Re: solicitors
Hi mf,
Just for the sake of balance..... and given our last contributors well known views on the evils of the legal profession.....
Just for the sake of balance, you could have identified yourself as a practicing solicitor, with a vested interest in protecting the status quo.
My comments were on the lack of competition in conveyancing rather than what you describe as "the evils of the legal profession".
If the legal profession didn't object to the competition brought on by fees advertising, and fully qualified Conveyancing Agents as exist in other jurisdictions, then I can't see how there would be a problem.
You do not need a solicitor to buy a property.
True ! You should be able to do it though a fully qualified conveyancing agent as recommended by the CA's report.
Of course you can do it yourself. You will just make a complete hash of it
Not necessarily.
Solicitors on the other side are unlikely to want to deal with you, as you are not insured by the Law Society insurance, which is, unsurprisingly, only available to members of the closed shop in the Law Society. No other indemnity insurance is acceptable. Yet another barrier to competition. :rolleyes
And there is so much competition on price out there, you will probably find someone who will pay you for the privilege of doing the work, taking all the responsibility and lining themselves up for a negligence action if they get it wrong.
Can you cite some evidence for this ? I can't say I've ever heard of a free conveyancing offer, or one where the solicitor pays for the privilige.
And funnily enough, even though the clients want cheap work, they don't want cheap cover if it goes wrong. Funny that.
If your solicitor is negligent in his activities, he is covered by a professional bond from the Law Soc.
All Irish solicitors are trained up to a similar standard in conveyancing, and as such, I think it's a false equate to consistently equate price with quality of service.
I do, however, agree with your recommendation to use someone you trust. Many people, before buying a house, do not have access to a solicitor, so this may be difficult. The solictor recommended in AAM's is Dermot Deane.
He manages to combine good service, with low fees. Why can't others ?