Most conveyancing quotes are two numbers pretending to be one: the professional fee, and the disbursements. Firms that lead with a very low headline figure are usually being quiet about the second part.
Here's what you're actually paying for, and how to compare quotes properly.
The short answer
For a straightforward NSW residential matter, expect a professional fee somewhere between $1,500 and $2,200 plus GST, depending on whether you're buying, selling or purchasing off-the-plan — with disbursements on top. Malko Conveyancing's own fixed fees sit in that range and are published in full on the prices page, with what's included in each.
Disbursements typically add $400 to $900 on a sale, and less on a purchase. What follows is what each part actually is, so you can tell whether a quote you've been given is complete.
The two parts of any quote
The professional fee is what the conveyancer charges for the work — reviewing the contract, ordering and interpreting searches, negotiating amendments, preparing documents, calculating duty, handling trust money, and settling the matter.
Disbursements are costs paid to third parties on your behalf. Your conveyancer doesn't set these and doesn't profit from them. They're passed through.
The distinction matters because a firm can advertise a very low professional fee and make it back on how disbursements are handled. The number that matters is the total.
Two things people reasonably expect to see and often don't: GST, which applies to the professional fee — check whether a quote is inclusive or plus GST before comparing it to another one — and stamp duty, which isn't a conveyancing cost at all. Duty is paid to Revenue NSW, and it's usually many times the size of the fee. We've written separately about what transfer duty actually costs in NSW.
What the disbursements actually are
For a typical residential purchase in NSW:
- Title search — confirms who owns the property and what's registered against it
- Planning certificate from the local council — zoning, and whether the property is affected by flooding, bushfire, contamination or heritage
- Drainage diagram — where the sewer runs
- Land tax certificate — whether any land tax is outstanding
- Council and water rates certificates — needed to adjust the figures at settlement
- Strata search, for units — the scheme's finances, minutes and defect history
- PEXA settlement fee — the electronic settlement platform
- Land Registry lodgement fees — registering the transfer and any mortgage
Some are fixed by government and identical wherever you go. Others vary by council, or by how much searching your particular property needs. A property with a complicated title or an unusual strata scheme legitimately costs more to investigate.
A sale carries its own set: the disclosure documents a vendor must attach to the contract, which have to be bought before the property goes to market.
Why conveyancing fees differ between NSW firms
Fixed fee versus hourly. A fixed fee tells you the number in advance. Hourly billing means the cost depends on how the matter unfolds — fine for genuinely complex work, unhelpful for a standard purchase.
What's included. Some quotes cover the contract review; some charge for it separately. Some include a set number of contract reviews for buyers still looking; some charge each time.
How disbursements are presented. A clear breakdown of anticipated disbursements up front is the sign of a firm that expects to be judged on the total. A vague reference to "additional costs at cost" is not.
Whether no-sale-no-fee applies. Some firms don't charge the professional fee if a purchase falls through. Read what that actually covers — disbursements already incurred are usually still payable, because those costs were genuinely paid to someone else.
Why cheap quotes get topped up
The pattern is consistent. A low advertised fee, then charges appearing for things a buyer reasonably assumed were included: each additional contract review, the strata search, an administration fee, correspondence beyond some threshold.
None of that is dishonest if it's disclosed. The problem is that it usually isn't disclosed at the point you're comparing quotes, which is the only point at which comparison is useful.
The question that cuts through it: what is the total I'll pay, assuming nothing unusual happens? A firm that can answer in one number has thought about it. A firm that can't, hasn't.
Buying versus selling
The professional fee is higher on a purchase, and it should be. The investigative work is on the buyer's side: searches, certificates, contract review, and the negotiation that follows from what those documents reveal.
The total bill is a separate question. Disbursements run higher on a sale, because of the documents that have to be bought to put the contract together — so once those are counted, a sale isn't automatically the cheaper matter.
Selling is more procedural — preparing the contract with the required disclosure documents attached, responding to the buyer's requisitions, and settling.
If you're doing both in the same period, ask whether there's a combined arrangement. Most firms will do something sensible.
What's genuinely worth paying for
Conveyancing is not a commodity, even though it's often sold as one. The difference between a good conveyancer and a cheap one shows up in a handful of moments:
- Reading a planning certificate closely enough to notice the property is flood-affected
- Recognising that a special condition in the contract is unusual, and pushing back before you sign
- Spotting in a strata report that a special levy is coming
- Answering the phone on the day something changes and a decision is needed
None of that appears on an invoice. All of it is the reason you engaged someone.
How we quote at Malko Conveyancing
Malko Conveyancing quotes a fixed fee with a clear breakdown of anticipated disbursements before you engage us. You'll know the total, not a starting point.
Our current packages are set out on the prices page — six of them, covering purchases, sales, transfers and off-the-plan, with what's included in each.
If your matter has something unusual about it, we'll tell you before you commit rather than after. Book a free 15-minute call, describe the property, and we'll give you a real number.
Tanya Kats is the Director of Malko Conveyancing and a Licensed Conveyancer in NSW. This article is general information and not legal advice for any specific matter.