As I have often said, the life of a conveyancer is hard. It’s not a particularly well paid role, it’s not glamorous and we don’t hang around at court looking cool, heading off to the pub after a day on our feet arguing for our client and mixing with judges and the like.
It’s rare to meet the conveyancer on the other side of a transaction but I’m sure that we all read the list of attendees to a conference to see who’s there that we may have spoken with, and looking for that person in as subtle a way as possible.
Having grown up with LA Law and then This Life, I always thought I would be mixing in glamorous circles but I blame the advance of the internet, emails and various portals for bringing an end to those dreams. I’m sure there are conveyancers, maybe some who are reading this, who do act for celebrities, sports stars and other high profile clients – I have never been in that position.
But even for those acting for those clients, the job remains the same: attention to detail, chasing paperwork, co-ordinating a chain, and ultimately completing on the biggest purchase a client will ever make. Deadlines have to be met. And let’s be honest, the hardest part of being a conveyancer is managing everything all at once while nothing is in our control.
I often to say to my clients that they need to understand that neither they, nor I, nor anyone else in a chain, is in control of the process – it all happens when it happens. One delay in any part of the chain has a knock on effect on others.
But there are constant pressures: clients want continual updates; estate agents, especially in the current climate, want quick completions; the lenders have their deadlines. All cases are urgent and it’s for us to decide which transaction is the most urgent at any given time. Keeping everyone updated can be more exhausting that the actual legal work. We all know that the stress, impatience and frustration that clients experience lands on our desk and we have to try and keep the client positive and focussed.
Life would be so much easier if there were less chasing. I, along with most of you reading this no doubt, spend so much time telling clients what I would be doing if I wasn’t on the phone to them telling them what I intend to do.
The same is true with estate agents; we spend time telling them what we intend to do when we end the call but, in truth, we are then likely to be interrupted by another estate agent asking the same question on another matter.
We all intend the best – and the road to a client’s new home is paved with good intentions.
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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2 responses
Reads like a thorough acceptance that moving home / buying / selling is all thoroughly sh17.
And it is.
Public are suffering way, way more than the rest of us trying to service their requirements however.
My attempts at cutting down on the chasing emails and calls I get is to cc the EA and the clients into everything I possibly can.
Helps a bit, but not entirely. I quite often end up saying to agents “no, nothing has happened in the 20 minutes which has elapsed since I cc’d you into an email providing an update”…………………………