The vendor’s attorney represents the seller. In Jamaican practice this role carries more of the paperwork than it does in many other countries. The vendor’s attorney normally prepares the agreement for sale, receives and holds the buyer’s deposit, has the agreement stamped, prepares the instrument of transfer, obtains the duplicate title and property tax certificate, and pays transfer tax and the seller’s costs out of the proceeds.
On completion, the vendor’s attorney receives the balance purchase price, often from the buyer’s lender against an undertaking, pays off any existing mortgage, prepares the completion statement and sends the net proceeds to the seller. In many transactions they also lodge the transfer for registration, although the buyer’s attorney or the lender’s attorney may do so instead.
Buyers sometimes ask whether they can simply rely on the vendor’s attorney to save fees. They can, but that attorney’s duty is to the seller. An independent attorney for the buyer reviews the agreement, searches the title, checks special conditions and protects the buyer’s position if something goes wrong. Professional rules limit an attorney acting for both sides where interests conflict. In England the seller’s solicitor similarly drafts the contract, but each side almost always has its own lawyer.
Related terms: Real Estate Attorney, Attorney-at-law, Agreement for Sale, Vendor, Completion Statement, Title Deed Transfer.
Accurate as at October 2026.
