Diary of a High Street Conveyancer – ‘Hold please caller, so I can do my job’ – Part 3

In part three of a very frustrating day full of phone calls and queries, the Secret High Street Conveyancer picks up the phone to ask some questions of their own. If you missed the previous instalments, catch up with parts one and two. 

I look at the clock – only 2.10pm. Three hours to go until I can turn off the computer and the phone and head home. Who am I kidding? Conveyancing is not a nine to five job any more. If clients had their way, it would be a 24 hour job, created in the Amazon delivery service era: I order something from Amazon in the morning, I receive it before the sun sets.

But clients need to understand that is not what it is like when buying a house.

I decide that I will put the phone on silent so I can do some ‘proper’ conveyancing – a title check and a report on the draft contract documents. Hooray! But… what is this I have received? Has no one  checked the documents before sending them to me?

There are  documents of title missing, the contract does not specify whether the property is freehold or leasehold but I appear to have been sent an old lease which has been determined by effluxion of time (proper conveyancing phrase there!), and the property information form has not been completed in full.

Where do I start?  Do I need to call out the poor documents supplied? I know what I will do – none of us talk to each other much so I will just call the sellers’ conveyancer and check the position and find out why the documents are not complete.

“Hello, can I speak with Mr Jones please?” [I give my name and firm and the property address.]

“Of course.” [Short pause.] “Mr Jones says can you just send him an email.”

“No, I would like to speak with him please.”

“Hold on then.” [Even shorter pause.] “Sorry, he says to tell you he is a little busy so can you just email him.”

Now, dear reader, this is one of my pet hates; I am clearly not important enough for Mr Jones to talk with me, when all I am trying to do is get the transaction moving and, hopefully, back on track.

I persevere:

“I would prefer to speak with him.”

“I am sorry, but he is busy so please email him as he has requested. Goodbye.”

And that is the end of the conversation.

I look at the phone, hearing the dialling tone.

Cue a lengthy email, setting out all of the issues with the draft contract documents (which will find its way to the estate agents, and the buyer and the seller at some point as these emails often do) when a quick chat could have ironed out the problems.     We are all busy, but sometimes a phone call is quicker than a succession of emails which can be read in a certain tone which is perhaps not the one intended.

And it is not even 2.30pm…

Last week, it was noted that I had not had my Cheerios for breakfast. I want you to know that this is all written with humour but illustrates what goes on in the conveyancing world. Those with interest in tech know that it is a difficult sector to work in but  what I have written about over the last three weeks is a daily occurrence.

I hope those of you at the coal face read what I write and identify with it. We are busy and the work is challenging – I would go so far as to say that conveyancing is now almost a vocation. We have to be tough and determined to get through each day, and we have to remain positive and grounded for the sake of our clients and, importantly, for our own mental health.

Do you want to know what happened at three o’clock? If so, same place, same time next week!

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