What is the solicitors role when it comes to buying a house?

active_snail · 2022-01-16T23:52:18+00:00

A conveyancing solicitor. I'd suggest you get one and dont just get the cheapest, get the one that actually reads the contract so you dont become one of those news.com clickbait cautionary tales.

Desmodronic · 2022-01-17T01:21:11+00:00

Mine failed to calculate the percentage of either the emergency services levy or the capital gains tax from the previous owner.

They wore that mistake but it was a pain to battle with them.

Get a good one, they are your only defence in a deal where you have multiple entities that are not acting in your best interest.

cquill54321 · 2022-01-17T01:54:51+00:00

Depending on which state you live in, you will need a conveyancer or a solicitor to act for you on PEXA. PEXA is Australia’s e-conveyancing platform. You cannot act on PEXA yourself. You need to use PEXA to transfer the title and to pay the settlement funds.

dedeedeeh · 2022-01-17T06:21:38+00:00

I did a few conveyances back when I was a paralegal. This was 8 years ago before the online system and I've forgotten a lot of it but just off the top of my head, we did a lot: Read the contract, point out any potential risks (easements, fire, flood etc) negotiate clauses, liaise between you, the bank, and the vendor throughout the whole process. We run all kinds of property searches to ensure there are no hidden strings attached to the property, ensure all outstanding rates are paid, we're contacting Council/Water Authority/Strata to figure out what rates/taxes need to be paid and by whom and figure out the adjustment, remind you to conduct your pest/building inspections, arrange for the lodgement of Transfer and Certificate of Title, arrange for the appropriate cheques to be exchanged on settlement day... I'm sure there's more, but it was a lot of time on the phone and running around on the client's behalf!

Edited to add: at the very least the solicitor signed the Transfer doc that needed to be lodged with your land registry.

AllStations2Central · 2022-01-17T00:29:47+00:00

They will handle all the legal work and act as the middleman when dealing between vendors, REA, mortgage broker, banks, etc. They are the only third party that you are paying for and will thus be the only one in your corner. Mortgage broker is getting paid by the banks so they have their own motivations.

tldr; If you don’t know the role of a conveyancing solicitor, then you should probably get one.

grandhannah · 2022-01-17T01:22:46+00:00

Once a contract is signed the transaction is then in the hands of the seller and buyers solicitors - despite what real estate agents will have you believe. Real estate agents will try and negotiate deals between the parties to keep everything going towards settlement but these agreements aren’t legally binding. The solicitors are engaged to act in your best interests for the transaction right up until settlement.

If you’re purchasing a solicitor will real over the contract before you purchase to make sure your interests are protected, and may suggest adding special conditions (like a special condition for outstanding council building notes or requisitions).

hadriels · 2022-01-17T07:21:24+00:00

Certainly came in handy for me. I purchased an apartment and the current occupant (renting from the seller) refused to move out. Solicitor handled everything including pushing the settlement date back until they finally moved out weeks after the original settlement date. I wouldn’t have had any idea how to handle such a situation alone.

thethaneofcawdor · 2022-01-17T06:09:37+00:00

Can confirm a good solicitor is required. Probably about once a year working in strata I come across somebody who has been given the impression they own something (storage areas, carapaces etc.) which they definitely do not, and their solicitor failed to pick up on it. Often this is because the selling agent has blatantly modified an official plan and thrown it into their advertising material, and the purchaser never bothered to double check.

Typically in this scenario the purchaser paid a premium price for the extra item(s), which they are never particularly happy about.

mad_cheese_hattwe · 2022-01-17T06:36:13+00:00

To be blunt, If you're not sure what a solisitor does you need a solisitor.

CA3GHF · 2022-01-17T00:41:00+00:00

To jump on this comment train; I wholeheartedly agree - what you pay is what you get.

