subject: Property Solicitors - A Mini Guide [print this page] What is the role of the property solicitor? Why are they needed and what do they do on a day to day basis? A property solicitor's key role is to ensure the smooth transition of a property from one party to another. Handling all of the legal requirements that comes with conveyancing. Conveyancing is the legal process of buying and selling a property. A conveyancer is the generic term given to either a conveyancing/property solicitor or licensed conveyancer. All property solicitors practising law in England and Wales must also be registered with the Law Society.
When you place an offer on a property, your estate agent will ask for your conveyancer's or property solicitor's details to pass onto the seller's conveyancer. It's therefore a good idea to make contact with a professional before you start looking for a property, this will help you to avoid having to make this important decision in a rush. A conveyancer's job is to take care of all legal aspects of moving house, which include: a local search, land charges search, land registry, stamp duty and home information packs. So there is plenty to get on with!
So when it comes to finding a suitable and reliable property solicitor, the best way of finding someone is through a personal recommendation form a colleague or friend. This will help you to achieve peace of mind when making this important decision. This information can also be found via the estate agents or mortgage brokers involved in the deal.
Another part of this process involves the lender; they will also have a certain amount of legal work to be completed and to save a little money it may be a good idea to use the property solicitor in charge of your move to act for them also. Their principal task is to draw up a mortgage deed, which sets out the conditions of your loan. The lender will hold this and the title deeds of your property until the loan is paid in full.
The costs for this service can of course vary, so the best practice is always to obtain three quotes before making your final decision. Firstly make initial contact and explain that you will be requiring a quote for the property solicitor's services. At this point it is key to ensure that you know what the quote includes, be aware that the property solicitors time, phone calls, letters faxes and general admin will all be charged back to you, they may also state that if an unforeseen circumstances arise during the process that an additional charge will need to be paid in order to effectively deal with this situation and find a solution.
In terms of actual costs, say your property is worth 100,000 you should expect to pay in the region of 550 in solicitor's fees. This cost is of course dependent on whether your property is leasehold or freehold. It is a rule of thumb that leasehold properties will incur higher costs as they require more administrational work.
So let's quickly rewind, after reading through this mini guide the best option is to start a search on the internet to get an idea of which services are going to suit you best and then look into a personal recommendation before requesting one of three quotes.
