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Agents should give conveyancers more information up-front - call

A prominent PropTech supplier wants agents to hand over much more information to conveyancers to allow them to make faster progress on transactions, especially in time-critical periods.

Matt Gilpin, founder and chief executive of Sprift - a property data resource aimed primarily at agents but also working with conveyancers - says the current stamp duty deadline of March 31 and the Coronavirus crisis mean there is no room for historic rivalries within the transactions chain.

Conversations with conveyancers have convinced Gilpin that agents - busy as they are - could save themselves time and hassle by passing on more information at an earlier stage.

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For example, he says that as conveyancers rarely see at first hand a property involved in a transaction, an agent passing over a memorandum of sale is not as good as handing over a brochure, an exact Streetview image relating to the property, or detailed floorplans and photographs.

“Send all the photos, not just the ones of the details. [Conveyancers] tell me they often get quizzed by the buyer about certain things, so all photos and floorplans can help on that” insists Gilpin.

His comments on this subject and on the wider industry debate about speed of transactions, come in a video interview for Estate Agent Today with Chris Buckler, a Keller Williams agent in London.

It’s a short five minute interview and you can see it below.

  • Rob Hailstone

    Makes sense to me. Good early communication and early seller instruction.

  • Murray Lee

    Ive been providing as much info as I can for many years well before the modern technology we use today was available. Since email I also provided copies of details with plan and the EPC, advise the lawyers of this and the background on the property we have and the chain and what due diligence we have done on the buyer in the same email.

    I cannot tell you how many times I KNOW they dont read my emails as often I get asked for copies of the EPC (which was previously attached) with an example of this only last week. If they don't see the comment or the EPC what chance have we got that they even read what we write. ? The suggestion makes sense AS LONG AS THE LAWYERS BOTHER TO READ IT. I asked to be kept updated on the progress so we can follow up any delays. VERY FEW bother to acknowledge or take up our offer of help. We are not just commission chasers, we genuinely want to help to get the sale through. After 47 years I still think many lawyers see us a hindeence not a help.

    Daniel Hamilton-Charlton

    I'd love to help you work with the firm that you believe delivers conveyancing excellence by building you both a Collaborative Conveyancing Solution for free. See our website for for more information. Property Searches Direct dot co dot uk

     
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    Spot on Murray. It goes down the the attitude of conveyancers and their disregard for customer service.

     
  • Daniel Hamilton-Charlton

    Absolutely agree with that. So much more can be done up front. We are now delivering Collaborative Conveyancing Solutions which are Free online environments that are Dual Branded with the Estate Agent and their Preferred conveyancers logos and links to websites to enable buyers and sellers to be better prepared for the move.
    Vendors have access to all protocol forms for free, without the need to get a quote and promise to instruct a conveyancer. They also have access to Searches for those that are really wanting to get ahead and enjoy a faster move.
    Buyers, where a Vendor Pack is not available have direct access to Search ordering as soon as the deal is agreed.
    We are working with progressive Conveyancers and their Estate Agents to deliver solutions that really make a difference.
    Get in touch to find out more or visit our website to read more about CCS (Collaborative Conveyancing Solutions)

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    If, and I'm sure that is a big if, agents do not send property particulars with photos and a floor plan along with the memo of sale, how long would it take a conveyancer to type in a postcode on Rightmove/Zoopla and look up the property details online? Sometimes, conveyancers reguest an EPC which they could have downloaded from the national database in the time it took them to write the email?!?!
    Have conveyancers not heard of technology such as the internet?
    If conveyancers actually decided to be proactive, rather than reactive, everone would be a lot happier.

    Daniel Hamilton-Charlton

    Talk about how to tarnish your own industry Matthew.
    If you just sent them everything that you have with your memo of sale, they could just get on with what you and your client need them to get on with. Why should they have to play Sherlock Holmes to find out what you already know?
    You have probably had contact with a property for 2 weeks to 3 months or more and you expect them to get on with their job on the back of, an invariably incorrect, memorandum of sale.
    Work smarter and get better results. Help out and be rewarded for doing so.

