Why is the conveyancing process so slow?!

[Areyootakingthepish]

It’s just taking forever and a day. 5 weeks in and it’s all going at a snails pace. Do they just have hundred of files and spend 20 mins on each one a week?!

Who knows! It is always slow at the start as they send lots of questions to the seller and some people just dont respond immediately! They are probably dealing with a number of transactions as well.

i think you just have to be patient in the beginning but keep an eye on things. If the buyers or sellers arent responding quickly enough your estate agent should be able to step in and try to move things along as well.

good luck!

Do they just have hundred of files and spend 20 mins on each one a week?!

Yes, basically because nobody wanted to pay the costs associated with a decent job, so it's mostly done by poorly trained unqualified staff on MW or thereabouts, typically supervised by one harried lawyer.

We paid a solicitor to do our weird title herself - it was more expensive, but nothing like you describe. The only delay was with LA searches.

I work with an ex-conveyancer who quit because they’re so overloaded. He said you don’t get any work done because people are constantly calling for updates and they have so many clients/ files on the go. And it’s rubbish because the ones who calls the most for updates tend to get sort quicker because they just want rid of them.

Well, yes!
Are you using a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer? The latter is less well paid and completely overworked. It's 'pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap' work.
We made this mistake with our first house purchase. Found an excellent solicitor for the second and all went to plan, well within timescales 👌🏻

They'll likely have 50+ active files, and probably some completed files that they're registering at the Land Registry.
Most people wouldn't be willing to pay double or triple conveyancing fees for their conveyancer to have less files/more time per file. As a pp has mentioned, most conveyancing is done by legal assistants/paralegals on just over minimum wage, with one solicitor in charge of lots of paralegals.
They will have received the title pack (contract, title evidence, protocol forms) from the seller and raised enquiries. Depending on the complexity of the file, that alone can be a few hours of work. Then they have to review replies and produce a report/follow up on outstanding enquiries. They need to order searches (which can take weeks to come back). They need to read and produce reports on the search results, and usually raise more enquiries.
Now if you know it has been sitting with one side for over a week, I would chase and get the agents to chase too.

This! Exactly this! A conveyancer could make a full time job just out of answering the requests for updates, especially at this time of year when everyone wants to complete before Christmas.

I was a paralegal for a while (not conveyancing). Had an average of 50 files and sometimes up to 80. All changed frequently, I was supposed to know the details of everything and be able to respond to client queries if any of the changeable mass called. One solicitor supervising about 30 of us, all on very low wage.

This way of working keeps costs down but it means bad service and it's not very nice for anyone who works in that system.

You're probably picturing someone in their 40s sitting at a desk with a few files, the reality is more like someone in their 20s in a call centre like environment.

The problems of slowness my DS and DSIS have had recently have been the banks fault, asking for info that has been supplied numerous times. Both of them nearly lost their mortgage offers as DS's was in an extention period, he complained and got a small compensation.
My DSIS is moving today, and it has all been the buyers mortgage company delaying everything.

Essentially you get what you pay for. We use a solicitor. There is no way we are scrimping on the legalities of a purchase costing hundreds of thousands. But people do, which is why you have all these conveyancing factories where people paid little churn files with minimal supervision from a qualified lawyer.

It didn't used to be. Back in the 80s you could pay for a runner to go in person and get what was needed same day. I once saw a flat on Saturday and was ready to exchange on the following Thursday- mortgage valuation and survey, all searches snd quieres done. It was a hot hot market then so it's not because conveyancers were twiddling their thumbs, and this was also before widespread internet. I don't understand how it takes so long now - other than complicated issues or unusual queries.

We are actually paying a fortune for our solicitor (got burnt with a crappy one last time) for exactly this reason and it’s still so slow. They’ve basically said everything is ticking along nicely but our buyer hasn’t even done his searches yet because of outstanding queries!

Your buyer shouldn't be waiting for enquiries to be resolved before ordering searches, what are the enquiries and what is stopping your solicitor being able to respond to them?

I used to be an estate agent and I think the longest sale I had was a year!!! There’s so many factors that play into it. Quite often it’s because the solicitors are so overworked that they can’t be as proactive as they need to be. If you’re being generically told that there are enquiries outstanding it’s worth asking your agent to find out exactly what they are so you can respond directly. I used to ask for the buyer’s solicitors list so it was in their exact wording and highlight the outstanding bits in red, send it on to the sellers and ask them to write their responses and forward to their solicitor copying me in. I could then inform the buyer that they had been sent and the ball was back in their solicitor’s court.

My DH is still an agent in prime central London, for their big sales they refer to two solicitors who meet in a room and hash it out in a few days. Expensive… but worth it if you’re spending millions of pounds!

It's a combination of things in my experience - residential conveyancing is a numbers game so conveyancers will have loads of files on the go and minimal budget to expend on each one. Files which are closest to completion will get priority and attention will often be given in a batch - so e.g. enquiries won't be looked at until they're all answered, even if this then means there are follow up questions on some which were answered ages ago. Conveyancing also relies on the flow of information from buyers/sellers and other third parties - not all parties are responsive and there will be minimal to no budget allowed for chasing.

If all parties were on the ball and the conveyancers could work on one or two files without distraction, then the process could be a lot faster, but most people simply can't afford (or aren't prepared to pay for) that kind of service.

Haven't requested the searches or haven't received the results yet?

What are the outstanding queries? Directed at whom? Who is responsible for dealing with these queries?

A sale will only move as quickly as it's slowest element.

Yes, otherwise they'd have to charge everyone a fortune

Also, it's often the people in the chain being really slow to fill out paperwork/answer questions. I remember my ex ranting about how long it was all going to take and I pointed out he still hadnt filled out the forms he'd been sent several weeks earlier. When I use conveyancers if it's urgent for me the forms get filled out the same day I get them

(Not a conveyancing lawyer but I work closely with them /sometimes instruct them)

The solicitor can't control the speed of the buyer. You could pay your solicitor £1m they still can't make the buyer move quickly if the buyer isn't motivated to

You can put pressure on through the estate agents if you like.

Yes we have gone through the estate agents too. But if there are enquiries then they need to be sorted by the solicitors. It’s just a frustrating process and it just all takes such a long time!

Lots of parts all moving at different speeds, all dependent on other people who are also dealing with lots of parts moving at different speeds. Another 50+ files all doing the same thing. And a constantly ringing phone. Not helped in the slightest by the kind of berk who goes around saying "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" (it doesn't) and rings to interrupt every day.

I always used a proper qualified high street solicitor and was pleasantly surprised by how cheap it is tbh. I think it’s one of those things (like bananas!) that is very good value for money. My surveyor cost broadly the same for two hours’ work which included typing the report.

I was delighted with the work of both the solicitor and the surveyor don’t get me wrong, just surprised that they cost the same given the disparity in hours even taking into account that the solicitor’s paralegal and legal secretary would probably have pulled their weight.

It seems to be done within a few weeks in the USA. Why is it not the case here in the U.K.? 🤔

I used to work as a legal secretary.

Even with solicitors some are more efficient than others. At one point my boss had 2 of us doing her full time secretarial duties and usually we would update the clients lol. Saved her a job. She was definitely very efficient though.

Also not everybody understands what is outstanding and why and often estate agents have little or no understanding of the legal process. Clients are easily flummoxed too. So when a solicitor puts ' I await your instructions' they often do not understand they have to report back to the solicitor on something.