Should I consider a career as a conveyancer?
Anyone who has ever purchased a property will have heard of a conveyancer, but what exactly do they do and is it a good career to consider?
Legal knowledge
The legal process of a property being transferred from one person to another is known as conveyancing and a licensed conveyancer is responsible for all the administrative and legal side of buying and selling. This responsibility begins when a client first instructs them to act on their behalf and continues through to contracts being exchanged.
Conveyancers act on behalf of a property seller or buyer and will obtain all relevant documents, including mortgage instructions. As well as carrying out searches to check the surrounding area of a property and whether there are any planning proposals or other factors which may impact it, they also prepare all the paperwork and ensure stamp duty is paid. At the end of the process, they register the transfer of property with the Land Registry.
They are not responsible for surveys or knowing the difference between level 2 and level 3 surveys, which buyers will probably want to look at before going ahead. Fortunately, there are other ways to find out the difference between level 2 and level 3 survey, which buyers may decide to have above the basic survey done by mortgage providers. The difference between level 2 and level 3 survey is really a question for the home buyer rather than the conveyancer.
Skills
The National Careers Service says that the sorts of skills needed to be a conveyancer include attention to detail, analytical thinking skills and a talent for communicating, both verbally and in writing.
Salaries vary between firms but start from around £20,000 and go up to around £45,000, depending on experience.
