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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Using a Solicitor to Facilitate Property Conveyancing

Whether you are buying a property for your own use or you are in real estate business, you will need a legal expert to facilitate the transfer of the property from the seller to you as the buyer. The formal transfer of a house, a flat or any other real estate property from a seller to a buyer is refereed to as conveyancing. Property conveyancing is normally a complex process involving numerous legal procedures. Although you can choose to do property conveyance on your own, it is recommended that you seek services of an expert to facilitate the transfer as any errors done during the process can result to great losses.

Conveyancing solicitors are specialists with experience and knowledge on matters relating to property ownership as well as ownership transfer. Using the services of a property conveyancing solicitor can not only speed up the process, but can also give you confidence that your property has met all the legal requirements during the transfer. This can give you enough time to concentrate on other matters regarding the property such as renovation, surveying, making mortgage arrangements as well as plans for settlement.

A good solicitor is supposed to take you through the process step by step so that you can make informed decisions before signing below the dotted line. There are normally several documents to sign before the house becomes lawfully yours. It is important to take time to read between the lines the terms and conditions of the property you are about to buy. If you have any doubts, you can ask for clarifications from your solicitor. In case some terms are not satisfying, you can ask the expert also to call upon the seller so that you can discuss and negotiate. Otherwise, there is no point of signing a document if it is not suitable to you as this may lead to misunderstanding later on.

The solicitor should also inform you of any laws, regulations, taxes and rates that may affect your property. This should be obtained from relevant state departments as well as local authorities. He should also facilitate the requisition of title deeds and certificates, and updates in ownership records with relevant authorities. The solicitor may or may not assist in the mortgage plans as this will depend on the scope under which he has been hired to offer the conveyancing services.

Understanding the process of Residential conveyancing

Buying a new house is one of the most important decisions you can make in your life. It is also one of the most costly. Buying a home or any other property that involves such a huge sum of money, there are some things that can go wrong, especially legal issues. Therefore, it is important that you have sufficient information on the processes involved. Although you can hire a professional to do it on your behalf, most of the processes will require your approvals and signatures, ad therefore, you need to know what to approve and what not to.
When you are purchasing or selling a house, you will have to undergo through a process refereed to as residential conveyancing. Residential conveyancing is the legal transfer of acquired property from the seller to the buyer. The process involves signing of numerous documents and doing searches to verify the legitimacy of the property to the seller, and any laws that may affect the property.

Conveyancing regulations and contracts
Some of the common processes include making requisitions on title, vendor’s certificates, transfer of land and performing local authority search to see if your property is affected by plans as set by local statutory bodies. Local statutory organs may limit some property from further extensions, mortgage, rebuilding among other things. Therefore, it is important to understand how such policies and acts may affect your new house to avoid conflicting with the laws.

During the conveyancing, it is also important to know of any environmental aspects that could affect your house. This is normally done by doing a survey. Although the process can be done by an independent environmental surveyor, you can as well obtain information regarding the conditions of that location and whether it is in any way susceptible to natural hazards such as volcanic eruption, flood, and landslides, among others.

Contract of sale
One of the most important documents you will have to sign is contract of sale. The document stipulates the terms and conditions of the property sale among other things like the selling price, the deposit, fittings and fixtures that are part of the property and any special conditions, among others. Although different solicitors will have different approaches, you should ensure that all documents are processes are done according to the laws. Otherwise, you may find yourself in trouble even years after purchasing the property.

Laws Regarding Residential Conveyancing

Buying a house is a very sensitive undertaking, especially bearing in mind that the task is quite costly. With such a move, you don’t want to be involved in any legal tussles that could result to loss of money or even the property. Therefore, it is important to understand different legal processes that are involved in residential conveyancing. Although it is costly, it is recommended that you use conveyancer or a solicitor rather than doing it yourself.

Residential conveyancing refers to the legal transfer of property, normally a house, from the seller to the buyer. Laws relating to residential conveyancing are aimed at preventing any possible conflict between the seller or the property, the buyer and relevant authorities. Like any other law, residential conveyancing laws protect the rights and interests of the property holder irrespective of his gender, race, color or financial status.

Processes of conveyancing
There are several processes that are conducted by a conveyancer to ensure that the money that the buyer is paying is worth the property. The process involves preparing of sale contract which spells out the terms and conditions of the property sale, carrying out local authority search to update the buyer on the plans from the local statutory authority that may affect the value of the property and whether there are any restrictions against the property such as development, extensions, mortgage and rebuilding, among other things.

One of the most vital documents you are required to sign before residential conveyancing is done is a contract of sale. Contract of sale is a formal document that is written between the seller and the buyer containing terms and conditions of the property on sale. It contains the price of the property and the deposit if you are buying through a property agency, fittings and furniture that are part of the house, conditions of the property and other conditions that may be subject to acquiring of the property.

Other requirements include requisition of the title, which is supposed to be done within 21 days upon signing of the contract of sale. You should as well obtain the vendor statement or section 32 statements, property title, property certificate and the land title. Certificates are helpful when it comes to planning for expenses on the property such as due rates. Remember this may affect the purchasing price, and so, it is important to carefully consider it.