There are now two competing Bills. The second one was recently been presented to our Legislative Assembly (Parliament) but as it is supported already by a majority, it will become Law. However it will have to go through all the procedures, so it won't be in effect until perhaps early next year.
If you're only buying, then conveyancing fees are your only concern. These can't get any lower, and could go up, so DON'T WAIT!
Conveyancers will be subject to a board which will licence them, and they will have to keep trust accounts and pay into a fidelity fund as well as maintain professional indemnity insurance. They will also be subject to a disciplinary procedure.
LAWYERS and ESTATE AGENTS are already subject to similar restrictions through the law society and the real estate institute
What you are likely to see, is one-stop land shops, where you can arrange to view properties, buy and sell them and get all the paperwork done, possibly for an all-in price. This however makes it very difficult to know whether the conveyancig fee portion is more or less than if you used your lawyer for the paperwork.
As for disadvantages, consider this: a land agent acts for the vendor in signing up your contract. This is not affected even if you do not sign through the listing agent. If you are the purchaser, this immediately raises a potential conflict of interest. So who does he prefer when something goes wrong?
A LAWYERS ETHICS ARE VERY CLEAR ON THIS. HE MUST IMMEDIATELY CEASE TO ACT FOR ONE OR BOTH PARTIES (depending on the circumstances).
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