Titles Office registration fees. For a buyer these usually add roughly $450 to $900, before transfer duty. Building and pest inspections are paid directly to the inspector.

Transfer duty (stamp duty). On most homes it's far larger than every other cost put together, although first home buyers may get a concession or exemption. Use our stamp duty calculator for a quick estimate.

If your contract is terminated under cooling off, finance or building and pest, you pay no professional fee. You only pay for searches already ordered, at cost.

Sometimes. A low headline price can leave out searches, or come with extra charges for things like PEXA, file setup or calls. Ask for the full fixed fee in writing, and ask who will actually handle your file. With us it's a solicitor.

Generally at settlement: from the sale proceeds when you sell, or with the balance of the price when you buy. Some searches are paid earlier because they're ordered at the start.