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Andy-roo
Posts: 1 Newbie
I read a book by a 'Michael joseph' recently called 'The Conveyancing Fraud' its an old edition but made me want to do my own conveyancing on a house i'm buying. Has anybody done so in the last six months or so that could suggest where i can get the forms from, the processes that need to be taken and if there is any new legalislation that has changed that will allow me not to do so.
Thankyou.
Thankyou.
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Comments
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I read a book by a 'Michael joseph' recently called 'The Conveyancing Fraud' its an old edition but made me want to do my own conveyancing on a house i'm buying. Has anybody done so in the last six months or so that could suggest where i can get the forms from, the processes that need to be taken and if there is any new legalislation that has changed that will allow me not to do so.
Thankyou.
As a retired agent if you came to my firm offering to buy and I knew you would be doing your own conveyancing I would recommend to the seller they did not sell to you.
Now and again we had people say they would do their own conveyancing and there was only the odd one that succeeded in getting through the process. Even that person kept consulting the other solicitor in the chain.A retired senior partner, in own agency, with 40 years experience in property sales & new build. In latter part of career specialising in commercial - mostly business sales.0 -
If you are buying or selling with a mortgage you can't do it yourself. Your lender requires a solicitor to act for them as well as you.
Furthermore many other solicitors will be reluctant to deal with you because it is extremely tricky effecting an exchange and completion with non conveyancers, also how do you know you won't c0ck it up and miss something in the deeds or search results.
A house purchase is one of the biggest financial transactions you will ever make, do you really want to risk having future legal problems for the sake of a couple of hundred quid?
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5 year plan to live unsecured debt free and move home0 -
Recommend reading The Practical Approach to Conveyancing by Abbey/Richards ( used on Legal Practice Courses). Forms can be obtained from the Land Registry, the RICS and Oyez legal stationers (oyez.co.uk).
You could perhaps look at the option of doing the work yourself and paying a set fee to a solicitor to check it through. Lenders *may* insist that you use a solicitor or licensed conveyancer.0 -
Quotes of up to £1000 including the VAT make people consider doing their own conveyancing.
However, when you can get it done for about £300 with the online firms, it seems less worth it.
For my first house purchase I went with a tradional local solictor, who charged me £1200 for conveyancing. The service was slow, and I had to visit the solicitors office once.
Subsequently, I've used Lees Lloyds Whitley in the to Buy & Sell and Fidler & Pepper for a sale. The charges were 50% cheaper than the traditional solicitors, and I found the service to be faster and more efficient. I also did not have to take a day off work to visit, as it's all done through the post.
I'd check http://www.web-conveyancing.co.uk/ for a quote, and go with one with some decent feedback!0 -
I used 'The Conveyancing Fraud' to buy my 1st property in 1981. Easy. But the book is now very out of date. Browse the library for one of several modern equivellants.
Since then I've bought 4 properties, some with some without mortgages, and always done it myself. saved 1000s.
Partly true. The lender will appoint a solicitor to arrange the mortgage, you can still do the conveyancing (house purchase) yourself.If you are buying or selling with a mortgage you can't do it yourself. Your lender requires a solicitor to act for them as well as you.
The economics of this are : if one solicitor does both, they charge a bit less than each element being done separately by solicitors. So doing the conveyancing yourself is still cheaper but only a bit as you still have to pay for the mortgage legal work.
These days as zcacmxi says, there are cheap online firms, so the saving may not be worth the stress/hastle if you still have to pay towards the mortgage work.
However, check their costs carefully: Does the £300 include the mortgage work? searches etc, disbursements? You may find the final bill has lots of 'extras' so get a clear cost breakdown when comparing firms.
Rubbish. I've had a few raised eyebrows but never had a problem. In the end, a sale is a sale.As a retired agent if you came to my firm offering to buy and I knew you would be doing your own conveyancing I would recommend to the seller they did not sell to you.
Above all, conveyancing is not rocket science. However you need to be reasonably intelligent, very methodical (it's basically a step-by step process) and willing to call an expert if you hit a problem (unlikely, but by following the steps, you'll know if a problem arises).
A lease on a flat is much more complicated - be careful if it is not a house (freehold).
