First Home Buyers

Buying your
first home

The biggest contract most people ever sign, and nobody teaches you how it works. Here is what actually happens, what it costs, and where we come in.

Start here

What a conveyancer does, and when to get one

A conveyancer handles the legal side of buying a property: reading the contract and the Section 32 before you commit, running the searches that tell you what you are actually buying, dealing with the vendor's side and your lender, and settling the purchase so the title ends up in your name.

Engage one before you sign anything, not after. Most of the value is in the review that happens before you are committed. Once you have signed, or once the hammer falls at auction, the contract is binding and the job changes from advising you to getting you through it.

Ring us when you have a property you are seriously considering. There is no charge for that conversation.

A property consultation at R.E.T Conveyancing

Grants and duty

What you might not have to pay

Victoria runs several first home buyer concessions. Which ones you qualify for depends on the price, the property and your circumstances, and the thresholds move at each state budget - so we check them against your purchase rather than quote a number here.

First Home Owner Grant

A one-off payment for first home buyers of a newly built home, up to a value cap. It does not apply to an established house. We check whether your purchase qualifies and make sure the application goes in with the transfer.

Stamp duty exemption or concession

First home buyers pay no duty below one price threshold and reduced duty up to a second. It is usually the largest saving available, and it is claimed through the transfer, so it has to be set up correctly before settlement.

Other schemes

Shared equity, off-the-plan duty concessions and the federal deposit guarantee each have their own rules, and some interact with the others. We tell you which ones are live for your purchase and what each one requires.

Before you sign

The four things that matter most

01
Read the Section 32, or have it read

The vendor has to give you a Section 32 (Vendor's Statement) before you sign. It discloses the title, what is registered against it, zoning, outgoings, notices and owners corporation costs. What is missing from it matters as much as what is in it.

02
Know that auction means no cooling off

A private sale gives you three business days to change your mind, with a penalty. Buying at auction gives you none, and nor does buying in the three clear business days either side of one. If you are bidding, the review has to happen first.

03
Get the finance condition right

Pre-approval is not approval. If your contract is subject to finance, the wording and the date have to give your lender enough room, or you can lose the deposit over a delay that was never your fault.

04
Budget past the deposit

Duty, our fee, searches and lodgement, adjustments for rates and owners corporation fees, and your lender's own costs all land at or before settlement. We give you the full figure in writing early, not on the day.

Same Day Turnaround

Reviewed before the auction

From $249 + GST

Upload the Section 32 before 12pm Melbourne time and your written review is back by end of business the same day, in time to decide whether to bid.

Common Questions

First home buyer questions

Cannot find what you are looking for? Reach out directly and we will respond promptly.

Ask a Question
At settlement. Our fee and the disbursements come out of the settlement funds, so there is nothing to pay while the purchase is running. You get an itemised statement before settlement day. The same-day review and the pre-contract package are the exceptions: those are invoiced after the work is delivered.
Our conveyancing fee is fixed and quoted before we start. On top of it sit government costs we simply pass on: stamp duty (often nil or reduced for a first home), title searches, and the lodgement fee. We give you the full picture in writing at the start rather than a fee that grows.
Nothing requires you to get one, and we recommend it anyway. The Section 32 discloses what the vendor knows and has to tell you; it is not an inspection. A building and pest report is the only thing that tells you about the condition of the house.
You are free to choose. A conveyancer acts for one side, and the point of yours is that they act for you. Being recommended by the agent selling the property is not a reason to avoid someone, but it is a reason to ask who is paying them.
Usually 30 to 90 days in Victoria, set by the settlement date in the contract. That date is negotiable before you sign, so tell us if you need longer to arrange finance or shorter to line up with a lease ending.
The electronic platform Victorian settlements run on. It means nobody meets in a room to exchange cheques - the transfer, the funds and the lodgement all happen online on settlement day. You do not need to be there or do anything on the day.

No obligation

Found a place you are serious about?

Send us the address and the Section 32 and we will tell you what you are looking at, and what it will cost you to buy it.

Upload your Section 32Enquire Now

Office

262 St Kilda Road, St Kilda VIC 3182