When you are interested in buying a house or a piece of undeveloped property, you will need the services of a conveyancer. But if this is your first time buying a property, you may not have any prior experience with conveyancing. So to help you understand the process, here are some of the questions that first time buyers ask about conveyancing.
Do Conveyancers Have Law Degrees? -- Not necessarily. Some conveyancers are also lawyers or have a strong legal background related to property sales, but the majority of conveyancers are real estate professionals who are experts in all aspects of transferring the title of a property from a seller to a buyer.
To obtain legal advice on any property sale, you must book a consultation with a solicitor, a legal professional who spends most of their time resolving legal disputes out of the courtroom. You will also find that many conveyancing firms have legal consultants available to help resolve a myriad of issues.
Does The Buyer Own A Property Once A Contract Is Signed? -- No, and that is one of the main purposes of conveyancing: to facilitate the transfer of a property title from a seller to a buyer. Your signature on a buying contract for a property doesn't make you the legal owner of that property. The only time you can call yourself the true and legal owner of a property is when the title to that property has been duly registered by a conveyancer at the Land Title Office. This is the legal document required to demonstrate who owns a house or a piece of land.
Do Conveyancers Charge Standard Fees For Buyers and Sellers? -- While every property title transfer is different, you will usually find that the price of conveyancing is more expensive for a buyer than for a seller. That's because a conveyancer has to ensure that the property you are buying is free and clear in terms of having no liens or judgements against it, and the conveyancer must also ensure that the person who is selling the property to you is the legally registered owner listed at the Land Title Office. In some instances, there are multiple listed owners, and your conveyancer must make sure they have all agreed to transfer title.
One other thing to remember is that as a buyer, you are responsible for paying what is known as a transfer duty, which is a percentage of the sale price of the property.
For more information, contact a conveyancing specialist like Woodgate Lawyers.
Share16 January 2015
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