The short answer
Buying property in Victoria runs through six stages: Inspect → Review → Offer → Sign → Settle → Keys. You'll arrange finance and inspect properties, have the Contract of Sale and Section 32 reviewed before offering, sign and pay a deposit, then work through finance, insurance and searches to a settlement usually 30, 60 or 90 days later.
Most buyers spend months searching and only days deciding. Here's the whole path, so the days go well.
| Stage | What happens | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| Inspect | Budget, pre-approval, property search, inspections | Months |
| Review | Contract of Sale and Section 32 reviewed before you offer | Days, before each offer |
| Offer | Offer made, terms negotiated | Days |
| Sign | Contracts signed and exchanged, deposit paid | Same week |
| Settle | Finance, insurance, searches, adjustments | 30, 60 or 90 days |
| Keys | Final inspection, settlement, collect keys | Settlement day |
Stage 1 of 6
Talk to a broker or your bank about what you can borrow and what repayments look like. Then add the costs that sit on top of the purchase price, most first-time buyers underestimate these by a wide margin.
Related: budgeting for conveyancing, what purchasers and vendors in Victoria need to know
This isn't mandatory, but pre-approval tells you your real ceiling and lets you search with confidence. It isn't a guarantee of finance, and it usually has an expiry. Note the date.
Stage 2 of 6
Research the suburb, inspect properly, and test the things you'll actually use every day. Consider a professional building and pest inspection to identify major defects or infestations before you commit.
The Contract of Sale and Section 32 can reveal restrictions, unexpected costs, or terms that change what you're buying. Reviewing early means you can move quickly when the right property comes along, and negotiate while the terms are still open.
Have each contract reviewed, not just the one you fall for. Most buyers miss out on a few properties before they succeed.
Have someone lined up before you offer, not after you've signed. Once contracts are exchanged the terms are fixed, and the person you engage is managing a deal they had no say in shaping.
How to choose a conveyancer or property lawyer
What to check before you make an offer
Stage 3 of 6
An offer should set out:
Conditions have to be in the offer. A verbal understanding with the agent isn't a condition. If it matters, it goes in writing before you sign.
At auction there are no conditional clauses. Auction terms are fixed and bidding is unconditional.
Stage 4 of 6
Once both parties have signed and exchanged copies, the contract is legally binding.
Cooling-off, precisely
The clock starts when you sign, not when the vendor signs. You have three clear business days from your own signature. That matters if there's a gap between the two. You might be sent the exchanged contract on the same day your cooling-off expires.
To use it you have to give written notice to the vendor or their agent before the expiry. Get legal help.
It costs you. The vendor keeps $100 or 0.2% of the purchase price, whichever is greater. Above $50,000 that's always the percentage: on an $800,000 property, cooling off costs $1,600.
And it very often doesn't apply at all. There is no cooling-off period where:
The auction window is the one that catches the most people. Properties get sold before auction all the time, and a buyer who signs a pre-auction offer on the Thursday before a Saturday auction has no cooling-off rights at all.
Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic) ss 31(2), (4), (5). A business day excludes weekends, and public holidays observed throughout Victoria, so a regional show day still counts.One in your favour. The contract must carry a conspicuous notice telling you about cooling-off. If it doesn't, your right to rescind runs much longer, until you're entitled to possession or to the rents and profits. Any clause trying to waive or shorten cooling-off in Victoria is void.
Deposits are typically paid into the selling agent's trust account or your lawyer's trust account.
Payment redirection fraud targets exactly this moment, because it's a large transfer to an account you've never paid before. Urgency is the most consistent warning sign.
Stage 5 of 6
This is the longest stretch, usually 30, 60 or 90 days. Four things run in parallel.
Finance
Watch your finance deadline and act fast when documents are requested. Review and sign loan documents, and give your lender whatever they ask for promptly. Missing a finance date can leave you legally committed with or without your loan, and your deposit is on the line.
Insurance
Your lender will usually require evidence of building replacement insurance before settlement. Depending on the circumstances you may also want contents, landlord, or internal liability cover.
Utilities
Organise electricity, gas and internet ahead of settlement or moving day. Worth having connected before your final inspection.
Searches and adjustments
Your lawyer or conveyancer orders the searches and prepares the Statement of Adjustments - the apportionment of council rates, water charges, land tax and owners corporation fees between you and the vendor, based on the settlement date. You pay for the period you'll own it; the vendor pays for theirs.
Stage 6 of 6
Arrange it with the agent in the week before settlement, to confirm the property is in the agreed condition. For occupied homes, booking close to settlement allows more time for them to move out. Check that inclusions are still there and nothing has been damaged since you signed.
