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D A ALawyer

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Good grief; was this article written by like sort of, actual 4 yr olds, like?

From: D A ALawyer 31 March 2023 00:53 AM

‘Proper Estate Agent’ is just the kind of Estate Agent we lawyers hate to have to tolerate; he/she holds delusions of mere adequacy.

From: D A ALawyer 08 February 2023 15:09 PM

Resignation after resignation after resignation makes clear that not just these ‘fly by night’ opportunists, but ALL estate agents MUST become regulated persons. As do all regulated lawyers, these chancers must first of all prove themselves to be “fit & proper” persons. They must also face real (yes REAL) regulatory sanctions. It’s embarrassing having these people in our industry. Regulate Estate Agents NOW.

From: D A ALawyer 01 August 2022 20:32 PM

“Cheaper Conveyancing”? Yer havin a laff. We’d need to charge double if we high street law (LAW) firms had to deal with these tick box factory conveyancers on more than say 2 out of 10 cases. If you have to BUY business then you’re not very good at it. The sooner the disgrace of ‘referral fees’ is banned by law, and, while we’re at it, Estate Agents are properly regulated, the better.

From: D A ALawyer 12 April 2022 08:25 AM

NW - I simply do not accept that you have been “lied to” with the regularity you suggest. I believe the reality to be that you have received careful responses which observe the principles of professional confidentiality, and which recognise that there can at that moment be no speculation as to what you really want to hear, I.E. the completion date. A policy we have, if we discover that emails are being ‘tactically’ cc’d, is to IMMEDIATELY warn clients and agents that our emails are NOT to be cc’d to ANY other parties in the matter. If emails containing advice are cc’d inappropriately (by a client or agent or even by another conveyancer) then it’s a clear breach of confidentiality and we will instantly cease the use of email in such cases. We’ll tell the party why and we’ll tell our client why. You boast, above, of being able to ‘corner’ a conveyancer with questions; well, I say that you have no standing to demand any answer whatsoever. Why on earth is a conveyancer answering your prying questions in the first place? You are not part of the conveyancing process. You are helpful in the commencement and the completion of the process, but you help is rarely needed in between. We are not going to be interrogated by an agent who may then selectively quote our responses to others in the chain. You have no right to judge whether or not we have submitted search orders in what you regard as an acceptable timeframe. We have a duty to our own clients and we will be instructed by them and be answerable to them, and that’s it. You spoke in your initial post of the ‘sport’ you enjoy in dealing with conveyancers. It’s that type of attitude which leads conveyancers to want to keep agents very much at arm’s length. We are regulated and you are not; you are not bound to the level of professional behaviour as are lawyers. Which brings me back to my prime wish which is to see Estate Agents regulated and subject to professional rules which can lead to them being ‘struck off’ and the directors, and hopefully managers too, fined heavily. Only then will the practices I’ve complained of be curtailed.

From: D A ALawyer 23 February 2022 07:55 AM

Well, thanks N W , for confirming my hunch that at least one EA employee would spout the claptrap which you have. You have not been “lied to” by lawyers. You’ve simply been told what we are prepared to tell you. You mistakenly believe that you have any role whatsoever in the legal Conveyancing process. You do not. It’s a process in which you don’t understand the constraints and obligations which fall upon the highly regulated lawyer. The lawyer wouldn’t be able to laugh off, as do so many in this thread, the ignominy of being pictured inhaling Nitrous Oxide - the effects of which are, in fact, no laughing matter. We know that your referral fees are very often gained via your fibbing to a client that they should use your own “recommended” solicitor…i.e. the one that pays you a few hundred quid. The point I make is that Regulation will impose an obligation on you to set out clearly to the buyer/seller the size of the ££££ bung which you are receiving. And finally if you are correct that there are many poor conveyancer, then this is because of the growth of conveyancing ‘factories’ ….who conspire with Agents in the referral fee racket whilst delivering their poor service from geographically remote sites. The best conveyancers, and the best Estate Agents, will each be found on the High Street. I suspect that you are not one of them.

From: D A ALawyer 18 February 2022 15:58 PM

The staff should have been high enough, anyway, having enjoyed another week of harassing Conveyancers, and collecting the soon-to-be banned, dubiously ‘earned’ “Referral Fees”. And that some of you in this thread can defend the drug users exemplifies perfectly just why Estate Agents etc must be forced, by Legislation, to become REGULATED.

From: D A ALawyer 17 February 2022 11:53 AM

Just Rejoice at That News! A complete ban is needed. This will stop the big Conveyancing firms “buying business”. By “big” I refer also to the larger local/regional firms who use their power to shut out sole practitioner & small conveyancers who can’t afford to pay £200 or even £300 ‘referral’. Those many firms who do pay such ridiculous fees to agents can pay for it ONLY by using unqualified or inexperienced ‘Conveyancers’. We as conveyancers are supposed to be professionally obliged to inform our clients who we pay fees to, and how much, but the big Conveyancers, embarrassed at the figure, either ignore this requirement or obfuscate the fees they are paying agents. The agents ‘encourage’ the conveyancer NOT to be full and frank with their Clients, and this is a source of shame for the profession. Roll on the Ban! And then let’s increase legal fees to a level which better ensures the competence of the Conveyancer on the case. It’s in the public interest.

From: D A ALawyer 06 December 2021 12:36 PM

It’s not for the Solicitor to advise on SDLT - if the Buyer’s particular circumstances are not clear and obvious then we ask the buyer to take independent Tax advice from a suitably qualified person. Conveyancers do NOT advise on a person’s individual Tax circumstances.

From: D A ALawyer 23 October 2021 02:37 AM

You agents can “automate” as far as you like. However, the legal work, and the financial aspects, are tasks carried out by Professionals who can be disciplined & ‘struck off’, or sued. This work will always be performed at a safe pace and with all due diligence. No shortcuts whatsoever. REGULATION of Estate Agents is what’s needed, much more than is Automation.

From: D A ALawyer 01 July 2021 06:52 AM

As brokers you have no right WHATSOEVER to a “response”, at all, whether within a day or indeed within any period. You are NOT the Conveyancers’ client. It’s unfortunate that so many brokers think otherwise and that you want to improperly inflate your Clients’ expectations by incorrectly informing them that your pestering calls to Conveyancers carry any weight, or assist.

From: D A ALawyer 30 June 2021 11:48 AM

Referral Fees must be OUTLAWED coupled with the REGULATION of Estate Agency businesses with power to effect proper disciplinary sanctions upon the Owners of the Agencies.

From: D A ALawyer 27 May 2021 11:47 AM

Only very rarely do I, a conveyancer, agree with Mr Faizey’s comments. This is one such occasion. We now reject ‘new-build’ work, at any price, because we became fed up of the Aggressive Developers and the harassing attitudes of their attack dog style agents & sols, so terrified those agents/sols are of losing said developers’ lucre. We’ve nudged prices up, generally, so to reduce demand and to reduce the sheer number of cases to a manageable level; our regulatory bodies have effectively instructed us to manage workload dependent upon our capacity to properly act for our clients.

From: D A ALawyer 27 May 2021 11:41 AM

You are quite correct, Matt, it’s not as simple as that. Frankly you don’t know what you talking about. It’s the conveyancer who carries the entirety of the massive risk involved in a property transaction. It’s the conveyancer who gets sued - not you. The Agents fire off the memo and think “that’s that”; well, it’s not!

From: D A ALawyer 03 March 2021 12:10 PM

Mr H’s post appears to be referring to ‘factory’ conveyancers. Well, it’s you agents that too often feed them the work, for your “referral fee”. It’s wrong to generalise, staring that conveyancers ‘pile it high’ etc. It is true that conveyancers need to spend appropriate time on a case; Agents can assist in this regard by not pestering and by not trying to get involved - at all -in the legal aspects. And please, no daft phone calls as month-end nears “has it exchanged yet?”

From: D A ALawyer 03 March 2021 12:00 PM

This outburst by the firm, which does not merit naming, further emphasizes the need for rapid Regulation of the industry. I include Estate Agents primarily of course but also the type of parasitic organisation which has thrown up this ridiculous and offensive suggestion. Regulate all parties. BAN referral fees - such fees are used by Agents as a cash cow, and to feed the awful Conveyancing Factories which provide the poor or slow service often complained of.

From: D A ALawyer 03 March 2021 11:21 AM

Firstly, unsure why “Licensed Conveyancers” are specifically mentioned here. The term describes a CLC regulated qualified person/firm who does exactly the same job as a SRA regulated Solicitor in the Conveyancing Process. The difference is that the Solicitor might not be a specialist in property matters. Next: a Conveyancer (whether LC or Solicitor) does not need any “help” from an Agent except the memo of sale and perhaps a little assistance helping the Buyer & Seller reach agreement on a completion date; as Agents can very usefully speak direct to all parties….whereas the lawyer cannot. Lawyers do NOT need incessant calls from agents as month end nears, asking…”has it exchanged yet?”

From: D A ALawyer 18 February 2021 06:24 AM

Ha ha. I don’t follow the bit about ‘catching out’ solicitors! A conveyancer should not tell an agent absolutely anything about what work has been done, or not done - firstly because it’s nothing to do with the agent but also because the agent will change or mis-state or not grasp what has been said. Further, criticisms on speed usually come from those who do not understand the process and the onerous obligations which fall upon the Professionals. Add to that the fact that conveyancers have to work on 3, 4, 5 files just to get anywhere near the agent’s fee ££££ for just one! Anyway, returning to the topic, I’d rather see the ‘holiday’ end and let the market readjust, coinciding with the end of ‘lockdown’. That said, an extension for cases actually underway at 31 March might be feasible but ONLY if the responsibility for some form of certification for SDLT purposes lies strictly on the shoulders of BOTH the regulated law firms acting in the transaction.

