Q&A with Alex Holdsworth – Paralegal, Residential Property

To celebrate National Conveyancing Week, we did a Q&A with some of our property team. First up is Alex who works in our Cumbria office.

• What is the most interesting thing about your role?

The most interesting thing for me is meeting new people and trying, so far as possible, to take the stress away from them in buying and/or selling their property.

• How long does conveyancing take?

It is estimated that a standard conveyancing transaction takes 6-8 weeks.  However, there are many factors that can increase the length of time a matter will take such as delays with searches or mortgage offers, if the property is part of a deceased person’s estate and if the other party’s solicitor is unresponsive.

• Can you act for both the seller and the buyer?

Unfortunately this is not possible.  One of the main reasons for this is that we must act in our client’s best interests.  If we were to act for a buyer and a seller and a conflict arose between them, it would be impossible for us to continue to act as we would be going against what one of our clients was asking us to do and therefore not acting in their best interests.

• When should I instruct a solicitor?

As soon as you have sale agreed or your offer has been accepted on a purchase you should instruct a law firm to begin the conveyancing work.  There is usually a lot of paperwork that needs to be completed before any actual legal work is undertaken so the sooner instructions are received the quicker the matter can be dealt with.

• Any other conveyancing tips you would like to share?

Sales – Gather all the paperwork such as planning permissions, building regulation certificates, service reports right at the beginning as it saves a lot of time.

Purchases – Ensure that you are happy with everything prior to exchange and completion such as electrics and heating systems (these things especially cost a lot of money to rectify).  Once the contracts have been exchanged and completion has occurred then there is no comeback on the seller for any faults.

Be patient – We appreciate that moving house is a very stressful time, we feel the stress too, but unfortunately some things are out of our control.

Ask – If there is anything you are unsure of just ask.  There is no such thing as a silly question in conveyancing.

If you would like Alex to deal with your conveyancing matter, contact her today: