| Core Concepts | Flats | Lease | Local Search |
Quiz Question
Q: At a critical point in buying or selling your property, you ring your solicitor and learn that he or she...
a) has gone skiing.
b) is no longer handling your conveyance.
c) has gone out of business.
d) All of the above.
Quiz Answer
Yes, solicitors do go on holiday without informing their clients, even at critical times. Yes, they can and do suddenly go out of business. Choice "d" is correct.
And if solicitors can be as bad as all that, why use one? After all, buyers can convey properties themselves. So can sellers.
Nevertheless, good legal advice is a good idea.
-230W.jpg)
Yes, you can go the DIY route, provided the conveyance is definitely, certifiably free of snags and pitfalls. The problem is, you often can not tell at the start that there won't be a snag. Many properties or property transactions do turn out to be problematic. In addition, few people can understand leases and other paperwork involved in property transfers.
Paul Butt, author of the Which Guide Doing Your Own Conveyancing notes that DIY conveyancers often have to consult a solicitor over specific points anyway - and have to pay for the advice.
Butt also highlights the considerable risk of getting it wrong: "You risk ending up with a house you can never sell, or losing all the money you are paying for it. At the very least you risk paying out substantial damages for breach of contract."
Nowadays, there is also little reason to go the DIY route. The internet has lowered the cost of conveyancing considerably, and whereas buyers or sellers in pre-internet days might have saved a few hundred pounds, the savings today hardly make DIY worth the effort - or the risk.
Real versus Virtual Conveyancers
-230W.jpg)
Some homebuyers never actually meet or even speak with their conveyancer. They use an online service and everything is done via the post and the internet.
The pros to this approach are obvious: low prices.
But these low fees are based on straightforward complication-free conveyances. A hitch or unforeseen problem (further enquiries about past disputes or doubts about the soundness of the property raised by a survey, for example), can can gum up the works and lead to extra costs.
No Move, No Fee
Banks, building societies and other providers offer a no-fee service: if you do not end up buying the property, you do not pay their fee.
Girl, griffin and gaol (bailiff's house) at Polesden Lacey, a National Trust house in Surrey.
But fees and disbursements are different. Even with a no sale/no fee arrangement, you will still be responsible for disbursements. For example, if you pay for a local authority search but end up not buying the property, you will not recover that payment.
The basic fee also usually assumes a standard and straightforward conveyance. If the conveyancer has to deal with an unusual problem (dodgy or incomplete title deeds, for example), you may have to pay more. Note, too, that in addition to extra legal fees, you may have to shell out for special insurance.
Fees and Fixes
Advice from Consumer Which: If a conveyancer works on a "No Sale, No Fee" basis, they have an incentive to be efficient. Go for it, and also go for fixed fees.
Source: Buy, Sell and Move House (2006), by Kate Faulkner, p.111.
Legal Fees: Flats versus Houses
Fees generally vary according to property value and type. Legal work for flats is usually more expensive than for freeholds because conveyancers have to do more work (expect to pay at least £50 to £200 more than the cost for freeholds).
Choosing a Solicitor - I
Personal recommendations are among the safest ways to select a solicitor. Your estate agent or mortgage lender may be able to suggest a local solicitor, but they may have a vested interest in the outcome. One or more neighbours will probably be more neutral and give unbiased advice. The Law Society will provide contact details for conveyancing solicitors in the area you designate - and you can designate the area you are researching or planning to move into rather than your current locale. More info: Law Society (lawsoc.org.uk); Council for Licensed Conveyancers (theclc.gov.uk).
Choosing a Solicitor - II
(Local versus Local)
A solicitor who is local to where you currently live (or work) is convenient—you can easily nip over to sign a document, have a consultation, or deliver or pick up documents. On the other hand, a solicitor located in the area where you are buying will have local knowledge.
Landlords and Tenants
Tenancy Deposit Protection Landlords must put tenant deposits into one of three available schemes (direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit). The regulations apply for rent up to £25,000 per annum for Assured Shorthold Tenancies, and landlords who do not comply face stiff financial penalties. This tenancy deposit scheme applies to leases created on or after 6 April 2007.
Here Be Dragons
February, an icy February at that. My exchange and completion both occurred at the end of winter’s coldest month. And when the seller vacated the house, she turned off the gas supply. No gas meant no heat.
I did not move into my new home immediately, but luckily I did visit the property on completion day and noticed that the gas was off. Fortunately, I was able to turn it back on.
But what if the house had been vacant for several days, even weeks after completion, as often happens? A day or two after I completed, the weather turned from cold to below-zero frigid. An unheated house would have been a burst-pipe disaster waiting to happen.
That danger raises a further question: why did none of the experienced property professionals (estate agents, surveyors, solicitors) highlight this risk concerning a house that was changing hands in the dead of winter?
They didn’t because they don’t. And as you can’t rely on your professional advisors to protect your interests, you have to anticipate problems as best you can. Dangers and Disappointments pinpoints vital things for you to keep in mind.