A South Yarra buyer can negotiate a fair price and still lose money to the wrong conveyancer. UrbanMatter published a guide to picking a better one, with advice from property lawyer Melissa Barlas of Conveyed.

Choose a Local Conveyancer Who Knows the Rules in South Yarra

UrbanMatter is a Chicago-based publication for news, events, food, travel and city life. On a general-interest site, legal advice has to make sense to a first home buyer. The result is a plain-English checklist on Victorian conveyancing from a Melbourne property lawyer.

Five Checks Before You Hire a Conveyancer

The UrbanMatter checklist covers each area to confirm before you commit:

• Local knowledge of South Yarra and Victorian rules, which differ for regional and suburban properties
• A current licence, with registration through the Law Institute of Victoria, the Australian Institute of Conveyancers or the Legal Services Board
• Years of experience with deals like yours, enough to fix tricky problems in-house
• One packaged price up to settlement, with disbursements, search fees and GST listed upfront
• Same-day replies and regular updates on your file

Melissa Barlas works to each point, with close to ten years in property law behind her. Her team at Conveyed looks after clients in South Yarra and around Melbourne.

What the Right Conveyancer Saves You

A good conveyancer means fewer surprises, with an itemised quote upfront and contract, title or zoning problems caught before you sign. Melissa Barlas gives calm, practical guidance on complex cases and emergency conveyancing, and her team is still on hand after settlement. Before you sign a contract in South Yarra, put any conveyancer through the five checks and compare their replies.