Duties of a Property Lawyer in Kenya
If you are thinking of buying or selling a property, have in mind, it’s not an easy process. It will stress you and at some point, you will need help from the professionals. The whole process has its challenges. You will be needed to make the right choice and deliberations that may submerge you. A property advocate will help you during the whole process. He will play a major role from the beginning of your journey to the end. A property agent has to make sure that his clients make the right decisions and get value for their money. He should be able to offer legal advice and representation throughout the process That is why you need to get the best advocate with the following qualifications:
- Licensed lawyer as a property advocate
- Full-time advocate
- Good communication skills
- Experienced advocate
- Passionate about properties
- Speak the same language
- Good track record
When looking for an advocate, visit their website to make sure the lawyer is registered under the law society of Kenya. Be keen to check their address, year of practice and their area of specialization.
Once you have that good advocate with the above qualities, here are the roles he should play:
1. The Property Advocate is your Manager
When doing a transaction, your lawyer should be the one to do the talking. he should be able to put your best interests on the table and negotiations with the seller’s advocate and agent. Also, he will be the one to talk to the local authority, financier, surveyor, valuer, physical planner and property manager.
2. A Property Advocate is a Researcher
A property advocate has the role to do proper research and get all the information related to the property you are buying. The research includes getting the name and a copy of the sellers national ID. Besides, he should then do necessary research of the property and the person that owns the property as per stated in the registration of person bureau. If the person selling the property is a company, then the advocate should research the company’s registry.
3. Reviewing transaction
Real estate transactions are not easy to understand especially if you are a first-timer. They are complicated and failure to understand could lead to serious consequences in the future. Your advocate should validate all documents used during a transaction to make sure you are on the safe side. Transaction documents are very important, you should take your time to understand before signing them
4. Transfer property
This is a very complicated process hence you need someone that has full details of the whole process. A property advocate has the required knowledge that pertains to property transfers per the constitutional law. The lawyer should further make sure that the legal document does not violet terms of the negotiated deal or even Kenyan law.
5. Property Adviser
Your property lawyer has experience in the field hence knows what is best for his clients. This means that he will be advised about any crucial decision that you will be needed to make. You should make sure he knows the important dates related to the property. If you can’t make to a certain deadline, ask him to make negotiations to extend the deadline. Your lawyer can also let you know when to end a contract deal and also help you in ending it. Generally, he should let you know where there are issues and advise you on what to do.
A property advocate plays a major role in property buying as shown above. Choosing a perfect advocate that will help you buy a house with ease should then be a priority. Take your time and research before getting an advocate that will make the whole process harder than it should be.
Looking to work with an advocate on your property search? Call us (Commercial Property Kenya) on 0784448888 or leave your contact details and we will call you back.