Enquiries continue to irritate me.
I was acting in a sale and the buyer’s solicitor raised three pages of enquiries, most of which were not relevant.
My client was struggling with the sale as it was a result of a separation, so I was trying to shield her from the constant chasing emails and phone calls – but she was finding the whole process very difficult.
The sale collapsed. The first-time buyer decided not to proceed (which is a whole other diary entry for another week) so the property was re-advertised. It did not take my client long to agree another sale.
The new buyer instructed a solicitor in a local firm I respect and like working with. They raised three queries: yes, you read that right! Three queries, not three pages of enquiries.
Now, how do you explain that to a client?
Is the new buyer’s solicitor not doing their job properly? Of course they are.
The firm is reading the documents I have carefully checked prior to sending and decided they cover all the points they need to be aware of.
They are not asking me if a covenant from 1896 is enforceable. They are not asking me a page worth of enquiries about non-existent radon.
They are adopting a sensible approach.
But the estate agent decided to tell the buyer that the solicitor was not asking questions.
It all became very tense.
I’m surprised the estate agent did this – wouldn’t you think they would just want the transaction to complete?
So here is my tip for today: think about enquiries.
Look at the protocol and see what enquires you can ask. What do you need to know? What is apparent from the documents?
Or are you using an app or AI to ask your questions for you?
This column is written by a real high street conveyancer who wishes to remain anonymous. The views expressed are those of the author and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
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