Forty years ago this week, as a spotty 16 year old, I first began working in the legal profession. In fact, I still have the letter from J. W. Ward & Son, Solicitors, Bristol, offering me the job of Trainee Legal Executive at the grand salary of £10.50 per week.
On the whole, I have enjoyed my time, 30 years at the coal face' of residential conveyancing, a few years involved in Home Information Packs (a massive opportunity (lost) to go some way to producing something close to an exchange-ready pack), and the last five years spent building the Bold Legal Group (BLG) -a national network of over 250 law firms all of whom carry out residential conveyancing.
Back in the 70s and 80s, with very little internet, much less red tape and bureaucracy and realistic client expectations, conveyancing was enjoyable and profitable. We had great estate agent contacts, weekly updates over a beer or two, personal exchanges and completions. Working relationships with Building Society managers that meant you could walk to the local office and pick up the mortgage advance cheque a few days before completion. There were fewer legal indemnity insurance policies because you could actually use your experience and knowledge to either put a legal problem right or consider it nothing more than a paper based irritation and simply ignore it.
Fast forward 30 odd years and in my relatively new role as founder of the BLG I deal with conveyancers, lenders, agents, brokers, insurance companies, search providers, the Law Society and the Solicitors Regulatory Authority and occasionally, members of the public. Pretty much every one of them would agree that the home buying and selling process is no better, in fact I would go as far to say it is worse than it was all those years ago. It is a constant merry go round of the blame game', played between all of the parties involved.
Why are we in this position and what can be done about it
My views are that whilst some systems and processes have improved the legal aspect of the conveyancing process and land/property law in particular has not changed. That is a bit like putting the engine from a 1920s Ford Model T in a 21st Century Ferrari chassis. The benefits are minimal if not actually damaging to the new chassis. We need a new engine!
However, nothing can be done unless the will to improve is there. This is unlikely to come from the Government; therefore it must to come from the stakeholders within. That being said, it would appear that all parties are unwilling to sit around the table together and make sure improvements happen. This is possibly because they all feel they have too much to lose when in fact an overall improvement in the whole process would make everyone's lives less stressful, more enjoyable and most probably more profitable.
Now in my mid-fifties and finally realising I will never accomplish anything that will be recorded in the annals of time for ever (world peace or a cure for cancer), I do not want to go to my grave with the home buying and selling process getting worse, not better.
It is time for those that have the time, initiative and the will to get together and find a better way forward to do just that, get together, in order to make a difference. For my part, I will get involved as much, or as little as is needed.
*Rob Hailstone is founder of the Bold Legal Group
Comments
The adversarial position question is an interesting one William. Part of the problem is that there are very few hard and fast rules;
How long do you go back before you dont need to see a copy planning permission
How long do you go back before you dont need to see a copy building regulation approval
Do you need to insure a legal defect or put it right
Is a particular covenant still enforceable or not
I could go on and on. The problem is, different conveyancers takes a different view and in some cases different lenders require different resolutions to problems. Conveyancers have very high PII premiums and are nervous about doing something that might create a claim that increases them. So they belt, brace and underpin every issue, sometimes even minor ones.
The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) is a small step in the right direction but nowhere near enough I am afraid.
A refreshingly honest article from some one in the industry. As agents, we often bear the brunt of our client's frustration due to inordinate delays during the conveyance process. Being in Central London and mostly dealing with leaseholds the transaction is of course more complex. We try to manage client expectations from the start. From agreeing a sale to completion now takes about 4 months if there are no complications and no chain situation. However, solicitors on both sides increasingly adopt an adversarial position - why This is non contentious work. The 2 parties are willingly entering into a transaction. The most minute anomalies will now hold up a sale. On reflection, I must conclude that the easiest property transactions that I have ever experienced were the purchase of and later sale of my property in France. Properly qualified and experienced agents combined with a Notary system (no such thing as the other side hasn't returned my calls/haven't sent the papers etc etc). A system where a legally binding contract is signed very early on. Surely we can learn from and adapt this system I'm sure that there are issues with this system but friends and clients who have only ever had experience of this continental process are simply aghast at the cumbersome and uncertain process that we use here.