We often write about the need for advisers and brokers to become fully involved in the conveyancing process and to use distributors, like ourselves, to provide recommendations and choice to clients. The arguments for such involvement do not just encompass the ability to access a new, potentially lucrative, income stream but also take into account the fact that many clients have little knowledge of which firms are specialists in conveyancing and may well opt for a local, high-street firm which does not have the resource or expertise to work through the case as quickly as others.
The other major benefit for advisers providing a recommendation on a conveyancing firm is that it places them at the heart of that case where they are best able to influence and cajole those who are working on it. Speak to most clients about the biggest frustrations they have with getting the case to exchange and completion and you will probably hear tales of delays, unanticipated occurrences and, perhaps most common of all, a lack of communication.
For some firms, who I would refer to as modern-day ‘dabblers’ in conveyancing, the communication process with clients can be non-existent which is frankly shocking particularly for a business you would expect to want repeat work and referrals. I often hear tales from advisers, agents and clients about the complete lack of information that is passed along by some conveyancing firms who appear to treat cases they receive as a pain in the company backside.
One recent example included the case of a client whose local conveyancer – who they’d used previously – had lost the deeds to their house. No-one in the firm had any clue where they might be, which is perhaps bad enough, but they did not inform the client of this until weeks after the case first landed on their desk and are apparently still incapable of sourcing a copy – even though this is as simple as filling out a form to the Land Registry. Other examples I have come across include firms where the one, solitary person looking after all its conveyancing cases has gone on holiday for two to three weeks with no-one else willing or able to work on the cases. You can only imagine the backlog that was waiting for them on their desk when they returned.
Now, it is certainly true to say that advisers and brokers will only be able to do so much to chivvy along these types of firms once the process has started but what they can certainly do is stop clients choosing these types of operators in the first place. No client is going to want to wait over a month before a firm even looks at their case and if advisers can point them in the direction of the specialist operators who, rather importantly, have the resources and expertise to handle large numbers of cases, then this is surely a good first step. It is also likely to mean that the client gets to purchase, move or remortgage in something resembling a normal timescale.
With the market growing and business volumes increasing, specialist conveyancers are having to resource up and put in situ the necessary numbers of staff to ensure they don’t fall over when it comes to their targets. Can we say the same of those local firms where conveyancing is something of a sideshow? I doubt it. Therefore advisers are in a position to do everyone a favour and make those conveyancing recommendations not just on price but on the ability to carry out the job effectively. There are a minority of large specialists who up to the job and, I’m sad to say, thousands of smaller firms that are not worth placing the business with. The choice is yours.
Harpal Singh is managing director of Broker Conveyancing