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Do I need a conveyancer before I make an offer?
Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 16 October 2026 · 3 min read
The short answer
Generally, no. Conveyancers come in once there's a property to be purchased, and you don't know there's a property to be purchased until your offer has been made and accepted.
What I tell my clients is: let's figure out who we're going to use early, then only once an offer is accepted do we get the conveyancer involved to review the contract and handle the legal side of buying. Don't stress too much about them reviewing everything in advance.
The 60 second version, filmed from the driver's seat. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.
Pick them early, use them later
There's no harm in knowing who your conveyancer or solicitor will be before you start making offers. In fact, that's what I recommend to my clients. Get a name, check they're available around your timing, and know roughly what they charge. That way, when an offer is accepted, you're not scrambling to find someone while the clock is already running.
But knowing who you'll use and getting them working are two different things. Until there's an accepted offer, there's no contract for them to work on, no property that's yours to protect, and no reason to be paying for their time. So don't stress too much about having them review things in advance of making an offer.
What they actually do once your offer is accepted
Their goal is to make sure the contract is all buttoned up and ready for you to become the new owner of the property. That means reviewing the contract of sale, flagging anything unusual in it, checking the title and the searches, and handling the legal side of transferring ownership from the seller to you.
A lot of that work only makes sense once the offer has been accepted and we know the property is yours. That's when your conveyancer, your broker and your bank all start moving together towards settlement day. I'm chasing formal approval with the bank while the conveyancer ties the legal side together, and we keep each other in the loop.
If you change your mind
If for any reason you decide not to proceed after your offer is accepted, the cooling-off period is generally what gives you a way out, and the rules depend on which state you're buying in. In NSW, cooling off runs for five business days on a private treaty sale, and if you walk away inside that window you forfeit 0.25% of the purchase price.
So on a $600k purchase, pulling out during cooling off in NSW costs you $1,500. Not nothing, but a lot less than being locked into the wrong property. Other states have their own periods and costs, and your conveyancer is the one to confirm exactly where you stand once a contract is in front of you.
The honest bit: the offer stage is about the money, not the contract
Before an offer, the thing that matters most is knowing what you can actually borrow and what you're comfortable paying. That's my job, and it's worth getting right before you start making offers. The conveyancer's job starts the moment one is accepted.
The exception is if you're buying at auction. There's no cooling off when you win, so get the contract reviewed before the day, not after.
Getting ready to make offers?
A 30 minute call. We work out what you can borrow, what the purchase will cost all up including the conveyancer, and line everything up so you're ready the moment an offer is accepted.
No cost to you. The bank pays me when a loan settles. · How I get paid
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Related answers
The full guide: How to buy your first home How do I make an offer, and who does the agent work for? Can I bid at auction with just a pre-approval? What actually happens on settlement day, and when do I get the keys? What is the first step to buy your first home?Not your question? Book a call and ask it, or call 0437 189 939.