Why you need a Conveyancer

Thinking you can perform your own conveyancing could cost you more headaches and money than engaging a licensed conveyancer or solicitor to handle your property transaction.

It is possible to do your own conveyancing however you could be left with a hefty bill or disappointment of not being able to develop your new property.

Conveyancers know the catches

Conveyancers and solicitors know the catches and loopholes to look for, from making financial adjustments leading up to settlement to understanding the legal jargon within a contract.

“Make sure that any outstanding money is paid because if the council rates and any bills aren’t paid at settlement that falls on the purchaser,” Equilaw’s licensed conveyancer, Renee Allen, says.

“So if you’re doing your own and you don’t adjust everything properly at settlement you’re going to get a whopping bill. “It can easily cost you a lot more than paying a conveyancer to do it in the first place.”

Conyenancers understand the contract

Ms Allen explains another advantage of a conveyancer is they can ensure the terms of the contract are explained to you in basic terms rather than legal jargon often sprinkled throughout a contract.

“You need to make sure the titles are right or there isn’t anything in the contract that will restrict your plans in the future such as ensuring there is not a big sewer that runs straight through the middle of your block of land and you can’t build on it.

“It often happens that people buy a large block thinking they can just build an extra shed and they can’t,” she says. “A lot of the time they want to put the shed in the back corner and discover they can’t because there’s an easement (for service drains such as storm and sewer or access right-of-way).

“Or the (property) developer or real estate agent has told them they can do x, y and z but a review of the contract specifies they can’t. A contract will stipulate what you can and can’t do on that block or how big your shed can be, how big you can build your house or what type or colour fence or mailbox you have to have.

“So if you don’t read and understand those big thick documents page by page, you’re going to have trouble following through on your ideas. It could affect building a shed, granny flat, pergola or the pitch of your roof,” Ms Allen says.

Conveyancers have relationships with key contacts

Similarly conveyancers have close business relationships with critical contacts, such as banks, helping save headaches leading up to settlement. When it comes to bank finance, property settlements are not handled at branch level instead through specialist settlement teams where the regular public could find it difficult to follow up on their case or find the right person to answer their questions.