A new law firm has spoken of the love/hate relationship between estate agents and conveyancers.

‘When You Move’ surveyed over 100 agents.

It found fickle relationships between conveyancers and agents, amid concerns that issues during conveyancing can add up to six weeks to the sales process, slowing down and risking revenue for agents.

This too, says the firm, puts pressure on conveyancers to deliver a fast and efficient service, at a time when the market is also forcing them to drive down prices and take on more work.

‘When You Move’, which went live yesterday, asked: “Is the love really lost between estate agents and conveyancers?”

Its report says there is a race to the bottom over conveyancing fees, with one in five home movers opting for the service that will cost least – meaning the selection is out of estate agents’ hands.

The new survey also emphasises that over 78% of agents are happy with their working relationships with conveyancers – but that 87% would be open to working with a new conveyancing firm.

Mortgage brokers also make telling comments in the survey.

One says: “Generally, estate agents and solicitors are not pals.”

Another says: “Estate agents wants to push things through. Solicitors want to work at their own speed.”

The survey also suggests that estate agents are not as interested in referral fees as in speed of closure and quality of communication.

One agent said: “The most important thing for us would be communication: 99% of buyers and sellers have the common misbelief that the agent is responsible for updates when we are merely there to monitor. It is frustrating when we get clients disappointed with lack of movement and we have left multiple messages for their solicitor.”