DIY conveyancing - solicitor cash transfer.

BobJenkins

Considering the DIY conveyancing route for a cash-based house sale. One of the main concerns is when the time comes to pay our vendor - we're concerned their solicitor may refuse the cash directly from us rather than from another solicitor acting on our behalf. Is this likely to be an issue? Are solicitors obliged to act this way in terms of law? Aiming to avoid solicitors full-stop.

Thanks.

davidmcn

The anti-money-laundering regulations will be an issue to some extent. Selling solicitor will either need funds to be verified by another regulated professional, or to check your ID and source of funds themselves. Given the latter is an unusual and additional task for them, expect some discussion about who's paying for their time and risk. 

steampowered

There have been threads on this forum in the past with people who face exactly this problem - a refusal to accept funds from someone who isn't a conveyancer/solicitor.

You may also get conveyancers/solicitors refusing to deal with you since you won't know what is normal in terms of what the standard conditions of sale are (for example) and how the contract exchange process works.

Some conveyancers would be happy to take the money from you provided you provide all the information needed to complete their anti-money laundering checks, but you won't know until you get closer to exchange.

Personally I would appoint a solicitor. As a cash buyer you could instruct them not to do searches if you wish, which would minimise cost (albeit you would need to be advised of the risk).

TBagpuss

I agree with Steampowered. If you don't have a solicitor acting for you you are effectively expecting the sellers and their solicitor to do additional work and take additional risk, with associated higher cost for the seller.
The solicitors may be unwilling to do the work without revising their estimate of costs, and the seller may not be prepared to incur the extra costs involved (and why should they?)  

Kyresa

BobJenkins said:

Considering the DIY conveyancing route for a cash-based house sale. One of the main concerns is when the time comes to pay our vendor - we're concerned their solicitor may refuse the cash directly from us rather than from another solicitor acting on our behalf. Is this likely to be an issue? Are solicitors obliged to act this way in terms of law? Aiming to avoid solicitors full-stop.

Thanks.

That won't be the only problem you will have..  How do you expect to register the transaction afterwards?   How will you pay your stamp duty?  (good luck filling in THAT form!)  How do you know you have the right documents to satisfy the land registry?    How will you prove your ID to the Land Registry? (that will be an ID1 by the way that has to be filled in by... yep.. you guessed it, a FCilex, licensed conveyancer, or solicitor).  

Just some minor points to consider in your avoidance of a conveyacer

notrouble

Post purchase registration, and SDLT payment are really not issues for anyone reasonably competant. No harder (possibly easier) than doing a self-assessment tax return yourself, and thousands of people choose not to use an accountant for this.

I've DIY'd conveyancing several times in the past, but not more recently. I believe it's more difficult now as the regulations on ID verification, and money laundering checks, means you can't do these for yourself, so either have to get the other side's solicitor to do it for you (and why should they?), or you instruct a siloicitor just fo that service - & I suspect the cost would mean you might as well pay a bit more and have them do the whole lot.....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Which-Guide-Conveyancing-Consumer-Guides/dp/085202813X

published 2000 so may be a bit dated.

Kyresa

notrouble said:

Post purchase registration, and SDLT payment are really not issues for anyone reasonably competant. No harder (possibly easier) than doing a self-assessment tax return yourself, and thousands of people choose not to use an accountant for this.

I've DIY'd conveyancing several times in the past, but not more recently. I believe it's more difficult now as the regulations on ID verification, and money laundering checks, means you can't do these for yourself, so either have to get the other side's solicitor to do it for you (and why should they?), or you instruct a siloicitor just fo that service - & I suspect the cost would mean you might as well pay a bit more and have them do the whole lot.....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Which-Guide-Conveyancing-Consumer-Guides/dp/085202813X

published 2000 so may be a bit dated.

I think the Land Registration Act 2002 may have altered that considerably....