Do Conveyancers Need to Be Qualified?

If you’re thinking about hiring a conveyancer to help you get through the process of transferring a Title on a property, you may be wondering what type of qualifications they are required to have. There are clear requirements for solicitors and real estate agents, who can also help with the real estate process. Although the requirements for conveyancers will vary according to the State or Territory they practice in, all are required to be either registered or licensed. The exception is in the ACT and Queensland, where only solicitors or a conveyancer operating within a law firm can provide conveyancing services.

(A good real estate agent will have professional connections to conveyancers and conveyancing solicitors, compare real estate agents for free at LocalAgentFinder and get the expert advice to help you sell your property.)

It’s interesting to compare these qualifications to real estate agents, who also must be licensed in many States or Territories. Because these regulations can vary depending on location, it’s a good idea to look up the rules in the region where you plan to buy or sell property. You can also compare local real estate agent fees and services upfront at LocalAgentFinder to find the right agent for your needs. Comparing experience and qualifications can help you get a better picture of what’s out there.

Qualifications for a Conveyancing Licence

In terms of conveyancing, there are different rules. Before a conveyancer can obtain a licence or become officially registered, they must undertake an official conveyancing course or prove that they have professional experience in this field. Without academic qualifications or professional experience, a conveyancer will not be able to obtain a licence or become registered.

Solicitor Qualifications

In addition to conveyancers, solicitors may also perform conveyancing duties is they have the property training. A solicitor will have already taken all of the necessary legal training during their coursework to earn a law degree, or they may have undergone this training during the first year of their legal practice. Legal training usually involves conveyancing transactions. If a solicitor doesn’t have this relevant training or experience and still elects to undertake a conveyancing transaction, they could face serious professional repercussions. In the majority of cases, a solicitor without conveyancing experience will not take on a conveyancing role, as this would go against the client’s best interest. Yet a solicitor may hire a conveyancing clerk for the benefit of customers in need of conveyancing duties.

Why Training is Important

When you look for a real estate agent to help you sell your home, you’ll want to choose one with experience in advertising, marketing, and sales. A good real estate agent will also know all the ins and outs of legal regulations and understand both general economics and real estate finance. You can use the free online dashboard provided at LocalAgentFinder to find an agent who possesses all of this knowledge. At the same time, the conveyancing process involves a great deal of specialised information. This includes the preparation of legal documents and carrying out different searches to ensure that the property is properly transferred from the vendor to the buyer.

Without this specialised training, a conveyancer wouldn’t know which documents to prepare, how to undertake searches, or how to interpret their results. They also wouldn’t be able to book settlement with third parties as needed.

If an individual chooses to undertake this conveyancing role without the training or experience to do so, they could face serious complications. These would come down not only from the appropriate regulatory bodies but also from clients, who could potentially sue them for negligence. State and Territory regulators try to avoid this by requiring all conveyancers to be licensed or registered. They impose training or experience requirements and ask for professional indemnity insurance, so that conveyancers are able to meet obligations in the event of default. Solicitors are also required to hold professional indemnity insurance.

DIY Conveyancing

Some buyers or sellers choose to forego the cost of hiring a professional conveyancer and decide to use a DIY conveyancing kit instead. This is an option that could work for some straightforward cases. Yet you run the same risk when you take on conveyancing as if you hired an inexperienced conveyancer. If something goes awry, you wouldn’t have the right training or experience to resolve the issue at hand. You also wouldn’t have the professional indemnity insurance to protect yourself in legal proceedings.

As you start to compare conveyancers or solicitors, you may wish to ask them to produce their registration or licence as proof of their experience and qualifications. Alternately, you can contact your State or Territory law society or conveyancing regulator for assistance.

What’s next?

Comparing real estate agent fees and services is even easier when you use the comparison tool provided at LocalAgentFinder. Find out how it works and start learning more about your options in your local area today.