When buying or selling any property, it's good to work with a conveyancer. This person is specially trained and licensed in the industry of real estate sales, and can help make this process easier on you in a number of ways. Using a conveyancer can also mean not missing deadlines or overlooking any of your rights and responsibilities throughout the selling and purchasing process. When you're looking to hire a conveyancer, note a few questions you might ask them, to ensure you're choosing the best professional for the job.
Ask if they're familiar with your type of transaction
Each type of real estate transaction will mean certain paperwork that needs to be produced, certain inspections that should be scheduled, and so on. For example, if you're buying vacant land, you might want a site survey so you can determine if there are easements on the property, and to determine the actual boundaries. A conveyancer who specialises in the purchase and sale of residential homes may not be as knowledgeable in what processes are needed to get this information about vacant land. Whatever the case, ask if they have experience in your type of property in particular.
Ask about their professional indemnity insurance
It can be especially important if you're selling property to ask about a conveyancer's professional indemnity insurance. This is their insurance policy that covers them if they should make any type of mistake during the conveyancing process. While both buyers and sellers want to ensure they're compensated properly if negligence or a mistake on the conveyancer's part interferes with their transaction, sellers especially may face legal trouble if they don't produce certain paperwork with a required time period, or mishandle any funds used as a deposit from the buyer, and so on. If this is done because of the conveyancer's mistake, it's good to know if their insurance policy will be sufficient to cover legal costs, lost sales, and so on.
Ask about their legal qualifications
If you know you will need legal advice, such as determining if you would be liable for any pollutants found on a vacant plot of land or if a seller can be made responsible for cleanup costs, you should only rely on a conveyancer with a legal degree. Don't assume that someone who is only a conveyancer can give you legal advice, but you also don't want to assume that hiring an attorney is necessary for most real estate transactions, as a conveyancer and real estate agent alone can often ensure the process goes smoothly for you.
Share1 March 2018
I love watching legal dramas from all different countries. I often call up my friend who is a lawyer to ask her about whether the cases I have seen on the latest drama are realistic or if they wouldn't happen that way in Australia. It's so interesting to me to see the changes that they make to make the stories flow more convincingly as well as the differences between the law in Australian compared to other countries. This blog is for other fans of legal dramas like me and has some tips on the best places to get real legal advice (hint, it's not on the TV!).