Half a century next year. 50 years of being heavily involved with conveyancing, conveyancers, and estate agents. As the saying goes, I would have got less time for murder! Those 50 years included moving from the 20th Century to the 21st Century, and the job and the conveyancing process is more difficult, challenging, and frustrating than ever.
You only need to look at LinkedIn and other social media platforms, on a daily basis, to see how confused and fed up some conveyancers and estate agents are. No wonder many conveyancers are throwing in the towel earlier than perhaps they would have done if the home buying and selling process was smoother and more efficient than it is.
We seem to be in some sort of Mexican stand-off (or cold war) between high street conveyancers, volume conveyancers and estate agents. We have certain firms, organisations and associations trying to drag the more traditional firms kicking and screaming into the ‘digital’ age, and those traditional firms resisting as if their lives depended on it. Maybe they do?
This impasse is no good for anyone, least of all the home buying and selling public. This was posted on LinkedIn recently by a more traditional conveyancer: “I need to put a clause in my contracts that I will do digitally signed Contracts if the clients can do it and that way it cuts out the need to post the Contract out to the other side.” Progress of sorts?
The property market is not quite in the doldrums, but it could be heading that way, and for those that make their living from it every transaction, and the speed of every transaction, is vital. Not only for cashflow purposes but perhaps commercial survival.
Back in the day (ok I’m getting on a bit), conveyancers got on, conveyancers and agents got on (better than they do now anyway), HMLR was revered, and lenders were open, accessible, and reasonable. Everybody new everybody, everyone met up from time to time, for business lunches, business events an even sometimes socially. However, as some of us might like to, we can’t turn the clock back. Face to face exchanges and completions are gone forever, let alone picking up a mortgage advance cheque from a local building society manager a day or two before completion!
When you think about it in the cold light of day, we all want the same thing, or things. A smooth efficient transaction, that proceeds as quickly as the clients in the chain require. With all of the stakeholders being paid well and in a timely fashion. But what we seem to have is exactly the opposite. Instead of everyone getting behind the conveyancing wagon, oiling its wheels, and pushing it smoothly and efficiently in one direction, the wagon is being dragged in different directions with various wheels falling of from time to time.
I believe that if you ask ten conveyancers and ten agents what (top five) changes they would like made to improve matters you will probably get nearly 100 different responses.
Please prove me wrong and either post in the comments section or email me (rh@boldgroup.co.uk) your top five helpful and constructive suggestions. If enough are received, I will write a follow up article summarising the responses received, and maybe, just maybe, that will be the catalyst we all need.
Rob Hailstone is Founder and CEO of Bold Legal Group
2 Responses
I worked as a conveyancer for 18 years and was a partner for a few years. I left the profession 18 months ago and have not looked back. No amount of money or bonus would be worth it. I admire those left who can stick at it.
I work as a legal/admin secretary for a property company and have noticed the increase in solicitors’ enquiries and the increasing need for Deeds of Variations or LEXT’s due really to changing Lender’s requirements etc.