3 Critical Roles That a Conveyancing Solicitor Can Perform While Acting on Behalf of Home Buyers

Finding the perfect home to start and/or raise your family is a great feeling, but getting the keys to the home is far more gratifying. A conveyancing solicitor is a legal professional that specialises in conveyancing — the process of transferring legal ownership of property from the seller to the buyer. These professionals can perform a number of important roles necessary to ensure that your home buying transaction is done properly and goes smoothly.

Below is a look at some of the tasks they typically perform:

1. Preparing transfer documents. When buying a home, you will need a professional conveyancer to help you draw up all the documents required to legally transfer ownership of the property to your name, but also carry out all background checks required to ensure the title is registered in the seller's name. When preparing transfer documents, a conveyancing solicitor will also look into all past actions that could have an influence on the title, and any restrictions and encumbrances that may be registered on the title. Property transfer documents may differ from state to state and territory to territory, so it is important to hire a solicitor from the area that your to-be home is located in.
2. Providing legal counsel. Acting on your behalf, a professional conveyancer will examine the terms and conditions included in the sales contract and warn you about areas that might not be in your favour. In case of any red flags, they will seek clarification from the seller's solicitors prior to the signing and exchanging of contracts. This means any concerns will be addressed beforehand, hence you will be protected from potential defects in the title of the property that may crop up later on.
3. Arranging for final settlement. On the allotted day, your solicitor will help set the right time for settlement. If you are paying for the home using borrowed money, they will contact your bank (or lender) to ensure that your funds are available to be used to make the settlement. If you are buying your home using personal funds, you will have to make the monies available to your solicitor a day or a few days to the settlement date so they can have adequate time to arrange for the settlement. Once the funds have been transferred, your solicitor will direct the seller's solicitor and ask them to hand over the keys to you.

Buying that dream home for your family will cost a substantial amount of money, so it's important to ensure everything required for the transfer of the property is done properly and in accordance with the law. The best way to achieve this is to hire a local conveyancing solicitor to guide and act on your behalf during the conveyancing process.