Up your fees and get transactions done faster, agent tells conveyancers

Conveyancers should up their fees, reduce workloads, and get transactions over the line faster in the process, according to one key representative of estate agents.

Iain McKenzie, the CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals, said that with transaction times longer than ever and the market beginning to quieten, it is vital that both transaction times and fall through numbers are reduced – and he said referral fees could be part of the problem.

“Unless something drastic is done soon, transaction times will get longer and longer,” said Rob Hailstone, CEO, Bold Legal Group, agreeing with McKenzie. Hailstone added conveyancing is “not the job it used to be 15 or 20 years ago”:

“It is far more involved, complex, stressful, and burdensome. Many conveyancers are not able to process transactions as they would like to for their clients.”

Hailstone said that the key reason for this is the conveyancing process involving some “30 or more” steps – a marked increase from the “12 main steps” of years gone by, something he says is unsustainable even aided by technology, adding:

“Add to the fact that there are HMLR delays, and SDLT advice should only be within the remit of experts, and client and estate agent requests for updates have increased and it becomes clear that the conveyancer’s role is, at times, almost untenable.”

Rob recently carried out a survey of over 200 delegates at the Society of Licensed Conveyancers conference in Derby, asking two key questions:

Do you enjoy being a conveyancer as much as you did in the past, and do you think your role is understood by clients and other property professionals?

As far as the first question was concerned, 86% of the voters said no, and as far as the second question is concerned 97% said no.

Rob also asked the BLG membership to let him have their wish lists of 5-10 things that should change. He ended up with a list of over 25.

Iain McKenzie concluded:

“Not only have the requirements that conveyancers have to adhere to increased but also those that estate agents have to comply with. Better understanding and collaboration between the two groups is essential going forward.”