hence the requirement for transparency of such fees and notification thereof .
Sellers might want to bear in mind that whilst they may use a trusted local conveyancer , if their estate agent were to refer the buyer to a bucket shop outfit , then not only might this agent be pocketing a hefty referral fee but that referral might itself not be in the best interests of the client paying the agents ’ commission .
It is however a well known fact that conveyancers do not seem to do particularly well out of paying such referral fees , and thus can only really make a profit if done so in sufficient bulk – at least this is the business model it relies itself on . Unsurprisingly , “ bulk ” conveyancing practices mean staff are expected to handle a high volume transactions often in high pressured environments . In order to keep costs low , conveyancers are commonly paid low salaries and thus bulk practices fail to attract the quality experts in the field . More often that not , buyers and sellers will not be represented by an actual Solicitor or Licenced Conveyancer and generally this means staff are not bound by strict professional rules of conduct – needless to say - a real disadvantage to the consumer in this type of work .
The reality is that many corporates will view the conveyancing industry as a revenue stream and often estate agents will have targets to meet on selling the “ inhouse ” conveyancing service , no matter whether the “ bulk ” firm is known to be worse than that offered by the local high street firm , in terms of speed , efficiency or ability / willingness to communicate . Thus it comes as no surprise when consumers feel that their expectations have been shattered when they are presented with all the unfortunate eventualities that come with being a “ cog ” in the conveyancing machine which churns out transaction after transaction on a conveyor belt . The fact is that in this type of outfit , consumers are merely a case number to their case handler , and there may be numerous case handlers in any one transaction ( each doing a piece of the jigsaw , as it were ). Clients are unlikely to have the same person allocated from the beginning to the end of the transaction – speaking to a different person every time you call is a common symptom of this type of service , as well as not being able to meet your conveyancer face to face . Often outstanding work is put in a queue of work to be dealt with and unless consumers ring up and prompt , work may just be put to one side until someone picks it up …. eventually .
Sadly these types of business models are not in for the long haul , and cheap prices often carry hidden charges . Thus , equally important is the need to be aware of the hidden fee ambush at the end of a transaction as this is yet another common scenario in this type of conveyancing .
Furthermore , with no single trained solicitor taking responsibility for your matter – who can be held accountable when things go seriously wrong ? No accountability means the greater the risk of work not being thorough and consequently things being missed altogether . Complaints could take a great deal of effort and time to get resolved .
High volume practices are normally based in distant call centres , often not local to where the consumer is buying or selling and this can potentially be a further disadvantage . The perceived benefits of using a local solicitor are the local knowledge of the area , often with experience of having bought or sold in the same block or street . From my experience it is most certainly the case that those chains of transactions where each party is represented by a local solicitor or licenced conveyancer tend to proceed more smoothly and speedily , thus reducing the risk of stress and the individual transaction or indeed the whole chain being jeopardised by delay .
Disappointingly , a further casualty of this type of conveyancing is that whilst as a consumer you may decide that this type of service is simply not for you , the buyer further down the chain may opt for this service , and whilst your firm are doing their utmost to progress matters , the chances are that this related transaction may be held up and result in being the weak link in a chain of transactions that ends up falling through . Many people seldom buy or sell properties and most require a great deal of guidance throughout the process . Regularly conveyances are not straightforward and can raise lots of complex legal matters requiring the thorough examination of documents and often written in archaic language . Other issues such as planning , restrictive covenants , leases , boundary disputes are all issues that may be involved and without the necessary expertise at stake , consumers may find that delays , often because consumers need to instruct the expertise of a new solicitor , meaning that the transaction may fall through . The difficulty that many practitioners encounter is the inability to compete on a level playing field , with estate agents and financial advisers having access to the consumer at the outset – that said , the requirement for property sellers and buyers to make an informed choice has never been so important .
In summary consumers must :
• Remember that they have the right to chose their own solicitor , without pressure being exerted on them to do so ;
• If consumers are pressured then they must seek advice from the Solicitor ’ s Regulation Authority ( SRA ) or the Council for Licensed Conveyancers ( CLC );
• The consumer must always choose a solicitor that has their best interests at heart and that can be efficient and charge reasonably ; and finally
• Always receive the quote in writing and ensure they know what the extras and the disbursements are .
By Sylvia Garcia
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