Diary of a High Street Conveyancer – It’s quiz time!

I tend to do contract reports over the weekend – what can take me a long time in the office is quickly dealt with at home on a Sunday, when there are no interruptions from the phone ringing or emails on a continuous ping into the inbox.

But it is interesting when you look at the contract documents you receive and step back to consider them rather than just seeking to deal with them quickly.

Let me tell you about the two sets of draft contract documents I reviewed this morning.

The first one was a traditional semi-detached house, built in the 1950s. It had a loft conversion. The sellers declared that there was a loft conversion in the property information form, but also stated that they did not have any consents for the works done.

I checked the estate agents’ particulars of sale and there was the loft conversion with dormer windows. It was not that the sellers had just forgotten to send a copy of the building regulations consent; they specifically stated that they did not have any documents. The office copy entries were dated July 2025, as were the protocol forms.

There was no comment in the covering letter to clarify why the forms were dated over three months ago. Had the property been sold before? Did the sale not proceed because there was no certificate for the loft conversion?

The second was a sale of a property where there is a charging order dated 2009. No reference to it in the covering letter; no indication as to whether the company with the benefit of the order has been contacted and how this will be removed on completion. In addition, the registered proprietor had died but no death certificate or grant of probate was sent with the documents – so I cannot see how the seller named in the contract has authority to act.

Is it me? Or is conveyancing becoming more like being on a quiz show?

Putting that thought aside, surely it is for the seller’s solicitor to check the documents before they send them to me – or do I now have to work out who is selling and how they have been able to sell a property? Are the sellers giving vacant possession or is there a tenant no one has disclosed to me? A few lines in the letter sending the draft contract documents would help in many cases and would obviate the need for some specific enquiries.

And would it be a good idea to have a weekly quiz for conveyancing where questions are posed for others to answer?!

This is written by a real high street conveyancer who wishes to remain anonymous. Read more in Today’s Conveyancer every week.