Conveyancers are urging the Government to go further in its reform of the estate agency sector by mandating sellers to provide vital information upfront.
The Conveyancing Association has welcome government proposals to introduce minimum qualifications for estate agents, but said more ‘mandation’ is needed.
Eddie Goldsmith, CA chairman, said: “If we are being brutally honest, then we would have preferred a larger degree of mandation, particularly around, for example, providing certainty on completion with, for example, the use of our own Conveyancer’s Code for Completion.
“That said, it is very positive to see the Government referencing the need to improve completion, saying it will work with removal firms, conveyancers and lenders to see how it can improve the release of funds process.
“Also, in an area like cutting down on gazumping and the number of failed transactions, we would very much have liked to have seen mandation on the seller to provide vital information prior to viewing the property.
“Encouraging sellers is simply not enough.
“There are obvious benefits to ensuring that the information is collated prior to sale, not least because if it is all available at the point-of-sale there is very much less opportunity for the transaction to fall through.
“The estate agents we have asked say the biggest reason for fall-throughs is the frustration and stress caused by the delays in obtaining information and dealing with enquiries. Home movers simply give up. ”
The trade body has previously called for legislation to create a HIPs-lite style e-Home Report, similar to the Scottish system, that could be completed online.
- Editor’s note: Mandation is not a word recognised in many dictionaries, and in some the meaning is given as memorising something. In others it is a term used to describe men applying foundation makeup (similar to ‘guyliner’). It was first used by US politician Sarah Palin in 2010 as in “mandation of health care” to mean making something compulsory.
Anything to make the legal side our of industry easier eh! Put more work on the side of the estate agent and less on the solicitor/conveyancer. This is where the real issues lie, this is why most sales fall through, rubbish legal teams and their inability to act proactively, taking weeks to answer enquiries, weeks to send out documentation. They need to get their house in order.
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I think that there needs to be a concerted effort from all in the industry working together. This does mean estate agents, conveyancers and lenders modernising their processes and upping their standards across the board.
There are rogue and substandard estate agents and conveyancers who do bring down the reputation of their respective industries – there are also some very good ones. I don’t think size or price is the common determinator here, as there are some good and bad examples both big and small. I do see a place for regulation and maintenance of better standards for all, as this will hopefully bring standards up or see those who cannot meet the standards leave.
Upfront information is useful to customers to ensure they are making an informed decision and it may help reduce fall through rates to an extent, as will general consumer education as to what is involved in a house move. This does need to work hand in hand though with everyone doing a better job for their customers by improving standards all round. A promising sign from the Government’s announcement is their intent to deal with Managing Agents and the quality of the service they offer – this often leads to substantial delays to a transaction.
We all have a responsibility here and its about time we stop throwing mud, blaming each other and get on with doing what’s best for our customers.
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Not just that Arthur but speaking of rogues, conveyancers can “create a client” do paperwork, draw down mortgage funds and divert to the account of their choosing and this has been committed on several occasions, Estate Agents can’t! at least not without a conveyancer in the team!!
i think we know where man and womandation needs tightening up eh.
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ArthurHouse2 – once more a pithy response in which we are completely in agreement.
What is sadly very telling about the reaction to this government shopping list of idealistic thinking is how lawyers focus on “upfront information” as if this is the main problem they face today.
Utter nonsense.
Yes – better upfront information might help – a little – but in reality it’s the mistakes being made by law firms commercially by under charging and therefore underpaying their people and using shockingly attrocious case management systems.
We know this because our candidates tell us! A new lawyer who is joining us came from a firm that did high volume panel work and the system they used was so bad he had to stop using it and went back to manual!
Under invested law firms being let down by poor quality software and poor quality management business decisions.
Let’s see the government fix THAT issue!
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Why can’t the conveyancer acting for the buyer provide a pack on completion for use as a guide when they come to sell? Unless something major has changed its the same information in the future requiring a quick verification. Surely this would help speed up the process?
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And this is something that is in discussion within the industry – the equivalent of a property logbook. It is a great idea and something that would benefit the industry and customers.
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Damn I thought I was first to the post, lol.
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Here’s a thought; maybe conveyancers and solicitors could pick up the phone and call each other, or accept things via email, rather than waiting for the postman?
There are a lot of things that could be improved on in the sales process, but adding yet more work onto Agents is not going to help. I already have to do the Home Office’s job and check if someone is allowed to live in the country!
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In my 34 years experience good conveyancers are few and far between; most are useless.
Before marketing a property the vendor’s solicitor should be legaly obligated to obtain an up to date local search and if a leasehold property, provide answers to the enquiries that they would raise if acting for the buyer and lender. Furthermore, lenders should be legally obligated to administer mortgage aplications prior to the applicant finding a suitable property so that a formal mortgage offer is only subject to the valuation and any indemnity insurance to cover lease discrepencies. Lenders will obviously have to clearly publish criteria and property preferences.
These measures will dramatically speed up the transaction and sort the serious sellers from the messers. Perhaps buyers could expect to contribute towards the vendors legal costs to cover provision of the search and answers to enquiries since traditionally the onus is on the buyer to onbtain this info.
Perhaps the procedure should go a step further: The buyer must be satisfied with the property’s condition, that means a survey before a bid. The buyer’s solicitor receives the contact and relevant documentation in advance of any bid which, if acceptable, is the exchange of contacts with completion subject to the mortgage valuation only.
My company policy is that property remains on the market unti the buyer’s solicitor confirms receipt of mortgage instructions. At that point a contact is issued with a 2 week exchange dead line. All interested parties are informed if and when a valuation has been booked to afford them the opportunity to withdraw from or pause the transaction. My vendors love it. The buyers hate it but I get results.
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Your assumptions seems to infer the property is under offer and completes within 3 months of coming to the market and no chain!
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I could have spent more time covering the different scenarios we encounter and how this system would be more beneficial in every case but i didnt think I would have to spell it out to experienced estate agents. I think the majority of us would agree that this method would speed things up even in a chain situation, which is what everyone wants to achieve – Yes?
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(Well said ArthurHouse02 and Peter Ambrose – the single biggest issue with why the home moving process is as error strewn, slow and stressful as it is, is….the shockingly poor quality of the actual conveyancer allowed to touch a conveyancing file.
Yet are roundtable meetings/the Government addressing it, or is it being dodged by talk of better IT this and that, and better upfront information – both being ideas you put in the hands of mediocre conveyancers….which achieves nothing. Fix the mediocre conveyancer – then deals fly)
I would hope we all agree that any conveyancing firm, or association or organisation who speaks for how they feel conveyancing should be handled needs to be careful to first have their own members’ houses in order.
Indeed, the above article brings up a good example of where there are failings with conveyancers – the code for completion – as despite the profession already having one, all too often it is breached by:
1. failing to send the executed Transfer/deeds on the same day of completion, in fact taking several days
2. handing over an executed Transfer with blanks for the buyers names – making it worthless and a breach of multiple undertakings!? Or names written in with indecipherable handwriting
3. failing to telephone the opposite conveyancer to say “we have your completion money, and the keys have been released” – and instead obliging the buyers lawyers spend 30 minutes on an automated telephone line trying to find out
The above article also highlights another good example – upfront information – as ironically, all law firms can do this right now, but I have yet to witness a single example of any firm offering more than the TA forms.
If you champion better conveyancing/if you promote your conveyancing – then make sure you actually offer it/quality
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