When you sell your property, it‘s your prerogative as Seller to appoint the Conveyancer to attend to the transfer. And it’s important that you appoint an independent/unbiased Conveyancer who will implement the contract and safeguard your interests (and not the Conveyancer recommended by the estate agent).
Why is that important?
The Conveyancer attends to the implementation of the Agreement of Sale and transfers ownership in the property against payment of the purchase price. If any issues or disputes develop before or after the Purchaser moves in, as they often do, and allegations are made with regard to what you or the agent said or did not say, in regard to the property and/or the contract, you want the Conveyancer to safeguard your interests as Seller and not side with the agent. If the agent recommended the Conveyancer it means she/he probably has some ‘relationship’ or ‘understanding’ with the Conveyancer which will result in that Conveyancer having a conflict of interest when a difference of opinion develops between the agent and you in regard to such issue or dispute. If the agent is someone who ‘feeds’ transfers to the Conveyancer it is unlikely that the Conveyancer will remain your attorney in case of such a dispute or misunderstanding.
Your Conveyancer would, as part of the process and instruction, prefer to peruse the Offer to Purchase/Contract before you accept/sign it. Some problems or issues can be avoided by that very simple precautionary measure.
Why do some agents refer Sellers’ transfers to their preferred or “pet” attorneys? It benefits them in various ways eg. by some attorneys paying for the agents’ property adverts, or providing other free services, entertainment and perks, or simply paying agents an amount of money per referred transfer.
Should the referred conveyancer be the Purchaser’s conveyancer, the Seller loses control over the transaction and can be subjected to undue delays. Keep control of your transaction by appointing your own conveyancer.
We do not solicit work from estate agents and are not the “pet” attorneys of any agent. We focus primarily on serving the interests of our clients without being compromised by the “perks” system.
So be sure the next time you sell a property to appoint your own independent conveyancer.
This information is brought to you by CHRIS FICK & Associates Inc. – Dependable Conveyancers since 1998
Chris Fick – info@chrisfick.co.za