Sensible conveyancing solicitors are aware that property transactions seldom run smoothly between handshake and settlement. They get snarled up sometimes by disagreements the settling of a contract in error, the pegging out of a boundary or a seller who happen to pick up his hard hat all of a sudden. And that is where they really have value.

Diagnosis is the initial activity. They sift through the paperwork and correspondence tearing them apart through timelines and requirements like a mechanic stripping an engine. On many occasions, they may realize that it is only a minor misunderstanding which has been blown by a storm and a full-blown battle is erupting because nobody took the time to understand the legal small print in clear English.

They are experienced in reducing tension prematurely. The temper-killing effects of a cold bath a cold water bath are quickly achieved by a strongly yet briskly composed letter. Instead of letting the issues grow to the point of expensive lawsuits, they attempt to make both parties come to a table (metaphorical or literal).

The resolution of property claims very frequently turns on the evidence. A solicitor is going to retrieve title searches, planning approvals and contract clauses, which can win or lose a case. They see dots where a normal person would not, they package them in a manner that makes sense to every party involved.

They also serve as interpreters of both ordinary language and language of the legally research. On the one hand, they say, “You promised X.” Something more complicated is said in the contract. It is a gap that the solicitor will have bridged to ensure that everyone is arguing about the same thing not two interpretations.

Their aim is straightforward at the end of the day; to get the disputed situation to an end but without burning the deal or the relationship that a buyer has with a seller. And any of you who have ever witnessed a deal on a house turn sour appreciate that alone is as good as gold.