Your lawyer or conveyancer confirms arrangements and makes sure funds, documents and title transfer requirements are all ready. Settlement in Victoria is usually electronic, through PEXA.
Once settlement completes you'll receive confirmation the property is yours, and you can collect the keys.
The number that surprises people.
| Cost | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Land transfer duty (stamp duty) | At settlement | Usually the largest. Rates, thresholds and concessions change — check the State Revenue Office Victoria for current figures and concessions such as first home buyer eligibility |
| Lawyer or conveyancer fees | At settlement, or in stages. Ask your lawyer | Ask whether the fee is fixed and how costs may change |
| Conveyancing disbursements and third party costs | At settlement, or in stages. Ask your lawyer | Title and plan searches, council and water certificates, land tax certificates, PEXA fees |
| Building and pest inspection | Usually before offering | Optional, and usually worth it |
| Loan fees | At settlement | Application, valuation, lender's mortgage insurance if applicable. These are often deducted from the loan amount, so the bank hands over less funds at settlement |
| Building insurance | Before settlement | Usually required by your lender |
| Adjustments | At settlement | Your share of rates, water, land tax and owners corporation fees. The entire rating period gets paid at settlement, which can mean a lump sum year of rates instead of the instalments you may be used to |
| Moving costs | After settlement | Removalists, locksmiths, connections, cleaning |
| Registration Fees | At settlement | government charges to change ownership, and lodge a mortgage (vary based on purchase price) |
Land transfer duty in particular is worth calculating early. It can be tens of thousands of dollars, and it's payable at settlement, not spread across the loan.
| From | To | Typical |
|---|---|---|
| Requesting a contract | Review completed | Hours to a few days, depending on your lawyer |
| Offer accepted | Contracts exchanged | The vendor has three clear business days to accept and exchange, unless you shorten your offer expiry on the contract when signing |
| Signing | Settlement | 30, 45 and 60 days are the most common. Sometimes up to 90 days or more, as negotiated. Get legal and financial advice for long or short settlements |
| Section 32 certificates | Obtained by the vendor | Most take around a week, but some certificates, owners corporation certificates in particular, take up to 10 business days |
The searching takes months. Everything after the offer runs to dates you agreed when you signed, which is why the settlement period is worth negotiating rather than accepting.
Plan your budget and get pre-approval, research and inspect properties, have the Contract of Sale and Section 32 reviewed, engage a conveyancer or lawyer, make your offer, sign and exchange contracts, pay the deposit, finalise finance and insurance, complete a final inspection, and settle.
Before you make an offer. Once contracts are exchanged the terms are fixed, and engaging someone afterwards means they're managing a deal they had no part in shaping.
Usually 30, 60 or 90 days from signing, as negotiated in the contract. The period is agreed before you sign and is difficult to change afterwards.
When the purchaser signs the contract, not when the vendor signs. Under section 31(2) of the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic) it runs for three clear business days after the purchaser has signed. Written notice must reach the vendor or their agent within that window.
No. Section 31(5)(b) of the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic) excludes cooling-off where land is sold within three clear business days before a publicly advertised auction, on the day of the auction, or within three clear business days after it. A pre-auction offer or a post-auction deal on a passed-in property carries no cooling-off rights. Cooling-off is also unavailable where the purchaser is an estate agent or a corporate body.
The vendor may retain $100 or 0.2 per cent of the purchase price, whichever is greater, under section 31(4) of the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic). Above a purchase price of $50,000 the 0.2 per cent figure applies, so on an $800,000 property cooling off costs $1,600.
Land transfer duty, legal or conveyancing fees, disbursements such as searches and certificates, building and pest inspection, loan fees, building insurance, adjustments for rates and outgoings, and moving costs.
The apportionment of council rates, water charges, land tax and owners corporation fees between buyer and vendor, calculated to the settlement date. The buyer pays for the period they own the property and the vendor pays for theirs.
It isn't compulsory, but it's how major defects and infestations get identified before you commit. If you want it as a condition of purchase, it has to be written into the offer. Conditional clauses often only cover major building defects and major pest infestations.
Prepared Prime
Of everything above, contract review is the one that moves the most and costs the least. It is also the step buyers routinely push to the end, once they have already decided.
Prepared Prime gives you unlimited contract reviews while you're house-hunting, each prepared by a qualified property lawyer and back within 4 business hours. Normally starting at $49 a review. Free for your first 90 days, and the clock doesn't start until your first review.