Do I need a solicitor ?

bellabella

Good Morning all you lovely fountains of Knowledge .
 I am selling my main house as I have inherited a larger better area property my question is as i have nothing to buy do I need a solicitor for the sale or can it be done by myself?
 As the home I am selling has been the only property i have ever owned I really don't know what to do, there is a very small amount outstanding on my mortgage if that makes a difference. 
Thanks in advance

davidmcn

If you need to ask the question, then the answer is probably yes...in particular completion is tricky if you have a mortgage to redeem and no solicitor to provide a suitable undertaking to the buyers.

bellabella

davidmcn said:

If you need to ask the question, then the answer is probably yes...in particular completion is tricky if you have a mortgage to redeem and no solicitor to provide a suitable undertaking to the buyers.

If I have no mortgage then would it be easier? I could pay the amount outstanding off now but I wasn't sure how long it would take to show as clear and mortgage free and may hold the process up? 

Emmia

I'd use a solicitor - they'll be able to hold the purchasers deposit in a separate account when you exchange, and will understand the process. And if they get something wrong, they have professional indemnity insurance

If it's a straightforward sale, then it should be a tiny percentage of the sale price.

Trying to do without may also make buyers wary.

Thrugelmir

If you "don't what you are doing" then employing a solicitor may well advisable. Clearing the existing mortgage should reduce your costs marginally.

greatcrested

Certainly redeeming the mortgage first makes it easier.

And Exchanging/Completing simultaneously removes th problem of holding the deposit during the interim.

But as said," If you need to ask the question, then the answer is probably yes."

However, if you are reasonably intelligent, decently literate, able to work at processes systematically, willing to devote (considerable) time to reading up/understanding the process and the law, then it's possible to DIY. Also asuming the buyer's solicitor does not object or advise his client to find somewhere else to buy.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Which-Guide-Conveyancing-Consumer-Guides/dp/085202813X/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=diy+conveyancing&qid=1615199730&sr=8-3

bellabella

Thank you all I will use a solicitor we had a very bad experience with a local one a few years ago we had 3 different solicitors within the same practice and the third one said we should have done what the first one told us not to thus causing us a large expense and a court case therefore i am not very trusting  of the profession

eddddy

bellabella said:

Thank you all I will use a solicitor we had a very bad experience with a local one a few years ago we had 3 different solicitors within the same practice and the third one said we should have done what the first one told us not to thus causing us a large expense and a court case therefore i am not very trusting  of the profession

Property sales are very straightforward work for solicitors and conveyancers - you're unlikely to incur any large unexpected expenses as a result of your solicitor's actions or advice.

In fact, it's more likely to be your buyer (or your buyer's solicitor) who give you grief - maybe wanting you to provide information that you don't have, or wanting you to pay for indemnity insurance etc. (Having a good solicitor might help you deal with this.)

Have any friends or family recently bought/sold property? Would they recommend their solicitor?

teachfast

bellabella said:

Thank you all I will use a solicitor we had a very bad experience with a local one a few years ago we had 3 different solicitors within the same practice and the third one said we should have done what the first one told us not to thus causing us a large expense and a court case therefore i am not very trusting  of the profession

Sadly this is now due rigueur for this sorry branch of the profession. Just watch these boards for a while and you'll see it over and over again. The sooner they mandate proper training and professional standards, the better. 

greatcrested

teachfast said:

bellabella said:

Thank you all I will use a solicitor we had a very bad experience with a local one a few years ago we had 3 different solicitors within the same practice and the third one said we should have done what the first one told us not to thus causing us a large expense and a court case therefore i am not very trusting  of the profession

.... The sooner they mandate proper training and professional standards, the better. 

I agree. Solicitors really ought to be made to undertake law degrees followed by practical training. I dunno, call it a Legal Practice Course or something, and then some kind of apprenticeship or professional training for, what? 2 years or so?

And they ought to set up some kind of Regulatory Authority too.

Thrugelmir

greatcrested said:

teachfast said:

bellabella said:

Thank you all I will use a solicitor we had a very bad experience with a local one a few years ago we had 3 different solicitors within the same practice and the third one said we should have done what the first one told us not to thus causing us a large expense and a court case therefore i am not very trusting  of the profession

.... The sooner they mandate proper training and professional standards, the better. 

I agree. Solicitors really ought to be made to undertake law degrees followed by practical training. I dunno, call it a Legal Practice Course or something, and then some kind of apprenticeship or professional training for, what? 2 years or so?

And they ought to set up some kind of Regulatory Authority too.

Agree. The fact that anybody can set up shop these days as a conveyancer is unfathomable.