DIY conveyancing on a mortgage refinance

[Flashwaawoo]

Has anyone ever done their own conveyancing when changing banks due to refinancing? I was told today by a bank that it can be done. It would save some money not having to pay the lawyer fees.

[Winston001]

Mmm...someone in a bank told you that? I suspect that's not what their lending securities section says. Who supplies the Solicitors Certificate?

[Flashwaawoo]

Yes, I was surprised too. The solicitors cert was also something that I wondered about. I'll take your reply as a warning. Cheers.

[brokerman]

Agree with above, I can't see the Bank accepting this.

[Perry]

There is a detailed thread on PT about DIY
conveyancing. Go have a search for it.

[Boostin]

As mentioned earlier, but to put it slightly differently. You think your new lender is going to pay you hundreds of thousands of dollars to repay to your old lender? And they will trust you enough to register the correct security at the same time, despite the fact you have never done this before?

That is what the solicitors certificate covers. Your lawyer also has a large amount of insurance cover that the bank would rely on if something went wrong, which you do not.

[Maccachic]

Just ask the bank for a cash contribution, they all do this these days don't they?

[brokerman]

Just ask the bank for a cash contribution, they all this these days don't they?

They are and pretty good ones too.

[BigDreamer]

You have to be gutsy to perform a DIY conveyancing of any sort.

[DavidH]

Years ago I bought a property and did my own conveyancing. I simply had to meet the seller at the land transfer office. Both parties signed the ($25?) transfer form I think. Obvious how to do it at the time. The seller passed me the (old tech) title deed and I passed him the money (bank cheque). I passed the transfer form and title paper across the counter. Easy as. In part because no mortgage was involved.

With my second property purchase I was forced to use a lawyer because the bank required it done this way if they were to give a mortgage. Now with e-dealing etc and LINZ not providing much if any counter service it is even harder to do even the simple stuff yourself.

[Ivan McIntosh]

Used to be able to do it yourself at LINZ in person as you say, as long as no bank was involved....and sometimes even then the bank would simply appoint their own lawyer to trot along with the relevant cheques, not sure whether that saved much in the end.

Hasn't really been that way for a long time. Nowadays LINZ leaves changing titles in the hands of lawyers and conveyancers and trusts them not to abuse it. They aren't yet willing to extend that trust to members of the public because the ability to change ownership, securities etc of any title at all is unconditional and total and very dangerous. In future that might change with respect to your own properties, in that limited access options might get implemented.