You have found the house of your dreams and all you need to do now is find a competent solicitor to make your dreams a reality. Moving house is said to be the most stressful thing you will ever do, therefore it is crucial to choose a solicitor who will make the process as smooth and stress free as possible. Which solicitor should I choose? Personal recommendations are a sound approach. Nearly everyone will have bought or sold a house at some stage. It is often best to speak to family or friends about the firm they chose and how satisfied they were with the services provided. Try to choose a solicitor who specialises in conveyancing as they will tend to have more experience of the relevant practice and procedure. The issue of costs is obviously important. However should it be the determining factor in your choice of solicitor? As there are significant variations in the level of professional fees quoted between firms, it may seem an attractive option to go with the best 'deal'. Those firms, which on the face of it charge more, pride themselves on providing high standards of professional care and skill and ensure that work is carried out by professionally qualified staff. But firms offering the cheapest deals cannot always match those standards. What should you expect from your solicitor? You are entitled to expect the following from your solicitor: - Trust – you should have confidence that your solicitor is acting on your instructions and safeguarding your best interests at all times.
- A sound knowledge of conveyancing law and practice – a solicitor should be up to date with new practice regulations and court decisions affecting property issues.
- Good communication skills – an average conveyance involves solicitors, estate agents, surveyors and lending institutions therefore it is imperative that good channels of communications are kept open.
- An efficient, friendly service – you should be able to speak to your solicitor when you want to. If they are unavailable they should return to you promptly.
- Good use of IT – Email, scanning and the application of online resources lead to a more speedy and efficient service.
What can go wrong? In most cases, problems may only come to light when the property is being sold and you may be left with hefty costs in order to rectify the situation, or worse still, it can result in the loss of a potential purchaser who may not have time to wait for the problem to be rectified. Here a some issues that your solicitor needs to check on your behalf together with some examples of when things can go wrong if they are not attended to - Mapping – a purchaser had not been supplied with a map showing the extent of the property. It later transpired that the garage was actually built on his neighbour’s land and subsequently had to be demolished.
- Searches – a Vendor became bankrupt during the course of a transaction. The failure of the Solicitor to spot this resulted in his clients losing the substantial deposit they had paid.
- Property Certificates – a couple had bought a lovely semi in a quiet cul-de-sac surrounded by green fields. Their solicitor failed to pick up that there was an on going planning application for a small commercial centre to be built with two fast food outlets in a field adjacent to their property. The extra noise, traffic and the smells coming from the food outlets resulted in the couple having to sell up at a price which was less than they had paid at the time of their purchase.
- Title Defects – a Purchaser is not informed by his Solicitor that there is a public right of way across the rear of her garden. A further example would be a client finding out after completion that he does not have the benefit of a right of way over a laneway that provides the only access to his premises.
- Surveys – the superficial ‘make over’ that hides a serious structural defect. It is therefore imperative to choose the correct type of survey.
- New Developments – one horrific example involved a property that had been built partly on a concrete slab. The property collapsed and the solicitor had not ensured that there was NHBC insurance cover. Problems can also arise in relation to new sewerage systems and the construction of new roads.
- Septic Tanks – a Solicitor must ensure that there are discharge consents, a desludging agreement and that appropriate easements are in place for the soakaway No one wants to be left with the mess!
- Tax issues – if your solicitor does not advise you of any capital gains tax implications you may be left with a hefty tax bill.
- Apartments – the creation of a management company after the deeds were signed meaning that all the important covenants for the management and insurance of the apartment block were worthless.
- Finance – delays in a Solicitor drawing down mortgage advances can lead to completion dates being missed which can have serious knock on effects
Sometimes, what goes wrong is out of the Solicitor’s control. So called ‘chains’ of transactions are common and can be lengthy. Each party within the chain will have its own aspirations and agenda. If problems arise that cause delay, this usually means a break in the chain. A chain cannot be tightly controlled and therefore it is imperative to have a solicitor and an estate agent who can help manage the chain, with clever negotiation from beginning to end so to ensure that your dream does indeed become a reality. As with most things, you get what you pay for. Knowing what can go wrong, you may wonder why bother at all, but as Mark Twain said “Buy land, they’re not making it anymore!” | 
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