More than 370,000 home movers could waste their summer stuck in a state of conveyancing limbo, it has been warned.
It comes as research by upfront information provider Home Sale Pack revealed that the conveyancing process currently takes 154 days.
For those 154 days, movers cannot afford to be absent or out of contact for any length of time because this can lead to significant delays on an already lengthy journey, Home Sale Pack suggests.
Therefore, anybody who is entering the conveyancing process right now is looking at an entire summer spent in a state of conveyancing limbo, unable to go on holiday in fear that it will cause delays.
This assumes parts of the process can’t be completed over email or digitally.
Home Sale Pack estimates that this is the scenario faced by almost 371,000 movers this summer, based on the fact that there are currently around 370,725 properties on the market that are sold subject to contract (SSTC).
Ruth Beeton, co-founder of Home Sale Pack, said: “It’s absolutely inexcusable that in this day and age the conveyancing process takes 22 weeks. There is no good reason for this. If the process was dealt with the efficiency that modern technology now enables, the whole process can take as little as 24 hours.
“In other words, a seller can accept an offer on Monday and complete the sale before going to bed on Tuesday. So yes, 22 weeks is inexcusable.”
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It is not just the conveyancing process which takes this long, it is the whole purchase process. Using the fatuous example in the last sentence of the quote above, could both buyer and seller really manage to book removals for the following day? And what about the mortgage application?
“If the process was dealt with the efficiency that modern technology now enables, the whole process can take as little as 24 hours.
“In other words, a seller can accept an offer on Monday and complete the sale before going to bed on Tuesday. So yes, 22 weeks is inexcusable.””
Utter nonsense.
No one ever asks “why 22 weeks?”
There’s been no research, no evidence gathering because it doesn’t suit the prop tech evangelists and suppliers. My suspicion is that conveyancing factories over rely on technology at the expense of qualified conveyancers.
My firm takes 8-12 weeks from receipt of MoS. Many similar firms to ours do to. The delays are elsewhere and their disproportionate market share messes it up for others. They pay referral fees to get the work.
We don’t need more technology or portals or anything like that. We need qualified, mentored, trained conveyancers, realistic case file numbers and increased fees to allow for investment.
Why is it 22 weeks for some businesses? That is the question the answer to which will inform a proper solution.
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