The property market is incredibly busy and it is creaking along because there are not enough experienced Conveyancers.
Experts have left the profession in droves. These are professionals who are no longer prepared to be treated with a lack of respect and courtesy by those utilising their expertise. No one wants to be constantly chased and berated for issues outside of their control.
CONSTANT CHASING
Conveyancers are doing their best in difficult circumstances and battling endless time-consuming regulatory requirements. It is impossible to get to the legal work because the constant chasing slows us up. It certainly does not help to push things along. If we are on the phone and replying to email after email we are not working on the legałs and we are not progressing files.
The working day is spent on telephone calls and emails from endless interested parties. It is only when the office is closed that we can get to the work. To progress matters Conveyancers work well outside of the 9 to 5. There is little incentive to remain under such constant pressure and lack of courtesy.
LACK OF COURTESY
Conveyancing is highly pressured and buyers and sellers are under immense stress. That does not excuse bad behaviour. Conveyancers are frequently shouted at and abused. The bombardment of passive aggressive emails is relentless. The result is that expertise has chosen to walk away. When you lose this is it any wonder timescales increase exponentially.
The experts who can do it quickly and properly are dwindling and it is impossible to recruit or train new staff. Who wants to be a Conveyancer with all the regulatory hurdles, hours and stress. What is the incentive?
PERCEPTION
Public perception needs to change. People need to work with Conveyancers NOT against them. Your Conveyancer exists to protect you. They are not the opposition.
If your Conveyancer requests a document then provide it. Arguing about the intrusive nature of the request, when their hands are tied, does not help. They cannot dispense with the request because it causes you inconvenience.
Prepare for your conveyancing. It is not possible for your Conveyancer to find your guarantees and certificates. They are your documents and were handed to you. The same with ID and bank statements. You may give these to several parties during your conveyancing. There isn’t one central ID pot we can all dip into.
We all want the same thing. Completion and the protection of the public and mortgage lenders.
PRESSURE TO COMPLETE
If the Conveyancer cannot sign off on your file, then it WILL NOT complete. Demanding completion because a completion date has been agreed will not be successful. Not because Conveyancers are trying to be awkward but because they do not want to be struck off for negligence, removed from a lender panel or have their insurance revoked. They cannot afford to waive due diligence to proceed for you.
Completion dates that parties agree in advance may not synchronise with the legal work involved. It is not possible to agree completion dates at the outset because there are too many variables. Even the simplest matter, and minimal chain, takes time. Government data suggests that reaching completion takes 8 to 12 weeks.
Completion can only occur when each Conveyancer in the chain agrees they can sign off their file. This means they can certify that the property has good title and there are NO issues that may affect resale or remortgage. Likewise there must NOT be anything which could affect property value.
Why would you want it any other way?
If we are not there yet - it is not happening.
Abusing the Conveyancer will NOT get you there.
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