With the upfront costs of purchasing a home exceeding £38,000, due to stamp duty, deposits and valuation fees, buyers are increasingly searching for ways to minimise the financial outlay.
However, legal experts at Grayson Solicitors said buyers doing their own conveyancing would save between £300 and £600 – which is only a fraction of the overall cost.
And it’s a move, they said, which could be very risky and could see them end up in deep water.
Caroline Murray, partner and head of the property department at Graysons explained: “Although doing your own conveyancing is legal, and possible in theory, you can only act for yourself in very few situations – either a transfer of equity, a cash purchase (so no mortgage) or a sale with no existing mortgage to redeem.
“Even then, it can cause a number of problems. All the paperwork requires a huge commitment of time and effort, not to mention a strong understanding of property law.
Mistakes could be costly
“But perhaps the biggest obstacle is that individual homebuyers do not have negligence insurance – this is only available to qualified legal professionals – which means that if you make a mistake in the conveyancing process you’ll be personally liable and the cost would end up being considerably higher.”
There are also other factors to consider. Mortgage lenders appoint their own solicitor to look after their interests before they agree to lend money, and this service is charged to the buyers. So, they will still be paying for conveyancing without any of the legal protection.
What’s more, there are lots of legal and financial aspects which need to be covered in the preparation documents which may not be part of the standard forms.
Hidden costs
But Graysons also drew on research from TotallyMoney which identified it was the hidden aspects of buying a home – such as fixing cracks and replacing boilers – which ramped up the overall costs, not the typical outlays such as deposits, estate agent fees and the cost of a solicitor.
“There’s no doubt that purchasing a property is one of the biggest financial commitments people can make,” said Murray “But for that reason it’s not advisable to cut corners for the sake of attempting to save a relative fraction of the overall costs.
“Alongside the risk of bearing full responsibility for any possible mistakes, buyers also face the difficulty of liaising with the sellers’ solicitor without having a conveyancing licence or extensive knowledge and experience of property law. For this reason we strongly advise against DIY conveyancing, and advocate using the services of a reputable conveyancing solicitor.”
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