To think buying and selling homes could be made much much simpler..

I'm referring to the ones that are @madamweb

Most residential conveyancers aren't actually solicitors.

I have no idea why anyone would want to be a conveyancing solicitor. Surely there are more interesting types of law... is this not one of the dullest legal jobs?

If not, who do the conveyancing solicitors think have it the hardest in terms of tedious work?

3 weeks from first viewing to ownership? If true, I think that's way too fast. Did you mean 3 weeks from first viewing to being contractually bound?

It's ludicrous. I've had to explain why it takes so bloody long and I have no clue. Here in Canada from first viewing to owning the house normally takes max 3 weeks. That's it, no chains, no dicking around. you do the equivalent of exchanging contracts in two weeks.
Normal sales process would be list the house Monday, viewings the weekend after, offers following monday, then you have a couple of days to finalize your mortgage and get a survey, close.
No one would ever accept an offer on a house in a chain, they don't exist here.

@Ireallywantadoughnut36 you can't DIY where there's a lender involved.
This has been explained several times in the thread you didn't bother to read before wading in with your (incorrect) opinion
Do you do that in real life? Hear a sentence in a conversation and then just blurt out what you think is correct about it?

Great idea until you buy in a development where the reversionary interests haven't been transferred, or you buy a house with a covenant that's a deal breaker for you but you couldn't interpret it clearly, or you can't register your purchase properly because you've missed something crucial during the process. Give it a go sometime and see how it works out for you.

You don't understand why people might want to use a solicitor when spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on something which may have liabilities attached to it?...

Some people do their own litigation too but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.

@Ireallywantadoughnut36
You haven't read any of the thread, have you?

I've hears some people do their own conveyancing, honestly because they constantly ask you for all the stuff anyway I don't know why it requires a solicitor, they're mainly a giant post box as far as I can tell

So some rogue firms "years ago" doing something in breach of regulatory rules. Doesn't make it right, but this is not the gotcha you think it is 🥱

I do. There was a massive scandal about it years ago.

There was a half hearted attempt to streamline the process via Home Information Packs, but apparently the EAs and surveyors made a massive political fuss and got it canned….

Or you could read the comments on here from people who actually know what they are talking about?

The released mortgage money stays in certain profession's accounts longer. Work it out.

Fellow legal professional here and another poster has said this but I feel the same way - you couldn't pay me enough to do conveyancing work. Some of the comments you regularly see on threads like this from people assuming any delays etc must be the lawyers deliberately doing things to bump up their fees (how, when it's a fixed fee? ), comments about "lining their pockets" etc must be hurtful when you're a professional trying to give a good service to your clients, for a very average salary! The idea that not all lawyers earn Slaughter and May salaries (in fact, the vast majority don't!) doesn't occur to some people.

Indeed. It sounds like a gruelling life. I liked @Simplelife2021 ’s post at the time, but it’s worth repeating.

My conveyancer is great. Drives things forward.

Just wanted to acknowledge this @Simplelife2021 as no one else has. Hope you’re ok, nothing is worth burn out.

Trouble is the "naughty" people know how to circumvent the rules as they have "bent" solicitors/accountants, know how to get forged passports, etc. A lot of recent regulation has made life hard for honest people but the fraudsters/criminals sort out forged documents etc.

A bit like car number plates - you have to take ID and ownership proof if you want a new number plate from Halfords, but organised criminal gangs will have someone with the right piece of equipment to produce fake ones.

I would add that the amount of property bought with dirty or sanctioned money in the UK suggests that regulation needs to be higher!
But no-one ever thinks rules should affect them, just the naughty people.

They're strict because property prices are so high, mortgage loans are so high, 2008 happened.
If you can't pay your mortgage the only recourse the Lender has is to repossess your house and sell it. If they can't get what they loaned you for it, because it's got various problems that should have been picked up at the purchase stage, they sue the conveyancer.
Conveyancing is one of the riskiest areas of work.

The conveyancer acts for the buyer and the Lender. The Lender has the much higher requirements.

I do wonder whether bad regulation is jamming the cogs.

Compared to NZ there are just a lot more laws in the UK. I'm not saying regulation is bad: it's a Wild West without it, but there is a compliance cost. Is that what makes lenders so strict in the UK?

The Land Registry isn't usually the problem. Most LR things are online, it's the Lenders with their increasingly strict requirements.
Hearing from people in other jurisdictions it's clear that bridging finance is usually used, so the loan isn't secured on the property itself and chains aren't necessary.
That would be wonderful here, the problem is that the average mortgage needed in E&W is simply far too high for a bridging loan, and if it were possible the interest would be insane.

The really striking thing on the thread is that non lawyers genuinely don't seem to know how the process works, and think solicitors are delaying getting paid and making their work less lucrative out of malice 🤯

Yep, I agree it should be quicker and the whole system needs an overhaul.

Closed on a house in the US in 18 days last year.

I believe in the US it's common to use bridging finance, so you don't need to have huge chains of everyone selling one house and buying another on the same day. I can only assume this is deemed too risky by the banks here/not allowed under regulatory rules, as it would be in their interests for fewer chains to collapse (and of course there would presumably be some free money product fees in it for them in setting up the bridging loan as distinct from the mortgage).