I sold flat without a solicitor!

clutton_2

why are folks giving OP such a hard time over this ? no one forces anyone to do the conveyancing themselves....

There have been books around teaching folks how to do their own conveyancing since the 1960s at least...

comments like this ""To simply boast and share with the world one of your no doubt many talents?"

are utterly ridiculous

Radsteral

well done!

i ended up with a non payer client company and involved a dept collection company. Useless they were and it took ages for them to win the court case even though i had exelent paperwork.

I still didnt get the money as the company went insolvent. Outraged by this sort of justice i kept digging on the internet for weeks, till i realised i had sent the quote and invoice to the name of the director, not to the company..
After more digging in internet, and lots of advice from people i found director's home address, found that he owned the house , got a copy from land registry for 3 quid, and sent it recorded delivery(included a picture of his house) and added on the top of the houses picture '' I LIKE THIS HOUSE! EITHER A PIECE OF THIS HOUSE OR THE MONEY...I WILL SETTLE FOR THE TOP FLOOR''

4 days latter i had a cheque home which i sent it back.. with a 7 days notice asking for cash.
2 days latter i had it all in cash delivered in my house by himself .

it shows some times you just have to do the homework yourself better than leaving it to others

orangefender

clutton wrote: »

why are folks giving OP such a hard time over this ? no one forces anyone to do the conveyancing themselves....

There have been books around teaching folks how to do their own conveyancing since the 1960s at least...

comments like this ""To simply boast and share with the world one of your no doubt many talents?"

are utterly ridiculous

Only when taken out of context.

Individuals are of course free to do as they wish and will come to their own decision, but it is a false economy and the perceived benefit of saving a few hundred pounds is for many reasons outwieghed many times over.

orangefender

bundly wrote: »

Nonsense. What possible pitfalls could there be when all I had to do was draw up a one page doc basically saying "I am selling this property to you for x amount"?

This is the problem, that's not just it. There could be any number of pitfalls depending on the terms of the lease, building management arrangement etc. It is impossible to go into details on here. Hopefully you caught everything and have no ongoing liabilities under the lease, but it's the sort of thing that's easy to miss if you've not done it before.

jazzyjustlaw

bundly wrote: »

Although I have no legal background I sold my flat myself without a solicitor or conveyancer. The flat was a leasehold one, but I also owned half the freehold and was selling that to the buyer as well, as a separate deal, for £500.

I learned everything I needed to know on the Internet. I looked at a few solictors' websites and some had PDF downloads of "what a selling contract looks like". Then I just "stole" the wording and made up my own contract.

The buyer's solicitor is one of those ancient firms (in Hastings) and the senior partner was at first quite outraged and initially refused to deal with me. But I knew that he has no legal right to do so and when I reminded him of this he immediately relented.

He then told the buyer that he would charge her extra because he would have to spend time checking the contract I'd drawn up. So I phoned him and said he ought to be checking every contract carefully in any case, whether issued from a private individual, conveyancer or solicitor.

He was embarrassed at being caught out and agreed not to charge her more, although he was generally grumpy about my not engaging a solicitor, mumbling that I might make a mistake which they would have to correct, thus costing them time and effort.

Once he ceased "trying it on" all went well. Until I received the contract from them. This venerable old firm of well-established, expensive solicitors had placed the wrong property registration number on the document! :rotfl:

Luckily I was checking everything with a fine-toothed comb. I must admit that, because of the way the man had sneered down his nose at me, I felt absolutely ecstatic and extremely smug that it turned out to be HIS firm and not me that made the only error. :T

He then told me to bring the contract down to his office and they would issue another, but I didn't see why I should be put out (time, bus fare) because of his error, so I made him drive over to me with the new one. And so we exchanged contracts on my kitchen table.

Anyway, it saved me a few hundred quid, plus I learned that venerable, expensive solicitors who are right up their own jacksies with arrogance aren't necessarily infallible.

I don't think I would have done it myself if I were buying ..... but then again, why not? There must be a simple procedure that solicitors follow, so maybe we MSE's can do that also?

Has anyone else done it themselves?

I should add that I sold without an estate agent, saving myself even more -- over £2,000!

It seems to me in my opinion only that the purchaser's solicitor had to deal with your sale and charge their client. I hope that it was done properly because in the event that it was not the purchaser's solicitor is unlikely to owe you any duty and you will not have anyone to sue. Far more likely you could be sued but just my opinion! People always want to spend a little money to risk a lot. I would NEVER do this myself and I have learned the subject at University.

However, in my view it would potentially be WORSE if one had purchased a property without a conveyancer.

G_M

Sigh! Not really sure of the point of continued discussion. People will/should make up their own minds. But:

The OPs point, and mine, is that it is possible. Not that it's right, or everyone should do it. But it is worth consideration.

but it is a false economy and the perceived benefit of saving a few hundred pounds is for many reasons outwieghed many times over.

In my own case the 'economy' is only one factor.
I also get personal satisfaction from the achievement (which I guess applies to the OP too judging by his tone).
I also learn a lot about the property during the process: checking details on deeds, with the LA, etc.
I also keep the deal moving by turning round documentation faster than the average solicitor and chasing (as stated they are juggling multiple properties).
And I avoid a lot of the frustration/anxiety which is repeatedly expressed on these forums by people who simply don't understand the process - because I'm involved and clued-up, when there are delays/issues I understand them so get less wound up.

Go over to the savings forum and look at the threads discussing the using of financial advisers. Same discussion. Some people use them to help with their investments, other people say they add little, cost money and advocate DIY. Obviously to DIY you need to understand the markets, do research, have a strategy etc etc.

There's no right answer: for some people an IFA is best; for others DIY is appropriate. It may not be an exact parallel but it's a similar argument.

Oblivion

orangefender wrote: »

Only when taken out of context.

Individuals are of course free to do as they wish and will come to their own decision, but it is a false economy and the perceived benefit of saving a few hundred pounds is for many reasons outwieghed many times over.

Are you by any chance a solicitor orangefender? Perhaps even a conveyancing solicitor? :rolleyes:

Dave.

Richard_Webster

The firm my buyer used have a wealth of experience. They've been operating in Hastings since 1828. http://www.juvens.btinternet.co.uk/s...s/history.html

and yet they made a mistake on the contract!

Don't understand - thought OP had drawn up the contract himself!

G_M

Don't understand - thought OP had drawn up the contract himself!

Ah but he was selling. Thinks: 'who draws up the contract on a sale: seller or buyer.....?' Methinks it was another document..?

[Deleted User]

my sister did her own conveyancing. No problems at all and that was 19 years ago