We all know that conveyancing seems to be getting more argumentative – the estate agent rings the bell and battle commences! But this week, something really positive happened in my conveyancing world and it led me to reflect on how things used to be done.
I had completed the sale of a property some weeks ago. It was not a property in my area so I did not know the agent but he and I did get on.
He was selling another flat in the same block and that sale had stalled, so he called me and asked me if I could speak with the solicitor acting in the sale of the other property as he thought I knew the answer to her question which would “unstick” that transaction.
Happy to help. The other solicitor called me and we had a good chat and I was able to point him in the right direction but what was refreshing was at the end of the conversation, I mentioned that it was a shame that solicitors did not chat more.
Many issues can be resolved by picking up the phone and talking. No need for these endless emails backwards and forwards which seem to be copied into the agent so that blame can be apportioned.
And isn’t that how we should do conveyancing? We are dealing with people’s lives and how does it look to the buyers and sellers when they see the questions being batted backwards and forwards with the estate agent ringing that bell and announcing we are now on Round five!
Talk to others; if there is an issue in the chain, find out from the agents if you can help. Local knowledge is invaluable. With conveyancing becoming less local, there are matters which arise in a particular area that the other side may not have encountered before so why not help them?
I know we are busy but surely it makes more sense so that we can show that we are not fighting but working together to help clients move house.
