Has anyone here ever done their own conveyancing on a house sale?

[Hollowoman]

Hi. I posted earlier about having to sell my house. Pretty stressed about my finances. I wondered if anyone has experience of doing their own conveyancing - is it a good idea?

Unless you are a trained conveyancing professional, do not even attempt this.

My husband fully intended to do the conveyance on a house we were selling, it was the most straightforward transaction. He paid the fee to get the correct legal requirement but the buyers solicitor refused to deal with him.

Yes and I would not recommend it u less you are buying/selling with someone you know which was the case for me. There are some good YouTube videos by the Land Registry people explaining how to fill out the paperwork plus they answered email queries promptly. I had no idea how to transfer money like a normal house sale and just had to transfer 10k a day (my limit) until I’d transferred enough. Most sellers would not be up for that!

OK - thanks for sharing your experience with me. Looks like I'll have to pay a professional.

If I could have worked the money situation out it would have been easier. But also I had no idea about timings. For us it didn’t matter as nobody lived in the house and we trusted each other and weren’t in a rush. Iirc I just sent the form off/emailed it and some time later got notification it was now in my name. But for a normal house sale you’d expect the seller to vacate that day and I had no warning/clue what day it was going to occur. The actual paperwork form is ok, it’s all the other logistics which make it not so ok.

When I sold the house a while later (to a stranger) we used a solicitor and I remember being nervous as to whether I actually owned the house or not, ie had it all been done properly previously. Thankfully it went ok so I just have done it right!

As a purchaser I wouldn’t deal with a vendor doing DIY conveyancing. The bank providing the purchaser’s mortgage won’t allow it either, and if you have an outstanding mortgage neither will your bank.

I would not recommend this at all!

As a conveyancer I absolutely wouldn’t recommend doing this, even if it’s possible. If a buyer is needing a mortgage it won’t be possible.

Hi - I suppose you would say that! But then again, everyone else seems to be saying the same. FYI, I won't need a mortgage as I'd be downsizing, but as it's not on the market yet, I've no idea what the buys financial position might be. I think I'll use the estate agents conveyancer, unless you think I should look for an independent one?

My friend is a conveyancing solicitor, it took several years of training and experience to become qualified. It’s not something you learn from YouTube. If something goes wrong you need to know what you are doing x

My friend is a property solicitor and wasn't able to do his own conveyancing as the vendor's solicitor wouldn't deal with him. He was a cash buyer.

I wouldn't buy from someone doing their own conveyancing, sorry.
Also I would not recommend you use the one associated or recommended by your EA. They tend to recommend purely for the kickback fee and are often the national conveyancers where you don't have a named contact and they can often give terrible service. Go for a local firm who is recommended by local friends or community, make sure it is someone they have used recently (not just their mate).

The thing is that conveyancing is not just a case of filling in forms and answering questions, it’s some that takes years to learn properly and is regulated by various bodies and firms have to complete annual training and audits to ensure they are compliant with the standards required. Mortgage lenders also require firms acting to be on their register, which ensures their money is as safe as it can be. Not to mention the case of insurance, if you were selling and something wasn’t disclosed to your buyer and you’re sued for thousands of pounds of compensation, who’s paying? It just isn’t something you can do. I would recommend word of mouth, google review, not estate agent recommendations as they are almost always referral fee led.