With homemovers continuing to face record delays in the time it takes to get a purchase/sale completed, many within the property industry are naturally looking to point the finger.
Increasingly, the conveyancing process and conveyancers are on the receiving end of this finger-pointing, largely due to its complexity, intricacy, and vulnerability to a host of factors than can cause delays.
That said, many of said factors come from outside of the conveyancing process and are not within the hands of conveyancers. Think additional enquiries, incomplete contract packs, clients needing reassurance, incorrect mortgage offers… the list goes on.
Conveyancers and the conveyancing process are, however, often blamed for the resulting delays.
In light of this our good friend at Today’s Conveyancer, and Property Industry Eye, last week polled their respective readerships with a version of the following question:
“Do you think it would be beneficial for all the parties to a transaction – agents, lenders, buyers, sellers etc – to have a better understanding of the conveyancing process?”
Of nearly 500 respondents across the property industry, a striking 95% responded “Yes”.
Despite the unequivocal findings, it seems that there is a lack of intent to better understand the process, and to understand that conveyancing delays aren’t entirely the fault of conveyancers.
One must only look to LSL’s H1 results to see the narrative:
“The Estate Agency Division… was impacted by lower activity levels in the new purchase market and continued delays in conversion of our residential sales pipelines caused by conveyancing issues in the market. We have yet to see evidence of an improvement in these issues which we had expected to ameliorate during H1.”
Last Friday, Connells Group also blamed their half year results, showing a 13% drop in revenue, on “slow pipeline conversion”.
There is no overnight fix, though perhaps a better understanding of the conveyancing process for other parties to the transaction would be a starting point to reduce the burden on conveyancers and put an end to the blame-game.
Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals, said that while conveyancing is not perfect, agents are not entirely blameless and “should manage their clients’ expectations and disappointment by clearing the runway and ensuring all the information they provide to the conveyancer is correct”.
He gave the example that 60% of memoranda of sale are inaccurate, often not having the right initials or names – there are no chain details on them or upfront information.
He added:
“It is important that agents have as much knowledge about the conveyancing process as possible, so that they can take control of their conveyancing chain themselves.”
Spicerhaart have introduced a number of measures aimed at increasing the amount of upfront information shared between parties.
“We need agencies and solicitors to work together in a relay so that the baton, i.e. the memorandum of sale, along with as much information as possible, is handed over the moment the sale is agreed, allowing the solicitor to speed off down the track and over the finish line,” said Jon Lay, Spicerhaart’s Divisional Managing Director for Legal Services.
He went on to highlight how agents can support conveyancers:
“Any good agent interested in actually selling a property should be working with the vendor to collate as much information as possible upfront, having those discussions about FENSA certificates, when the boiler was last serviced and identifying any alterations that will have required planning or building regulations.
“They should also be gathering information about leaseholds, such as details of managing agents, ground rent receipts and fire risk assessments.”
“With an estimated 2,000 fewer conveyancers nationwide than three years ago, there is immense pressure on the industry while organisations are trying to recruit. It’s therefore vital that both existing and new conveyancers become better communicators when it comes to sharing information.
“There needs to be regular and effective communication, at agreed times, between the agents and conveyancers – and people mustn’t keep bugging each other but allow each other to get on with the job.”
Rob Hailstone of The Bold Legal Group said that the results of the poll “speak for themselves”, noting that 2023’s inaugural National Conveyancing Week may be an opportunity to put things right:
“With the first ever National Conveyancing Week taking place next March (week commencing 20th), maybe conveyancers could open up their offices for a half day, or even a day, so that agents could shadow a busy conveyancer. Then they could spend some time explaining and discussing each other’s roles and the difficulties they both have to deal with?”
Support for increased information sharing and understanding is clearly widespread, and this sentiment is reflected in the impassioned comment section of EYE’s poll post.
One agent said that their office previously “had good relationships with local solicitors [who were] always happy to allow my new staff to sit in with their conveyancing team for a couple of days to give them an insight into the conveyancing process”.
They added:
“This worked well and the solicitors were happy to have staff back later in their training too. This allowed my staff to understand the process and explain it to our clients: win-win for all involved.”
Hailstone seconded this relationship’s efficacy through the 1970s and 1980s, though it was refuted by some commentators who were less optimistic.
One said:
“Try and help, yes, but it is all down to the person who makes the decision of when, how and when… the competence of the conveyancer.
“So now I have the knowledge of what the conveyancer should be doing, and they aren’t. I haven’t a clue of their workload or the confidentially of information by interested third parties (lenders/chain solicitors etc).
“What happens now if it isn’t moving as fast as I think it should be? Ever tried to push a conveyancer that you have no control over?”
Another responded that “it would be helpful for everyone if agents and homemovers had a better understanding of the process (and technical knowledge in the case of agents), but it doesn’t speed up the conveyancers.”
To which Hailstone said: “If the conveyancers were left to get on with their work it might.”
What is clear is that there is a widespread hunger for increased understanding of conveyancing across the board.
This is not wholesale change; it will not fix every aspect of the system overnight.
It could, however, impact transaction speeds, minimise toxicity within the industry, and reduce the burden on conveyancers. At the very minimum, it’s something to consider.
It would be interesting to have EYE readers’ views on how the evident willingness to understand the role of the conveyancer might translate into practical benefit.
With grateful thanks to Jamie Lennox of Today’s Conveyancer, who substantially wrote this piece.
