Anyone who’s experienced buying or selling property knows how complicated and expensive it can be. With stamp duty, disbursements and solicitor’s fees on top of an already large transaction, it’s understandable some look to cut costs wherever possible.
One commonly asked question is whether you can save money by doing your own conveyancing?
The short answer: yes, it’s possible to do your own conveyancing if you have the hours, legal understanding and patience – https://hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk/2014/02/24/conveyancing-solicitor-or-diy/.
Benefits
Due to the costs involved some are reluctant to hire conveyancing solicitors Manchester solicitor’s fees, for example, can range from £300 – £1,000: a significant sum to be saved by doing it yourself. However, remember DIY conveyancing will only save solicitors’ basic fees; you will still be responsible for other associated costs.
Doing your own conveyancing can also save time as solicitors’ firms might have hundreds of transactions running simultaneously whereas you can commit your full time and energy into dealing with your own transaction. The downside is no matter how efficient you are, you will always be reliant on other parties completing their tasks, so may spend a lot of time chasing slower parties.
Risks
Any legal work includes a huge amount of legal jargon, so you should really only consider DIY conveyancing if you’re confident you understand legalese and won’t get tripped up with legal procedures.
This is vitally important in avoiding other costs if you do anything wrong. Solicitors are covered by negligence insurance, meaning if any mistakes are made their insurance will cover it. As a DIY conveyancer, you won’t have this protection and an opposing solicitor could take advantage of inexperience should a dispute escalate.
Firms such as https://www.samconveyancing.co.uk/conveyancing-solicitors/conveyancing-solicitors-Manchester offer no-sale-no-fee conveyancing, so can be more beneficial in the long run.
Finally, most mortgage lenders will insist on a professional solicitor being involved so you may not be able to obtain a mortgage if you plan on doing the conveyancing yourself.
When not to do it yourself
Even if your mortgage lender agrees to DIY, there are certain occasions when you should never undertake conveyancing work yourself due to the legal complexities. These circumstances include leasehold, unregistered and commercial properties or a transaction involving a sale following divorce. In these circumstances, it’s always recommended to play it safe and hire a professional.