From: D A ALawyer 15 February 2021 20:53 PM

What is needed is the Regulation of Estate Agents. It should have happed years ago. With professional obligations putting some teeth behind them and enforcing better standards then an extension could have been accommodated without cheating. By the way, Yes - I am saying there has been some disgraceful conduct by some Agents, so desperate are they not to lose the Sale.

From: D A ALawyer 15 February 2021 16:37 PM

I’ve read this vile post, previously. It disgusted me then and it disgusts me now. Such a pig-ignorant post by the grenade-thrower Faizey. It is not the conveyancers fault if the client is caught by one or more of the many factors which are TOTALLY outside the Conveyancers’ control. Lawyers are warning clients at the outset that the job will almost certainly be delayed and/or stressful. It might not complete at all. The buyer may have to find £thousands for SDLT. Yes, Mutt, that’s just the way it is. Stop whining and try to help to manage your own cashcows’ expectations.

From: D A ALawyer 20 January 2021 07:23 AM

What an idiot MATT FAZEY is. He typifies the ignorant self interested estate agent. The sooner that estate agent pirates are regulated the better.

From: D A ALawyer 18 December 2020 21:01 PM

BAN REFERRAL FEES AND REGULATE ESTATE AGENTS BY LAW. MANY WILL FAIL TO MEET BASIC STANDARDS. CONSUMERS WILL BENEFIT.

From: D A ALawyer 17 December 2020 18:28 PM

Don’t worry, I’m sure you can for a little while longer rely on tops from disgraceful “referral fees”. It’s a scandal. When you are regulated, this gravy train will be gone. Also, you’ll no longer be able to mislead (yes, mislead) buyers & sellers that they must use your “preferred conveyancers”....

From: D A ALawyer 17 December 2020 11:03 AM

And while you are at it, pleas inform Buyers and Sellers of the scandalous “referral” fees which you use to let bigger conveyancers BUY Legal work. And about the fiction of your statement to the parties “you should use our recommended solicitors.....”

From: D A ALawyer 26 November 2020 08:40 AM

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.

From: D A ALawyer 16 November 2020 17:08 PM

Thanks Rachel; Clients can, if not intercepted by a referring Agent, find their own conveyancers. As for your question on comparative fees, you outline, I think, 3 separate jobs (sale, purchase, and additional lease work). If we acted in all 3 (three), separately, we may bill say £1500. You however would bill at approaching 1.5% of a sale and a purchase price which if each is £180,000 = £5,400. PS - a serious question, can anyone report , what was the outcome of the highly publicised review of Referral Fees of early this year? Outlawing them would be a great move.

From: D A ALawyer 10 July 2020 09:35 AM

Sorry for the self-like which offends Mr K. My use of this site via my quill and abacus is clumsy. As is Mr K’s deflection from the issue I raise which is that estate agents very (very) often interfere with the conveyancing process, and they do so from a position of ignorance. The big ones demand obscene referral fees and share out their ‘leads’ to the highest bidder, having withheld from Buyer/Seller the fact of payment with the line “we will get you a great quote from our preferred Conveyancer”. Great for you, alright! And if our desks are “piled high” it’s because we get £500 per pop so we need ‘em all! Oh and if we don’t have much time to do it all it’s partly because we have to waste time with your “junior negs” incessant calls asking inanely “have you exchanged yet?” PS - being characterised as ‘cheesy’ by an Estate Agent has cut me to the quick. I don’t know how will get thru the next Friday without bursting into tears again.

From: D A ALawyer 09 July 2020 23:29 PM

No way, Angelo. High street Estate Agents bring little to the party. More Conveyancers should gatecrash while the parasites are most vulnerable.

From: D A ALawyer 09 July 2020 20:14 PM

Give over, M Lewis. It’s money for old rope in Estate Agents. In the scenario which is the topic of this thread, you would be urging the Buyer “don’t worry, just instruct your conveyancer to exchange contacts”. The sooner you guys & gals are Regulated in some way, the better.

From: D A ALawyer 09 July 2020 17:56 PM

The motivation behind Articles on here from self-interested estate agents are understood. But please remember that lawyers (or that single Lawyer, Rob) are looking after their client. You care less for the party, than does the lawyer. LAWyers are NOT going to take risks just so that YOU can have the certainty of your own fees (fees which will be 10 times or more the fee that the professions will be paid).

From: D A ALawyer 09 July 2020 12:35 PM

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