All About the Role of a Lawyer in Property Transactions

All About the Role of a Lawyer in Property Transactions
Role of a conveyancing lawyer for property transactions in Singapore

What is my lawyer's responsibility when I purchase a property?
The duties of your lawyer are the following:

* BEFORE YOU PAY THE OPTION MONEY AND SIGN THE OPTION TO PURCHASE
Title Search : to verify and confirm the property's ownership before advising you whether or not to pay or sign the option to purchase
Bankruptcy or winding-up & judicial management search : to check that the seller is not in the bankruptcy list or winding up judicial management list
Option or Sale Contract Check : to make sure that the terms of the contract are fair and agreeable to you

* AFTER YOU SIGN THE OPTION TO PURCHASE
Caveat Lodge : to make sure that another person cannot make any deals with your property.
Official enquiry on the Title with the seller's lawyer : a detailed check is made on the Title of your property to ensure that it is in order.
Send official enquiries to various government departments : to find out whether there is any legal obstacle on the property.
Transfer documentation : prepare the transfer in your favour, send them to the seller's lawyer for approval, and then engross the document.
Preparing or vetting the mortgage loan and/or CPF Board documentation : contact your banker & the CPF Board for the necessary documents .
Notify the Management Corporation : (if a strata titled property is purchased) the MC will be notified, and particulars of the maintenance and service charges obtained
Completion Account : inform you that you have to get ready the necessary payments.
Completion : after making a final search to confirm that that the Title is free from any encumbrances, your lawyer will arrange and meet all parties involved to exchange the documents, payments and keys.

Can I change my lawyer before the transaction is completed?
Yes, the outgoing lawyer has to hand over to the newly appointed lawyer all the relevant papers. However, you will have to pay the outgoing lawyer for any work already done. If not, the outgoing lawyer may exercise his right of possession and thus delay the handing over process.

Can I engage the same lawyer as the seller?
Yes. There is no law in Singapore that prohibits a lawyer from acting for both the vendor (except if he is a developer) and purchaser concurrently.

Are there benefits from getting my Buyer to use the same lawyer as I for the sale transaction?
You will only need to pay ¼ of the scale costs instead of ½ the scale costs [the legal fees payable to Lawyers for property transactions, because the fees are fixed by law to a scale] if the both of you use the same lawyer. However, this is not advisable since a conflict of interest could arise.

Can you estimate the amount of money I have to fork out for legal fees?
The legal fees are currently based on a scale which is dependent on the selling price of the property. In general your legal fees should not exceed 1% of the selling price of your property.
Find out more on legal cost - pdf file - download Adobe® Acrobat Reader

Can my lawyer also act as my estate agent and receive a commission on the transaction?
No, he may not do so.

Can my lawyer give a discount for my legal fees?
Strictly speaking - no. Giving discounts may be seen as a marketing gimmick to attract business unfairly.

Is my lawyer entitled to charge additional fees on top of the prescribed scale costs?
Yes, your lawyer may charge you an additional fee for situations that require "special exertion" and has to be executed within an exceptionally short time.

My buyer's lawyer requested for my lawyer to hold a part of my sale proceeds as stakeholder after completing the sale transaction of my property. Should I agree to this? Why?
This request from your buyer's lawyer is fairly common because you are liable to pay for all property tax up to the very day of the sale completion. To ensure that your buyer doesn't end up paying your property tax for you, you should agree to the request.