POSTED: 30/11/2021
Property conveyancers are also known as property law specialists. They carry out conveyancing Melbourne work that would otherwise be handled by estate agents and real estate lawyers separately- thus creating an overlap between these professions.
On the other hand, property lawyers are referred to as property solicitors. They are the ones who help clients with legalities like land law, business transfers, conveyancing, etc. Property lawyers also provide advice on leases and purchases of real estate. Property lawyers are referred to as chartered legal executives (or licensed conveyancers). They can be distinguished from property solicitors because their role is to provide legal advice and carry out transactions on their clients' behalf.
It is essential to know that each profession has its areas of expertise; for example, a property lawyer is more likely to deal with a trust, while a property conveyancer would be more concerned with the technicalities of a transfer deed.
Property conveyancers are thus able to complete certain aspects of estate agency work. However, although they can conduct market research and provide administrative services for their clients, these professionals tend to specialize in the legal part of property transfers and property law.
A conveyancer will only deal with the legalities of a property transfer and never give any real estate advice to a client. In addition, they do not take part in negotiations between buyer and seller- instead, lawyers usually handle this aspect alone.
In cases where there is no conflict of interest when the clients are on good terms, there is no harm in appointing both a lawyer and a conveyancer.
However, when the seller is selling an asset that has been part of the estate following death or where there are two separate sellers- each owning half, it would be more beneficial to involve both professionals. This way, issues can be resolved at the start, and there will be no need for additional work after the transaction has taken place.
Property conveyancers can also assist with mortgaging, dealing with leaseholds and even checking if a property is free of any estate charges.
Property lawyers, on the other hand, deal with matters such as guardianship and probate. They also handle aspects of conveyancing, such as transferring title deeds and completing transactions involving trusts.
Although they can carry out work usually handled by property conveyancers, these professionals tend to deal more with contentious issues. Thus their involvement might become necessary in cases where there is a conflict of interest, such as when the owner of an asset is selling to someone he has close ties with.
Henceforth, there are several scenarios in which it would be more beneficial to hire both professionals. Even though estate agents might not be legally required by law to employ property lawyers, they should make the whole process more efficient.
If clients are on good terms, it might be possible for them to manage with just one property lawyer- however, this would still require the involvement of a conveyancer who can provide legal assistance concerning property transactions.
However, if there are two separate sellers or legal issues surrounding the property, it is more practical to have both a lawyer and conveyancer.