My business is predominantly lettings, we do however sell properties on behalf of landlords. When instructed to sell, we generally have all the information to hand such as electrical certificates, FENSA etc which we supply to solicitors. Does this speed up the process? No, often weeks down the line the solicitors will ask for the information despite having had it from us! Nobody checks, only last month a conveyancing solicitor sent on an lpa provided by management company without checking the information, the accounts provided were from 2016, not current!
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These forms, free from the NAEA, provide agents with the resource required to capture the information detailed in the article above. If every agent completed these at the point of instruction, buyers would be better informed and if passed to conveyancers with the Memorandum of Sale, the conveyancing process will also be helped along from the start:
Sales PIQ: http://www.propertymark.co.uk/resource/property-information-questionnaire-sales.html
Lettings PIQ: http://www.propertymark.co.uk/resource/piq-lettings.html
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See comment above – some (most?) lawyers don’t read what agents send them.
I have another example from only last week. We’re approaching exchange of contracts and my seller’s lawyer emailed asking me to send the buyer’s lawyer a copy of the EPC.
1. Rather than type out an email requesting the EPC, why didn’t the buyer’s lawyer go to GOV.UK and download it herself from the public register?
2. Rather than type out an email to me requesting the EPC, why didn’t the seller’s lawyer go to GOV.UK and download it herself from the public register (or write one back to the buyer’s lawyer telling her to get it herself)?
3. How comes neither lawyer made use of the link (to the EPC) that I gave them at the start of the process, in the email that included the Memorandum of Sale? Seemingly neither of the lawyers downloaded a copy of the EPC or saved the link.
I try to be helpful and make the job easier for conveyancing lawyers, but there’s definitely a problem with the industry (/profession?). Is it because conveyancing lawyers are so busy they are firing off emails without checking their own file, or too busy to carry out their own menial but necessary work?
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I just don’t believe the vast majority of lawyers would read through a PIQ from the agent. They’d rather send the seller another PIQ (i.e. TA6) for the seller to complete and return.
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John,
personally I think this info needs to be with the conveyancers before MOS, we normally resend the info when MOS is sent out. My experience is that conveyancers are reluctant to “open a file” until sale agreed but even then they do not seem to take on board the info sent. Another sale held up earlier this year because the buyer’s solicitor wanted copies of gas records and DEICR, all had been sent initially, 3 months prior and again with MOS, seller’s conveyancer had just filed them and not passed them on! One being held up at the moment, in January we agreed a sale by informal tender method for a short lease sale. The client and I spoke with the solicitors, we agreed a date of offers to be received by 31 May. The client paid for searches, gave his ID and paid for LPE to be requested from management company. 30th May, day before, I check with conveyancers that all is ready to issue contract and am assured all is good! MOS issued first week of June with all our certificates etc. 3 weeks down the line, buyer’s solicitor hasn’t received anything! I chase solicitors and am told that they are waiting for the client to pay for LPE! I forward their email of confirmation that they have previously received and ask, “has LPE been requested?” Email back confirms yes and that contract papers will be issued. We are now in August, buyer’s solicitor has had no LPE therefore no enquiries, contract arrived with no searches so they have instigated searches (already paid to be done!) the buyer’s solicitor is getting nowhere, the seller’s solicitor has now gone on holiday until 29th August and not left the file with anyone!
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Disgraceful.
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Jeremy1960 – I feel your pain and I know we all have examples that are similar.
I really do think we have reached a point where the professional bodies of key stakeholders need to sit down, devise a sales and progression system that works, using software and project management processes, as every individual sale is a project, and take this process out of the dark ages.
It actually is not difficult – a number of us are discussing this on LinkedIn and the solution is not that difficult.
But the current ‘he said/she said’ archaic paper system that many still adhere to is simply not fit for purchase.
No-one should actually have to call a conveyancer for an update – they should be able to simply ‘log in’ and see where we all are, use milestones, use project management software where documents can be uploaded and available for download when needed by those with the correct level of authorisation at different stages and stop the “I sent it/I didn’t get it” nonsense that just wastes weeks and weeks of time.
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It was probably 5 years ago that Iain Mackenzie joined me at MyHomeMove to talk about how sales memo’s could be improved, and clearly things haven’t improved. Often too much reliance is placed upon the agent’s CRM – but rubbish in rubbish out has always been the case.
Seller’s ID should have been checked so that should be in detail and easy. Buyers who are Mr Smith and Miss Brown simply isn’t acceptable but the last time I did an exercise to check it was still in evidence.
Today’s post coincides with another elsewhere demonstrating that mortgage offers are frequently having to be re-issued as the borrower’s middle name is incorrect or missing, which you would think the broker should have sorted.
The process is not going to change in any substantial way anytime soon, so Improvements will be about everyone looking for incremental gains, so paying attention to the detail will help to save a few days, maybe weeks.
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Wouldn’t it be nice if each sale had its own software secure account that allow all parties to send documents required and raise enquiries/questions. Sounds simple but one of the only industries in this world not to have moved away from snail mail and paper is conveyancing! Agents could log in to view progress and help chase delays without To which Hailstone said: “If the conveyancers were left to get on with their work it might.”
The account should have all aspects of the sales needs, first registered by the selling conveyancer and progressed by the buyers conveyancer with progress and completions of actions required. Principally what they do now behind closed doors.
The problem is communication and documentation that causes delays. The more people have to wait and react, the longer the risk of long, very long delays and abandoned sales.
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