Conveyancers are the professionals tasked with helping buyers and sellers to another legally transfer property ownership from one owner. As a conveyancer, you will be involved in real estate deals, carrying out the paperwork involved in the transfer process as well as helping with the deal negotiations if called upon. Conveyancing is a great career for individuals who love interacting and working with people as well as those who can pay great attention to detail since there are times when there is a lot of paperwork involved in the process. If you want to become a conveyancer, the following is a summary of the requirements to become one:
Minimum qualifications
A good academic background is essential to becoming a licensed conveyancer. First, you need to have covered the four years of GCSEs, majoring in courses such as English and English literature, or something equivalent to that. Individuals above the age of 18 who are already working in a licensed conveyancer’s office may move to the next level of conveyancing training without these academic qualifications.
Sometimes you may find your path to conveyancing at a much older age without the academic qualifications or experience of working in a conveyancing office. In that case, if you are above 25 years old, you may gain acceptance into conveyancing training based on merit only.
Qualifications in practice
You can also start training to become a licensed conveyancer with higher-level qualifications such as law degrees, graduate diplomas in law or legal practice courses. Qualified solicitors who specialize in conveyancing do not need to go through training but need to apply for a conveyancing license to practice as conveyancers.
Council for Licensed Conveyancers
Every conveyancer needs to pass the Council if Licensed Conveyancers examinations in order to receive a license and practice conveyancing. It involves the following steps:
Training
You need to start by practical training under a licensed conveyancer or solicitor for at least two years before you apply for the CLC examinations. The only individuals exempted from this practical training include practicing professionals.
CLC examinations
CLC examinations fall into two broad categories: foundation exams at the degree level and the final professional examinations. The foundations of conveyancing include introduction to licensed conveyancing, introduction to law and legal methods, land law and law of contract. The professional exams cover areas such as conveyancing law and practice, accounts, landlords and tenants.
Preparing for CLC examinations
CLC exam training is available in selected colleges or through distance learning. It normally takes about three years to go through the training. Individuals with legal qualifications do not have to go through the entire training and even people with work experience can reduce training time to as little as six months.
Types of Conveyancing Licences
There are two types of conveyancing licenses – the first one is the Qualifying for Employment license that you receive after completing training and CLC exams. This lasts you three years before you can apply for the second license, the full conveyancing license that allows you to set up your own business or partnership.
