Dear Heather, I want to put my home on the market. My friend tells me that the buyer’s lawyer will do the conveyancing and it will cost the amount set by the Bermuda Bar Association, of which I will pay half at closing. So my question is, do I need to go to the expense of hiring a lawyer to look over the paperwork on my behalf?b>Want to Save Money Dear Want to Save Money, The answer is a resounding YES! Here’s what your lawyer would like you to do as soon as you make the decision that you want to sell your home.• Set up a meeting with them to go over your deeds, lot plan and legal description, trust documentation and any other legal documentation pertaining to the property, to see if there is anything that jumps out as being a potential problem. You would be surprised at the number of deeds, trust documents and other legal documents pertaining to ownership that are missing, lost or illegible. Replacements of these documents can be reconstructed but it can be time-consuming and expensive. It is best done before securing a sale as, worst-case scenario, if something like this crops up, it can take months or more to resolve, and you run the very real risk of losing your buyer. Additionally, costs can and will add up when two lawyers are involved (purchaser’s attorney and vendor’s attorney). • Lot plans, legal descriptions, boundaries, right-of-ways, encroachments, zoning orders. Your lawyer can have a quick look at these and assess whether the current documentation is up-to-date enough for a conveyancing transaction. For instance, if a plan is in feet and inches or roods, the boundaries will have to be surveyed by a professional, and a new metric plan produced. It is a good idea to have this done before entering into a contract, so that if there is a boundary issue of any sort, work to resolve it can start immediately. Once again, this will help in not holding up a sale. If there are large issues it is best to resolve them before putting the property on the sales market. Otherwise, failure to give good title can hold up the conveyancing process.• Cost of the conveyance. It is true that the Bar Association has drawn up a table of costs for a conveyance and this same table has been in effect for nearly 20 years, however, if the lawyer has to do anything over and above the conveyance (and they frequently do) that charge will be on a time-and-charge basis. Most reputable lawyers charge upwards of $600 an hour, so the table of costs is not always an accurate gauge of what the actual charges might be.• One of the most important reasons you should have a lawyer representing you, is exactly that — their loyalty (fiduciary) is to you. Remember, the conveyancing attorney is picked by the purchaser, so in all likelihood already has a relationship with that buyer. While most attorneys do an extremely good job and are very fair, you can leave yourself open without proper legal representation.Selling your house is probably one of the largest financial transactions you will make in your lifetime, a good real estate agent and a good lawyer can be the difference between a successful sale or a stressful disaster.• Heather Chilvers is among Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty’s leading sales representatives. She has been working in real estate for 25 years. If you have a question for Heather, please contact her at hchilvers@brcl.bm or 332-1793. All questions will be treated in confidence. Read this article on Facebook: Ask Heather Real Estate