"Huge" wrote in message
...
"R P McMurphey" writes:
Hi all, I have agreed with the local land owner to buy a small plot
off him
for not much money, to use to extended my garden. I have been in
touch with
some solicitors and they are asking £600 all in to do the work.
that's
nearly 90% of the cost of the land! surly there cant be that much
work
involved in buying a plot of land...other than checking through the
contract
and applying for a change in ownership of the land? I have done a diy
divorce before so im not afraid of doing it myself...the conveyancing
that
is! can anyone give me any advice or point me in a direction of some
useful
websites?

Based on my experience, DIY conveyancing should be against the law.

And based on mine (4 d-i-y sales, 4 d-i-y purchases) solicitors are
slow, careless, and sloppy (spelling their client's name wrongly;
describing my neighbour's land instead of mine in my mortgage deed;
numerical errors in the completion statement; and many more examples)

So while some solicitors (or rather their clerks) may be quick,
thorough, and cheap, by no means all of them a just as not all d-i-y
conveyancers are as incompetent as the one example Huge usually cites.

As for assistance: the Which? book is helpful for straightforward cases,
but, iirc, tells you not to d-i-y when you're buying part of the
seller's land, or unregistered land; Joseph's "Conveyancing Fraud" is a
bit gung-ho about it all, but is one to read when you have moments of
doubt; Bradshaw's "House Buying, Selling and Conveyancing" is fairly
comprehensive, up-to-date, and only 12 quid.

Admittedly, I did have a few years of writing contracts, so the odd bit
of legalese does not unduly worry me, but to anyone capable of reading
and understanding the books I've mentioned, and who can write reasonable
English, I'd say: "Go for it!"


--
Kevin Poole
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Car Transport by Tiltbed Trailer - based near Derby