Diary of a High Street Conveyancer – At what cost?

I read this week that the cost of practising certificates is set to increase.  

It seems to me that it is costing more and more to be a solicitor, especially within a conveyancing firm. And I am sure it would surprise clients to know how much has to be paid before we can even open the doors to do their work.

Practising certificates; indemnity insurance – and the premiums for this can be very large as conveyancing is such a high risk area of work; annual fee to belong to the lender exchange; fees to belong to the LMS network; and the list goes on…

And then, this week, I read of firms reducing their fees.

Why?

Conveyancing is highly specialised and risky work.

There have been a few occasions recently in which I have been acting in the sale of a property only to find out that my client has instructed a different firm on the purchase, at the estate agent’s request.

Is that for the benefit of the client or the estate agent? It is certainly not for the benefit of either firm of solicitors as we now have added work in transferring monies to another party on behalf of our client on completion, which can only lead to delays on the day of completion.

It is demoralising. It is frustrating for the solicitor and the client. It can add another level of delay in the process.

I apologise, dear reader, for being negative – but it is how I feel about the process.

I want it to be quicker, as it was 10 or so years ago, but the burden on us is high.

We need to take on less work and increase fees – but will the public come with us on this journey to make it a better experience?

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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