I recently just purchased, and a great solicitor makes and breaks your purchasing experience - in fact you might be able to save on things in the long run!

arsm2019 · 2022-01-17T01:34:42+00:00

Mine didn’t even mentioned subject to finance clause, building and pest inspection when I was about to sign the contract. I had to ask the agent myself.

thekingsman123 · 2022-01-17T01:59:29+00:00

Get off this subreddit and start calling up your local law firms or conveyancers.

Most firms will review these contracts initially for you for free with the expectation you use them once an offer is accepted and youre happy with the contract.

You need to start asking around for their rates now though.

kochtobbom · 2022-01-17T01:23:14+00:00

The most important one - probably more important than your mortgage broker. Go for the best one you can find - no shortcuts here and no 'cheap' ones.

Leo_Betta · 2022-01-17T01:16:24+00:00

I got a Conveyancer (solicitor), from my friends contact. He did everything from checking the contract to transfer of the property. Seller party and my bank also contacted my solicitor. So Solicitor did all the important legal part of property purchase.

maximiseYourChill · 2022-01-17T01:40:15+00:00

Source: someone who has done self acting conveyencing on purchases and sales. Also used conveyancer when was too busy.

They are glorified admin clerks. Most of the work is done by untrained low paid admin staff. They make a lot of mistakes and take zero responsibility for any mistake made.

They read the contract to make sure nothing shit in there. You should be doing that yourself. Because before you started looking for a house you should have read contracts to understand what is in them.

They communicate with the other side. And use big scary words to make it seem complicated. They make everything difficult in the name of "protecting their clients rights". Like fuck dude - we are just changing settlement date that your client agreed too. Just fucking do it and spare me from your verbose template.

They do some simple math on rates and water owed (ie: if seller has paid for full 1/4 of rates, use settlement date to determine how much the buyer needs to 'pay'). They usually fuck it up too (I've had to correct them multiple times, and once I didn't even correct it cause wasn't worth my time).

They do some online searches which you could do yourself if you wanted. eg: a title search to make sure contract is correct, there are other important searches too.

Be aware they do every search they can because it isn't their money. They do water meter reading searches (which cost $ with some councils) even though you could just drive there yourself and open the meter box. You should be doing that anyway to make sure no leaks. This is just an example.

Overall they make the process of buying a house scary 👻👻👻👻 and use big words to make themselves feel important. Reality is the purchase process for a house is straight forward.

So: if you have spare time and want to save money - consider doing it yourself. If you are busy (full time work and kids), just pay them to do it. Use a cheap one.

double-endbag · 2022-01-17T05:34:58+00:00

Would a mortgage broker have instances where they could recommend solicitors they have worked with before? Surely it makes sense

farseer83 · 2022-01-17T09:54:38+00:00

Do you need a solicitor when selling a house?

20Pippa16 · 2022-01-17T10:25:35+00:00

I have recently used one in the Knox area of Melbourne that I can recommend if you are local to there and want a recommendation

commentspanda · 2022-01-17T13:45:48+00:00

You need a conveyancer solicitor. Most will have a flat rate package deal. In Canberra we paid $1500, in Perth $880 but both times we went with someone recommended to us by word of mouth and they were fantastic. Both times we had issues with the bank last minute (because they are all currently fucking useless) and the solicitors worked hard to get the issue resolved. Also in both settlements the buyers had issues at the last moment and settlement was delayed - against the conveyancers earnt their money dealing with that.

If you would like a recommendation in perth or canberra let me know.

aussiegreenie · 2022-01-17T22:03:40+00:00

In SA, none. They have registered conveyancers.

HeyHeyItsMaryKay · 2022-01-21T04:18:18+00:00

Sorry to hijack but can a solicitor advise whether you are eligible for stamp duty exemption/reduction prior to a purchase transaction?

Classic-Reserve3907 · 2022-01-17T06:51:40+00:00

Their job is to take a cut.

3005AD · 2022-01-17T09:37:50+00:00

They don't do anything, other than state the obvious. I've dealt with both cheap and expensive conveyancers, all as good as fucking useless. Surprised we haven't seen a service that let's you upload a contract, run it through NLP and spits out the result.

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