     
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    As standard we send sales memos with agreed moving dates, a full set of details which even have planning number son them if relevant, EPC and our verified I.D.

    We still 7/10 times have conveyancers 4/5 weeks after having been sent these details asking for an EPC. Now given they already have it, even if they did not they too have access to the national database where it literally takes 10 seconds to download a copy ...... Why write an email or even post a letter to us asking for a copy!

    Daniel Hamilton-Charlton

    Find a conveyancer that works smarter and collaborated better with you and use them for everything then. Take more control of who handles your clients so you are not taking pot luck post sale agreed. Collaborative Conveyancing Solutions. Let us know which conveyancer you trust and like working with and we'l build you and them a Free CSS System. See out website for more information.

     
  • DAVID JABBARI - SOLICITOR AND CEO OF MUVE

    I'm sorry to sound a contrary note but so-called 'up front' information is about 2% of the contributing factor to the time that conveyancing takes. You can have all the 'up front' information in the world but you will still then hit the Brick Wall of local authority searches and lawyers taking for ever to read documents and raise enquiries (the irony being of course that in 99% of cases these documents contain nothing of any real significance). This is why we at Muve are moving to an expedited search product and using tech that 'anomaly checks' all the key documents in seconds. This is where the real speed improvement will come from, not from a few cosmetic frills at the outset of the transaction.

    Daniel Hamilton-Charlton

    You need to read all the comments as Searches up front has been covered David.

     
  • DAVID JABBARI - SOLICITOR AND CEO OF MUVE

    I'm not sure vendors will pay a few hundred pounds for searches in advance of having a purchaser for their property. I am also a big opponent of panels or any other third parties that stand between the estate agent and the conveyancer, taking fees from things like searches. How does that improve the customer experience? Good law firms should have all the tech and portals in place to provide this service without intermediaries, and let's face it this 'Seller Ready' concept has been around for ages, used by firms like Foxtons for example.

    Daniel Hamilton-Charlton

    Vendors will pay for searches up front if the benefits are clearly explained. It also helps to demonstrate who is serious about selling. A seller will always be selling their property. Having the searches up front will eliminate 4 out of the top 10 enquiries raised post mortgage offer by the conveyancer because the information can be made available to the lenders valuer/surveyor helping to further speed up transactions. We don't panel work, we just provide for Free Collaborative environments to enable agents and conveyancers to deliver a consistent message to their mutual clients. We are simply passionate about improving the current processes, speeding up transaction times and reducing stress.

     
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    Daniel, surprised you have not had your account disabled for spamming!

    Problem is there are no 'Good' conveyancers, the best you can find is the best of a bad bunch the industry needs shaking up full stop.

    Daniel Hamilton-Charlton

    The section is titled "JOIN THE CONVERSATION"....so it's a conversation.

     
  • DAVID JABBARI - SOLICITOR AND CEO OF MUVE

    Always enjoy a good conversation - thanks for starting it Daniel :-)

    Daniel Hamilton-Charlton

    The pleasure was mine David. Thanks for joining in.

     
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    is the site just an advertising forum for this guy

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    I do not find searches to be a big problem,. The delays are far more caused by the enquiries raised by sols an the time taken to reply, indemnity insurances, retro planning etc. Searches are just not a big issue in any of the areas I am in.

    Daniel Hamilton-Charlton

    You are very fortunate indeed.

     
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    I’m a conveyancer & solicitor who turned off alerts to the threads on here. It’s just too depressing reading the insulting comments of Estate Agents. The current boom is again exposing agents as being manipulative and often harassing of parties in transactions. As one poster says above, yes, you are often seen as a hindrance to the process. You often set seller against buyer, and lawyer against lawyer; you say that you are “chivvying the matter along” by interfering up & down the chain. The sooner estate agents are regulated, by a body with real teeth, the better.
    PS And I hope for a ban on referral fees, by law.

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