How To Find A Good Conveyancer
When you buy a home you need to ensure that the ownership of the legal title also passes on to you from the seller. This passage however may bring forth an endless list of legal jargons. Are you prepared for it? To make the transaction as smooth as possible, you will do well to rope in a conveyancer.
Defining a Conveyancer
To define, a conveyancer is a guy who sees to the transfer of legal ownership. His arc of work includes, but is not limited to, legal documentation, title search, lease review, and finding out easements and encumbrances on the property under question.
Works on behalf of buyers as well as sellers
Just as there are buyer’s agents and vendor’s agents, there are conveyancers working on behalf of buyers and sellers too. The one working for a buyer looks meticulously after the contract of sale, applicable rates and taxes, communication with banks, communication with vendor (or his agent) and the process of settlement; all this so that you do not have to get entangled in the legal mesh yourself.
How should you search for them
So you may say- “Hey! All this is really important but what are my chances of finding a really good conveyancer?” Pertinent question I must say. Good news is that you have a jolly good chance of nailing the best conveyancer in town. Again, diligent search is the key.
Your search should ideally begin with people you know and who had to hire conveyancers to get their property legally transferred. You can also check for them online. I bet the virtual domain has got an answer for the “distance between the 7374th asteroid between the belt of Mars and Jupiter from the 8239th asteroid which burst into flames in the year 1982”. You get the idea!
Questions to ask the conveyancer you are interviewing
Let us assume that you have got a few names in your to-interview list now. So how do you filter them out? How to judge the best man for the job? I think there is no substitute to a thorough questionnaire. Here are a few.
- Before anything, ask them if they are a member of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers and have undertaken a two-year tertiary course on real property.
- You will be better off asking them what their area of specialisation is. Are they best equipped to handle cross leases, subdivision or practically anything?
- Ask them if they are fairly competent to handle the settlement process. In other words, are they thorough with the “Order on the Agent”, banking protocols, pre-settlement inspections, and so on.
- Make sure you also prefigure their fees. In an ideal world, conveyancers, unlike solicitors, charge you a predetermined (fixed) fee. In certain cases, they may also look for a meagre part of the cost of purchase. At any rate, it is good to ask in advance.
In the years I have given to this profession, I have been able to befriend a few highly reputed conveyancers. I can help my Sydney-based clients get in touch with them, if such a need arises.
Can you share how your conveyancer smoothed out your last property transaction?
