If you’ve decided it’s time to sell your property, congratulations, that was one of life’s hardest decisions but what will make the selling process successful depends on many factors. One that often gets overlooked is choosing a good lawyer to represent you. Some may already have one in mind but it’s worth considering the following to really make sure you’re looked after.
In an area where conveyancers and lawyers are a dime a dozen all competing for your business, it can be hard to decide who to go with. After all, they all hold their relevant qualification so why does it matter? With this in mind, and with property prices at an all-time high, the price of legal services often becomes the major factor in deciding who you go with. However, less is not always more. When choosing a lawyer price shouldn’t be the focus, it’s worthwhile asking yourself what value you place on getting the right advice upfront? Especially if your transaction involves a significant financial investment.
Some more questions to ask yourself would be, are you prepared to pay for a cheap stock standard conveyancer or lawyer and hope that everything works out? Or do you want to protect yourself and your transaction from the hidden charges of low priced property services? What happens if things go south? Is your legal representative well placed to handle not only the property transaction itself, but everything in between. Before answering these questions, it is worthwhile considering the benefits of using a good lawyer in your next property transaction, so we have compiled a list to help you in making the right choice:
Experience and knowledge: property law does not just encompass the everyday buying and selling of residential homes. Property transactions often intersect with other areas of law such as taxation, trusts and superannuation, probate and estate planning, home building and strata legislation, disposal and acquisition of businesses, leasing (especially retail leasing), just to name a few. The benefit of engaging a lawyer with experience in these (and other) intersecting areas can be invaluable in a property transaction because of the ability to identify potential pitfalls or risks that may not have been considered by the client at the outset of the transaction. A good lawyer is going to save you the heartache of making an unsuspecting mistake at the beginning.
Reduces Risk: engaging a lawyer who has a solid knowledge and level of experience in all things property related reduces the risk in your transaction by identifying relevant considerations up front, potentially saving you thousands and lot of stress down the track.
A life jacket when things go wrong: Occasionally, for unexpected reasons things can go wrong like a severe weather event can cause damage to a property under contract, a party can pass away before settlement, or a party fails to adhere to their end of the bargain and a dispute arises. It happens! So having a good lawyer who can properly manage unforeseen issues is essential. It’s like a life jacket: hopefully, you won’t need it, but if the ship is sinking you will be glad you had it!
Peace of Mind: a good lawyer provides peace of mind that you and your property transaction have been well looked after. After all, the cost of real estate means property transactions are one of the single most expensive transactions people make in their lives, so you want peace of mind that there will be no hidden surprises down the track, or if something goes wrong you have the right team around you to properly mitigate and handle the issues, and this applies regardless of whether you are buying, selling, leasing, transferring property or any other property related transaction.
All these benefits combined with the right real estate agent should ensure your property transaction runs as smooth as possible and the best outcome for you has been achieved.