Conveyancers & escrow
The role of conveyancers, escrow officers and property lawyers in a sale, from contract review to settlement.
Who holds the money in a California home sale? Escrow holders explained
California lets three kinds of business hold a home sale's money and papers. Each answers to a different state regulator, and the licence, bond and reporting rules differ.
Selling or buying Dubai property through a power of attorney
How long a power of attorney is valid for a Dubai property deal, how one signed abroad is ratified, what a notary charges and what a 2025 circular is reported to require.
Caveats and title searches in a Singapore property purchase
What a caveat does in a Singapore property deal, what the Singapore Land Authority charges to lodge, extend, withdraw or search one, and when a caveat is wrongful.
What a conveyancing lawyer does and charges in a Singapore home purchase
How legal work on a Singapore home purchase is priced: HDB's published scale, private fees with no scale since 2003, fee versus disbursement, and how a bill is disputed.
South Australian conveyancers: registration, trust money and discipline
How South Australia registers its conveyancers, what the application costs, how client money is held and audited, and who hears a complaint when something goes wrong.
Texas title agents and escrow officers: licences, bonds and audits
How Texas supervises the people who close a home sale: the title agent's licence, bond and yearly trust fund audit, the escrow officer's licence, the fixed premium and where complaints go.
Who must conduct a US home closing? Attorney states and escrow states
Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina each require a lawyer in a home closing, but not for the same steps. How their rules compare with Washington's escrow model.
US title insurance: owner's and lender's policies, and who can shop
How title insurance works in the United States: what an owner's and a lender's policy each protect, how Texas and California price them, and what federal rules say about choosing a provider.
Conveyancers in Victoria: licence fees, insurance, audits and penalties
What a Victorian conveyancer's licence involves in 2026-27: the fees, the annual statement, A$2 million of insurance, conduct rules, trust audits, penalties and the 2027 training rule.
Settlement agents in Western Australia: licences, fees and safeguards
How Western Australia licenses settlement agents: the two licences, the triennial certificate, fee disclosure since 2016, trust accounts, insurance and the line with lawyers.
Who handles the legal transfer of a property in Dubai?
Dubai has no conveyancer in the usual sense. Registration trustees, services trustees and notaries each hold one part of the job, with fees set on public pages.
New South Wales conveyancers: licences, limits and costs disclosure
How a conveyancer is licensed in New South Wales, the work the licence allows and forbids, and what must be put in writing for the client before the work starts.
US title insurance premiums rise 13% but outlook stays negative
AM Best says US title insurers wrote 13% more premium in 2025 and 18% more in early 2026, yet it keeps a negative outlook on the segment. What the figures show.
Singapore conveyancing money: who holds your deposit, and how
Since 2011 a Singapore law firm may hold a buyer's deposit only in a protected account, with the Singapore Academy of Law or in joint escrow. How each route works.