Transferring ownership of property from one person to another involves a lot of legal and administrative work, which is what conveyancing is all about. The seller offers to sell the property and the buyer takes up on that offer. What happens next? Buying property is not as simple as grocery shopping, it involves many legal formalities to ensure complete and successful transfer of ownership.
Choosing the right conveyancing solicitor is important when you consider buying or selling any property – residential or commercial. There are many tasks that the conveyancing property solicitor will help you with:
- Legal advice
- Preparing draft contracts
- Local searches
- Mortgage offer
- Survey
- Exchange of contracts
- Funds collection and transfer
- Managing stamp duty charges
- Land Registry formalities
As you can see, there are many legal and administrative tasks involved in buying or selling property. The right conveyancing solicitor will help you handle these formalities with ease.
If you decide to go at it alone, it may take a considerable amount of time and energy. Not to mention the possibility of getting the legalities in a muddle. Of course it makes sense to hire a conveyancing solicitor, the question is how do you find the right one?
Here are some tips to help you find the right conveyancing solicitor for you.
1. Look for a specialist property conveyancing firm
Ideally, the conveyancing solicitor that you choose must specialise in property conveyancing. If the firm has a separate conveyancing department, it is a good indicator that they do a lot of property conveyancing work and they may be a right fit for you.
2. Choose a firm that will give you a dedicated case worker
Coveyancing firms typically operate in two different ways – they either have a “team” where the formalities are carried out in an assembly line fashion, or they have a dedicated case worker who is assigned your particular case. The latter is a more personal approach and enables you to have direct access to whoever is dealing with your case. Since you deal with just one person, there is better communication and work moves along faster.
3. Fixed fee conveyancing
Budget is of course an important consideration when you choose the conveyancing solicitor. If you choose a firm that charges an hourly rate, you run the risk of going above your budget. A fixed fee approach works best.
Also read: Is cheap conveyancing beneficial for customers?
4. Professionalism
Of course this is a no-brainer, but it is surprising how often buyers and sellers overlook this crucial element. Choose a conveyancing solicitor who is professional and pays attention to detail. Things like sending an introductory letter upfront which describes the conveyancing procedure and the costs involved, availability at all times to discuss particulars, willingness in providing information etc. are indicators of how professional the firm is.
5. Registered conveyancing solicitor
It is necessary that the conveyancing firm is registered with the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. It is worth checking, especially if it is a firm that you do not know much about.
6. Check out their website
Once you shortlist a few conveyancing solicitors, you may want to visit their website. Many conveyancing firms offer an option for prospective clients to request a conveyancing quote through the website. Once you enter the purchase amount and a few other details, they will generate a conveyancing quote which should give you an idea of the legal expenses involved and the solicitor’s fees for buying a house.
The right conveyancing solicitor will carry out the work efficiently and eliminate the stress factor involved in moving into a new property. Spend some time to figure out who would be the right one for you.