Is conveyancing extra slow at the moment?

firsttimesellerldn

I’m sure some people have unrealistic expectations of solicitors. However, it’s notable that some provide much better customer service than others so clearly it isn’t impossible to keep people updated. If people know things are in hand and are given realistic timeframes for next steps then they won’t be chasing. 

teachfast

firsttimesellerldn said:

I’m sure some people have unrealistic expectations of solicitors. However, it’s notable that some provide much better customer service than others so clearly it isn’t impossible to keep people updated. If people know things are in hand and are given realistic timeframes for next steps then they won’t be chasing. 

Exactly this. But managing expectations and effectively and efficiently communicating is a foreign concept to many. Even on this forum there are many who feel solicitors are too busy to do this and it is some kind of favour to their clients. 

bigkenny1975

On Morning Live this morning (basically the One Show but in the morning) they were discussing this with Martel Maxwell from Homes Under the Hammer. She said that she had spoken to solicitors she knew and they basically said that you had to be pushy to get to the top of their pile.

My conveyancer had not responded to any emails or phone calls until I quoted their communication policy to them and highlighted that they had also provided me with incorrect information (on the rare occasion they took my call they said the had put in some enquiries with the seller's solicitors but the EA confirmed this was not ghe case two days later). Suddenly the threat of a complaint made them jump into action and I have full updates and copies of the enquiries which were sent seven days after they told me they had - they blamed a delay in the typing pool!!!

teachfast

Greed has made them take on more work than they can deal with, so they do the last thing they were sat on for. Must be a horribly stressful way to work. 

Thrugelmir

Hdot26 said:

The buyer is apparently frustrated that it’s taking so long too, but my EA hasn’t been able to contact her this week. 

That's convenient.  Safe to assume that it suits their agenda at the moment. Never underestimate how two faced people can turn out to be. 

Hdot26

Thanks everyone. It’s reassuring to hear that things are slow but also normal at the same time. 

It just felt extra slow because the valuation was 3months after the offer, and the conveyancer only responded to my solicitor 2 months after they sent everything through. 

We’ve never sold before, so have no idea what to expect really - we’re also trying to plan our wedding so it’s been pretty stressful! 

Thanks for all of your comments, we will keep chasing.

TBagpuss

teachfast said:

Greed has made them take on more work than they can deal with, so they do the last thing they were sat on for. Must be a horribly stressful way to work. 

It's not greed (or at least not on the part of the lawyers!) It's more that the demand for cheap conveyancing means that the only way to make it viable to carry out is to deal with large volumes. If you want more attention from your conveyancer you need to be willing to pay for their time, rather than a low fixed fee.

Right now, you've got the perfect storm of more people than usual seeking to move because of the stamp duty holiday, combined with a lot of people working from home which slows things down.

Swash

TBagpuss said:

teachfast said:

Greed has made them take on more work than they can deal with, so they do the last thing they were sat on for. Must be a horribly stressful way to work. 

It's not greed (or at least not on the part of the lawyers!) It's more that the demand for cheap conveyancing means that the only way to make it viable to carry out is to deal with large volumes. If you want more attention from your conveyancer you need to be willing to pay for their time, rather than a low fixed fee.

Right now, you've got the perfect storm of more people than usual seeking to move because of the stamp duty holiday, combined with a lot of people working from home which slows things down.

I see this a lot on this forum. As someone who is currently 7 months into what should have been a simple conveyancing process, if my solicitor gave me a heads up that they were going to be painfully slow and uncommunicative, then I would have gladly paid double to get it over the line. The problem is, they don't tell you. So how are we supposed to know that when we sign the dotted line? 

Tiglet2

Swash said:

TBagpuss said:

teachfast said:

Greed has made them take on more work than they can deal with, so they do the last thing they were sat on for. Must be a horribly stressful way to work. 

It's not greed (or at least not on the part of the lawyers!) It's more that the demand for cheap conveyancing means that the only way to make it viable to carry out is to deal with large volumes. If you want more attention from your conveyancer you need to be willing to pay for their time, rather than a low fixed fee.

Right now, you've got the perfect storm of more people than usual seeking to move because of the stamp duty holiday, combined with a lot of people working from home which slows things down.

I see this a lot on this forum. As someone who is currently 7 months into what should have been a simple conveyancing process, if my solicitor gave me a heads up that they were going to be painfully slow and uncommunicative, then I would have gladly paid double to get it over the line. The problem is, they don't tell you. So how are we supposed to know that when we sign the dotted line? 

The fees they charge would be a good clue or a recommendation from a friend who has used the solicitor and been happy with the service.  Also, bear in mind, no solicitor can guarantee speed, since they rely on third parties to provide essential information, nor do they know in advance what legal issues may be discovered during the process. 

Solicitors would normally charge around £200 per hour or more for their time.  Every time you telephoned or they wrote to you, they would be adding that to their fees. 

A "fixed fee" for conveyancing that can take months to reach completion is operating under very fine margins and so the client contact is minimal. 

The problem is that clients do not want to pay the kind of money that makes hand-holding, being on the other end of the phone in an instant and available for advice whenever you need it, possible.

Consumers have driven the price down, but the result is firms with far too many clients than they can cope with and many unqualified staff doing the admin.   The solicitor in charge of your file, as well as hundreds of other files, will only look at the file at key stages during the process.  While they are waiting for something from a third party, the file will remain in the pending pile, to be chased periodically.

teachfast

Tiglet2 said:

Swash said:

TBagpuss said:

teachfast said:

Greed has made them take on more work than they can deal with, so they do the last thing they were sat on for. Must be a horribly stressful way to work. 

It's not greed (or at least not on the part of the lawyers!) It's more that the demand for cheap conveyancing means that the only way to make it viable to carry out is to deal with large volumes. If you want more attention from your conveyancer you need to be willing to pay for their time, rather than a low fixed fee.

Right now, you've got the perfect storm of more people than usual seeking to move because of the stamp duty holiday, combined with a lot of people working from home which slows things down.

I see this a lot on this forum. As someone who is currently 7 months into what should have been a simple conveyancing process, if my solicitor gave me a heads up that they were going to be painfully slow and uncommunicative, then I would have gladly paid double to get it over the line. The problem is, they don't tell you. So how are we supposed to know that when we sign the dotted line? 

The fees they charge would be a good clue or a recommendation from a friend who has used the solicitor and been happy with the service.  Also, bear in mind, no solicitor can guarantee speed, since they rely on third parties to provide essential information, nor do they know in advance what legal issues may be discovered during the process. 

Solicitors would normally charge around £200 per hour or more for their time.  Every time you telephoned or they wrote to you, they would be adding that to their fees. 

A "fixed fee" for conveyancing that can take months to reach completion is operating under very fine margins and so the client contact is minimal. 

The problem is that clients do not want to pay the kind of money that makes hand-holding, being on the other end of the phone in an instant and available for advice whenever you need it, possible.

Consumers have driven the price down, but the result is firms with far too many clients than they can cope with and many unqualified staff doing the admin.   The solicitor in charge of your file, as well as hundreds of other files, will only look at the file at key stages during the process.  While they are waiting for something from a third party, the file will remain in the pending pile, to be chased periodically.

And sticking to this position just further damages the reputation of the profession. £200 is far, far too much money for the level of qualification required. They demand it because they can with people who are in the do-do and have to pay. It also provides people with a level of indemnity  It's not what their time is actually worth, but it certainly goes to their heads to think so.