Raised eyebrows again. You may need to attend their offices in person so check where they are.Furthermore many other solicitors will be reluctant to deal with you because it is extremely tricky effecting an exchange and completion with non conveyancers
VERY unlikely - as long as you follow all steps, read everything carefully, and are intelligent enough to understand what you're reading. 98% of Deeds/searches are standard and self explanatory if you have a good book to follow. With the 2% others (eg unexpected mortgages showing on the deeds; unregistered properties - not many these days; country estates with complex rights-of-way over the land etc), then see a solicitor.how do you know you won't c0ck it up and miss something in the deeds or search results.
In most cases tho, it's a straightforward, though stressfull process - but educational and very satisfying.
Good luck whatever you decide!0 -
However, when you can get it done for about £300 with the online firms, it seems less worth it.
The reason I'd consider doing my own conveyancing in the future is not for cost but for quality of service. My recent experience with solicitors has left me very disappointed.
For example the vendors of our house answered one of the queries with a response that meant the house would need circa £6000 of work doing on it in the next few years. The solicitor didn't bother mentioning that to me and I only noticed because I read the paper upside down on his desk.0 -
Over the years, I have bought and sold about fifty houses without using a solicitor. If there is no mortgage involved it really is a doddle. However with the change to "electronic" deeds it is very difficult for practical reasons to DIY without using a conveyancer or solicitor. In any case, you would have to pay the lender's legal fees anyway. Far better to go to a cheap and cheery firm who specialize in conveyancing, as their total fees will be less than the fees charged by a lender's solicitor who WILL overcharge you.
terryw"If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools"
Extract from "If" by Rudyard Kipling0 -
As a retired agent if you came to my firm offering to buy and I knew you would be doing your own conveyancing I would recommend to the seller they did not sell to you.
Now and again we had people say they would do their own conveyancing and there was only the odd one that succeeded in getting through the process. Even that person kept consulting the other solicitor in the chain.
Oh dear me Chickmug. Buyers are like hen's teeth at the moment, and you would seriously take action to cause a sale not to proceed? If I was the client of an agent like you I would take my busines elsewhere and report you to all and sundry.
Would you care for me to tell you about all the !!!!-ups and delays and stupidity and libels that I have encountered with conveyancing solicitors over the years? I could write a book - if anything Michael Joseph (God bless him) understated the problem.
terryw"If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools"
Extract from "If" by Rudyard Kipling0 -
Hippychick wrote: »If you are buying or selling with a mortgage you can't do it yourself. Your lender requires a solicitor to act for them as well as you.
Furthermore many other solicitors will be reluctant to deal with you because it is extremely tricky effecting an exchange and completion with non conveyancers, also how do you know you won't c0ck it up and miss something in the deeds or search results.
A house purchase is one of the biggest financial transactions you will ever make, do you really want to risk having future legal problems for the sake of a couple of hundred quid?
Agree absolutely with your first sentence but you are following the rather silly party line with the rest of your post. Might I give a short answer to your points?
1. Solicitors reluctant to deal with you. Does any solicitor turn down work where money is involved? Where solicitors have been tricky with me in the past, I have been even more tricky with them! They soon stop such nonsense, believe me!
2. Missing something in the deeds conjures up the nonsensical vision of some guy pondering through the night searching old parchments. Not so as we have a thing called the Land Registry and deeds are almost a thing of the past now.
3. Cocking it up. Look at the case law involving !!!!-ups. It is always solicitors who have cocked it up not DIYers.
4. Biggest transaction of you life etc etc etc. I started DIYing because I had just bought a Datsun 120y car, paid the dealer the pennies and drove it away. A quick phone call to a solicitor to get an estimate for the purchase of run-down cottage costing less than the 120y produced a figure of £200. The law involved in buying a car is far more complicated than the law in buying a house, but boy oh boy, solicitors would love a monopoly on car buying as well!
terryw"If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools"
Extract from "If" by Rudyard Kipling0 -
The reason I'd consider doing my own conveyancing in the future is not for cost but for quality of service. My recent experience with solicitors has left me very disappointed.
Very well said Adrian. A solicitor probably has 80 or 100 cases on the go at any one time. He can't give the individual attention that you yourself can. Apart from anything else by DIYing you remain in control of the whole situation and know exactly what is happening.
terryw"If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools"
Extract from "If" by Rudyard Kipling0
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