One of the biggest bugbears that conveyancers have is having their day constantly interrupted by agents, brokers, the other side and even clients. One of the biggest bugbears those groups of people have, is not being kept updated.
Let me first explain the position from the angle of a conveyancer. Before I became whatever it is I am now, my working day as a busy conveyancer - depending on my workload - would begin anytime between 5.00 am and 7.00 am. Luckily (or unluckily) for me the DX arrived at my office before 6.00 am and as I worked next door to a Post Office, I collected the post at about the same time.
Having collected all of the mail I would open it and sort it into piles for myself and my fee earning colleagues. The next part of my routine was somewhat strange but it worked for me. I would get out each individual file, place the letter on it and lay it on the floor. Sometimes the trail of files would stretch up the corridor into our kitchen area, but at least I could see what was in, rather than burying each file on top of the other. I would then march round the office, first picking up and filing all post that needed no action or response, not usually much, but it felt good to reduce the perceived burden so quickly.
The second wave of action was picking up and dealing with, urgent but non-time consuming matters and dictating a reply when necessary. By about 8.00 am up to two thirds of my post had been dealt with. What was left was more complicated and required more of my time and attention. Leases, S106 Agreements, unregistered titles etc.
By 9.00 am I might have about eight files left on my desk, each one requiring an average of 20 to 30 minutes of uninterrupted work. But, by now the phone begins to ring (it did ring earlier but I tried, not always successfully, to ignore it), emails pop up and clients - with and without appointments - walk in.
The next eight hours are taken up with exchanges, completions, chasing lenders, the other side and appointments. If by 5.00 pm my post pile had gone down by another half, I was lucky. I would then stay a couple more hours to try to clear what was left. Despite my best efforts and intentions, by the end of the week a small pile of quite complicated matters had developed. I would therefore work whatever hours were necessary over the weekend to tackle it.
I appreciate not every conveyancer has the workload I did but many don't start, not unreasonably, until 8.00 am so their problems, although on a smaller scale, are just the same. In addition, some have more helpers than I did as well as case management systems. The bottom line is, however, the fewer interruptions a conveyancer gets during their working day, the more work they can get done, simples!
The worst kind of chasing was when all parties chased the same thing, at the same time. The agent, the client, the broker and the other side would all call asking what I was waiting for. Invariably it was a search, a mortgage offer or a guarantee of some kind. You multiply this by five or six live files in any one day and the whole process implodes on itself. I cannot count the number of times I would say: If I wasn't on the b****y phone to you now I would have been on the phone to the lender or the local authority or some other third party obtaining what you are asking me to chase!
What is the answer Well, a number of things, possibly:
Getting all documents up front, a HIP!
A good Land Registry Chain Matrix System!
The (currently being developed) Law Society Conveyancing Portal.
Alas, we so far have none of these things. To help keep the estate agent updated, the conveyancer could copy them in on certain emails or even fax through copies of certain letters, making sure that in one way or the another, they were kept as updated as is possible.
The agent could agree, perhaps, not to call before 10.30 am on a weekday or before 1.00 pm on a Friday. They could also make sure that the person calling had some idea and knowledge of the conveyancing process.
The conveyancer should ask the agent for help when needed, relevant and possible and the agent should offer to help when needed, relevant and possible.
Most conveyancers are on fixed fees and the sooner a matter completes, the sooner they get paid and it is off their desk. What they can't afford to do in these heavily regulated times is get harassed into making an error that might see them taken off a lender's panel or increase the cost of their PI Insurance.
The bottom line is to try to understand the pressures of each person's job and to WORK TOGETHER to make sure that everyone is as productive as possible.
*Rob Hailstone is founder of the Bold Legal Group
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Comments
Totally agree with this. Having worked in both conveyancing and agency, I can see both sides of the argument. What is needed is some kind of central portal that all parties can access to gain meaningful updates. The Land Registry tried this some years ago with the Chain Matrix site, but it was quite clunky. Maybe this could be resurrected and updated now we are in the age of smart phones / tablets etc. Could def see it working better now the technology has moved on.
One of the biggest bugbears that conveyancers have is having their day constantly interrupted by agents, brokers, the other side and even clients. One of the biggest bugbears those groups of people have, is not being kept updated.
From my experience as an IT workflow consultant for conveyancers I couldnt agree more, keeping everyone informed is hard. This led to me creating this app to help solve this problem http://www.intouchapp.co.uk. Any thoughts on it are much appreciated! Cheers, Marvin