Home buyers have little tolerance for poor communication during the conveyancing process, new research from Lyons Bowe solicitors shows.
Three quarters of respondents (75%) to a survey commissioned by the firm said they expect a response from their conveyancer within 24 hours when they ask a question, with just 6% willing to wait longer than two working days.
More than half of buyers (52%) expect weekly progress updates even when there is no significant movement in their transaction.
Four in five buyers (81%) expect to be told about any issue that could delay their purchase immediately or on the same working day.
As exchange and completion approach, 68% expect updates every two to three days or more frequently, while 78% want completion confirmation within an hour of funds transferring.
Paul Lyons, managing director at Lyons Bowe Solicitors, said: “One of the clearest messages from the research is that buyers want to feel informed. They understand that conveyancing is a detailed legal process involving multiple parties, but they don’t want long periods of silence while that process takes place.
“Buying a home is often one of the most significant financial commitments a person will ever make. When people don’t know what’s happening, uncertainty can quickly become frustration, even when a transaction is progressing as expected.”
The survey of 994 people currently buying a home or have bought a home in the past two years was carried out by ProperPR on behalf of Lyons Bowe.
2 responses
Everyone is entitled to an opinion. But on this occasion, I must respectfully disagree.
Most of us entered the law to practise law, to apply judgment, uphold integrity, and protect clients in transactions that carry real human and financial consequences. We did not join the profession to sell a product like cans of baked beans, nor to be measured by the response‑time metrics of a call centre.
This narrative, that conveyancing should move in neat, linear, 24‑hour cycles, serves only those who wish to recast a legal discipline as a production line. Conveyancing is not a sequence of tasks to be pushed along; it is a professional safeguard woven through a complex, risk‑laden process.
Clients deserve diligence, not deadlines designed for someone else’s business model.
If people really do think this (and I’m not convinced) then they’d have to pay a minimum of £10000 for a transaction so that the employer of the conveyancer can create a concierge level of service.
Of course if some AI generated gushy update is what people want as opposed to a telephone call and the opportunity to speak to a human then crack on!!