What is a Conveyancer

Many of us dream of buying a house, big or tiny, vintage or modern but buying an abode is not as simple as accepting an offer and handing over the money. It involves a lot more paperwork after that.

By definition found in the Cambridge Dictionary, a conveyancer is a person whose job is to manage the legal process of moving land or property from one owner to another. A conveyancer deals with the purchase or selling of the property on behalf of their client and all the paperwork that comes with it.

The work that a conveyancer does involves legal expertise hence, it makes sense to people to hire a conveyancer when buying a house rather than doing it themself. They contact the other party on behalf of their client once their client accepts the offer or has their offer accepted. The buyer’s conveyancer then receives a draft contract and Deeds (property’s title) from the seller’s conveyancer along with the seller’s property information form, fittings, and contents form which illustrates what will be removed or left from the property among other paperwork. The buyer’s conveyancer will be responsible to check paperwork with great attention to detail.

The buyer’s conveyancer will also carry out searches of the property including local authority, environmental and water searches to discover any potential issues that might arise with the property and inform the buyer about them.

The buyer’s conveyancer will also look at the finances and advise on the amount of stamp duty land tax paid on the purchase. The seller’s conveyancer is responsible to find any outstanding mortgage from the seller’s mortgage lender.

Once all this is complete, both conveyancers will arrange a completion date to sign and exchange contracts and complete the transaction.

All solicitors are qualified to act as a conveyancer but the ones who specialise in Property Law usually go on to become one. If you are thinking of it as a career option, there are many routes to becoming a conveyancer; qualifying by obtaining a license, an apprenticeship, or working your way up by training towards the role.

To become a licenced conveyancer, one needs to take a training course provided by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLS). This course can be taken by law as well as non-law graduates. Though having a law degree or a GDL may help in completing your qualification more quickly.

You could also do an apprenticeship after your GCSEs while doing a licensed conveyancer degree side-by-side. To get an apprenticeship, you should have:

• 2 - 3 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths (intermediate apprenticeship)
• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths (higher apprenticeship).

Another option is to work with a firm, preferably with an experienced conveyancer, and undergo training to become a conveyancer

To look for job vacancies in this field, click here and for the average salary of a conveyancer in London, click here.

You can also find career-related and other general advice and insight relevant to the legal field on The Legists.