Talking Property: Conveyancing is more complicated and time-consuming than it may first appear, so it's best to leave it to your solicitor to sort out, writes Pat Igoe.

It falls to few of us to really know what others really think of us. And I am one of the few.

A very polite and pleasant telephone message from a client during the summer told me that the estate agent had confirmed that, yes, the house was sold.

So would I now please send back the signed contract for the property now being bought. And thank you very much.

But, after leaving a telephone message, it is important to always make sure to hang-up properly. In this case, the message tape continued.

The conversation that followed was entertaining and startlingly honest.

"You know what? That solicitor had me up half the night worrying about this. Sending me letters about bloody this and bloody that. That's his job. That's what I'm paying him for. Bloody solicitors, robbers the lot of them. Everybody knows that."

So what do solicitors do that takes between four and six weeks before the invoice is issued?

Much of what conveyancing solicitors do for buyers and sellers of houses and apartments is invisible. So, do people know what solicitors do in the four to six weeks between signing the contract and handing over the keys?

Our American cousins refer to a significant information deficit. Is it mostly shuffling old documents from one side of the desk to the other and then to the other solicitor, who probably does the same? A professional conspiracy just to take fees from gullible people?

George Bernard Shaw's quip in The Doctor's Dilemma that all the professions are conspiracies against ordinary people may be popular. But it is also untrue.

Doctors and solicitors, to name but two professions, increasingly realise that it is in people's best interests that they know the procedures and make informed decisions themselves. Perhaps a short summary may be helpful.

Firstly, auctions. Be wary that an auction can be a good way of getting rid of a problem title. When the hammer falls to you, the property is yours, problems and all. Just sign here please and a binding contract now exists.

And if you refuse to sign, well, that's not a problem either since the estate agent can sign on your behalf. Auctions are not for the faint-hearted.

For people who believe that title matters are academic and not relevant or practical in modern Ireland, and are really just solicitors making work for one another, there can be only one, and sadly curt, answer. Try getting a mortgage from a lending institution on a bad title. It will be a short meeting.

Whether buying a house or apartment by auction or by private treaty, your solicitor must carefully examine the contract and supporting copy documents of title. It is easy to fail to notice a problem until after you have bought. Too late.

Issues include evidence that the vendor really does have title to sell the property, whether there are any disputes about the property and that nobody else has any rights to it, such as a right of residence. You don't want to find after you buy that the vendor's old uncle still has a right to live there until he dies.

You may still have your own property to sell, or you may need a mortgage, or you have not yet had a chance to have your surveyor examine the new property for dry rot, rising damp and woodworm. Your solicitor will advise on these.

After contract, detailed title enquiries are sent by the buyer's solicitor to the vendor's solicitor. These enquiries cover a very broad range of issues that people are often unaware of - that is, until there is a problem afterwards.

The issues raised by the buyer's solicitor range from the fundamental to the day-to-day. Either the title is registered in the Land Registry or the deeds are registered in the Registry of Deeds. For Registry of Deeds titles, the solicitor must carefully check all the core documents of title, including checking that they are properly stamped and registered.

At the other end, details covered include that all the refuse collection charges are paid by the vendor to the precise date of sale.

You probably won't want an abattoir or a late night disco just down the road. What is the local zoning? Your solicitor will alert you to check the local development plan.

The roads and services may or may not be taken in charge by the local authority. If they are not, is there a problem looming for you with the local authority? Again, careful pre-contract checks are necessary.

Then there may be the vendor's mortgages sitting on the title. If they are not checked and cleared off, you get them too.

The buyer's solicitor will usually agree to accept a binding undertaking from the vendor's solicitor to pay them off immediately using the sale proceeds.

Your solicitor must thoroughly check whether other people, such as a neighbour, have any rights over the property.

These can include rights of way or a right to enter onto the property to paint the side of their own property. Or they may have a septic tank buried at the bottom of your garden - just where you plan to build your shed.

Are there any unauthorised extensions or alterations to the property? These must be identified. Is the building built in compliance with the Building Regulations? And if the property is an apartment, you will be required to join the management company which must also be thoroughly checked.

Also, what are the conditions attaching to membership and how much will it cost per year?

Then, if you need a mortgage, your solicitor will advise you not to sign a binding contract until you know that you can comply with all of the lending institution's conditions.

The list goes on. Conveyancing is more complicated and time-consuming than it may appear. Your dentist works while you are in the surgery.

Your solicitor only begins the work after you leave.

Much of a solicitor's work is not evident. Any mistakes may be buried in the deeds' vaults. But, years later, when trying to sell or mortgage the property, they may become very evident and very troublesome.

Ireland may indeed be going in the direction of demanding instant satisfaction for everything - the "I want it and I want it now" culture.

But property transactions are complicated and a lot is at stake. A friendly word of warning - go for easy, simple and instant conveyancing at your peril.

Pat Igoe is a solicitor in Blackrock, Co Dublin