Residential Conveyancing
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring a building or piece of land from one owner to another. Specialist property lawyers carry out this process, dealing with all paperwork, contracts and financial dealings involved in the sale & purchase of land or property. The conveyancing market is constantly shifting to keep up with new technology and market trends, and even in the last few years has seen some major changes with the introduction and suspension of home information packs and the development of Econveyancing.
Opportunities exist at all levels within the conveyancing sector, from administrative support staff and entry level law graduates to legal executives, fully qualified solicitors and licensed conveyancers. Both qualified and unqualified fee earners can manage their own caseload as a conveyancer, taking responsibility for client’s files from the initial instruction right up until the final stages of the deal. Opportunities within this sector are not limited to law firms or specialist licensed conveyancing centres. Mortgage lenders, banks & building societies, local authorities and property developers are actively recruiting those with experience and training in residential property. There are several different areas it is possible to specialise in, including residential or commercial property, plot sales and development, sales repossession or re-mortgaging. Career progression is fast for successful conveyancers, which is one of the things that make it an attractive career path for so many people.
Many who work in this field will go on to qualify either as solicitors, legal executives or licensed conveyancers. To qualify as the latter you must complete the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) course. The CLC is the professional body for licensed conveyancers in England and Wales. Entry requirements for the CLC course are 4 GCSEs including English at grade C or higher. ILEX students and law graduates maybe exempt from certain elements of the course.
The course is made up of academic exams combined with 2 years practical training carried out under the supervision of a solicitor or licensed conveyancer. Once this course is completed you will have a limited licence to practice property law, after a further three years of qualifying employment you will be fully qualified to reach partnership or set up a business on your own. Licensed conveyancers have equal status to solicitors within the property sector, and the CLC qualification is a pre- requisite for any management level position in this area. More information is available from the council of licensed conveyancing’s website, www.clc-uk.org.