Whether you’re buying or selling a property, enlisting the help of a conveyancer is advantageous. You wouldn’t want to get overwhelmed with property conveyancing in Sydney. A conveyancer takes that workload from you and lets you focus on other things on your to-do list.
What is a conveyancer?
A conveyancer is knowledgeable about property laws, which vary among states in Australia. Naturally this means when in Townsville, a Townsville conveyancer will be better suited for conveyancing than someone based in Sydney. With a thorough understanding of the ins and outs of the industry, a conveyancer provides certified assistance to anyone selling or buying a property and facilitates the transition smoothly.
A conveyancer not only makes sure that you know your legal rights and obligations but also helps in the following ways: completes your legal documents, scrutinises the contract of sale, researches about the property and finds hidden or potential issues, arranges for property surveys and inspections, informs you of the financial aspects needed and updates you with every step of the buying or selling process.
When should you hire a conveyancer?
Once you’ve decided to sell or buy a property, enlisting the help of a conveyancer should be one of the first things you should do. Hiring such a service early on is better so you can review contracts or transfer documents and identify issues that could affect your transactions.
What factors should you consider when choosing a conveyancer?
To help you find the best conveyancer who can help you, here are the top six tips to hiring the right conveyancer when buying or selling a house.
1. Get recommendations from friends and family.
If someone from your friends or family members hired the same service sometimes in the past, it’s good to ask them for recommendations. With their experience of working with conveyancers, they probably know which or who gives the best service. The most credible source of information is still from the people we know and trust.
2. Check their reputation and credentials.
Don’t just hire someone you saw in the ads. Do a background check. Whether it’s an individual or a conveyancing company, check their reputation and credentials. You can easily do this using their website where you can read feedback about them or stories of people whom they have helped. Most of these people offering conveyancing services have an online presence so clients can easily find and contact them.
Also, you should check their experience and qualifications by asking them relevant questions. Are they members of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers or any board of conveyancers? You would want to make sure that you’re hiring someone licensed and capable.
3. Look into how they charge their fees.
Some conveyancers charge a fixed fee whilst others take a percentage based on the value of your property. Conveyancers might also charge extra fees for additional work. You should go through their charging process so you can see if there’s a way you can negotiate or pay less.
4. Make sure they are transparent and can communicate well.
The buying and selling process is a complex one, and it can become too technical for someone who’s buying a property for the first time. In this regard, it’s the conveyancer’s responsibility to explain all the technical terms in a manner that you would understand. Conveyancers must be able to relay all the practical details of the process that you need to know. Therefore, they should be honest and open to communication.
When looking for conveyancers, you should also ask them about expected time frames and how often they can update you. You should know how accessible they are in case you’ll need them.
5. Assess their capacity to handle your case.
You should not shy away from asking your potential conveyancers questions. In this way, you’ll know whether they can handle your transaction or not. Some conveyancers might be too loaded with work whilst others are inexperienced or their expertise might not be the one you need. You can discern and assess the capacity of conveyancers while talking to them and with the help of your research.
6. Keep a paper trail.
Although conveyancers take care of all the paperwork for you to relieve you of such task, it wouldn’t hurt if you would document your conversations and meetings with them. Take note of their answers to your questions, and record those related to your arrangements and fees. This is important as it gives you protection in case something gets amiss. Maintaining a record also provides certainty to your transactions and prevents both parties from trying to recollect the terms you agreed upon some months later.
Hiring the cheapest service doesn’t always mean you get to save some amount. When seeking to hire a conveyancer for your property transactions, follow these handy tips so you won’t end up working with amateurs. As a legal process, property conveyancing must be dealt with by experts in such a field.
