Buying your home is probably one of the most important financial transactions of your life, so getting it done right is really important. This means making sure that the people you employ to act on your behalf need to be the right people for you.
When choosing a conveyancer, here are a few top tips to help make sure everything goes smoothly;
- Don’t be afraid to ask trusted family and friends for recommendations. Like everything else, personal experience and recommendation from trusted sources is a great starting point.
- Make sure the firm you choose is properly qualified and registered for conveyancing work. Conveyancing is a specialist area of the law and it’s important that your representative is an experienced licensed conveyancer or solicitor with plenty of experience in this field of expertise. Check the firm’s registration with their accrediting bodies.
- Don’t just go with the conveyancer recommended by the estate agent. Like all business sectors, many firms will have reciprocal arrangements for recommending new clients. This might not always be in your primary interest.
- Make sure the conveyancer is aware of important information before they quote you. For example, are you a first-time buyer? Is there a lease or other agreement in place on the property, will the property be subject to a mortgage, will you be using a government scheme to help you buy your home, etc. In order to get an accurate quote, you need to provide the detail that is relevant.
- Decide how best you’d like to communicate with your representative. If a face-to-face discussion is important, you’ll want to use a local firm. If email or telephone is more convenient then an online or remote service might help.
- Remember the importance of local knowledge! Sometimes, there is nothing better than local knowledge. If your conveyancer is buying and selling property in the area on a daily basis ‘red flags’ are more likely to be triggered even before formal searches have been completed, such as plans for new roads, sewage works and housing developments! Local knowledge can be very useful.
- Confirm whether your quote is just that, an approximate estimate, or a fixed fee. Then check whether it includes all the additional expenses and add-ons such as search fees and any additional fees incurred acting for the lender (as they will usually be asked to act for them too) and VAT.
- Go for value - not the cheapest! Remember, your representative is dealing with a very big personal asset/liability. Don’t skimp here. That doesn’t mean the most expensive is the best either!
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