Conveyancing can be an infuriating process. Moving home should be straightforward, particularly in an age of online services and registered titles! When I started doing conveyancing in the 1970s not much land was registered, so studying battered old deeds and the Epitome of Title was an essential and tedious part of the process - many of these were in copperplate writing on velum or thick paper.  The Epitomes were typed shorthand and took a bit of understanding too. These documents are now consigned to history, with some appearing in expensive frames on the walls of licensed establishments.

Now, deeds have dematerialised and it is the title at the Land Registry which counts; almost every piece of land is now registered and the process should all be so much simpler. Moving home can be more stressful today than it ever has been. In the good old days conveyancing just took a long time, but that was expected. Nothing was rushed and there was always at least a four week period between exchange and completion for everyone to get organised to pack up, order their removal van and arrange to hand over the keys on completion. When I was an articled clerk, on completion day I would take the deeds, an executed conveyance and a set of house keys to the lawyer acting for the buyer. In return for these items, I would receive a bankers draft for an agreed sum - all very civilised but highly inflexible. Clients had to put up with this timetable whether they liked it or not.

Today, because the titles are relatively simple and searches electronic, things can be done much quicker and we can be much more flexible in what can be achieved. However, one downside is that exchange and completion are often simultaneous which means that nothing can be certain until the last minute. Planning for a move is difficult and sometimes frenetic. The system also has complicated elements that require great attention to detail in our work behind the scenes. Financial institutions all have slightly different requirements and that too can create problems and cause delay. 

In addition, however efficient we are at organising the process, only part of the project is under our control. The lawyers on the other side of the transaction may not be as efficient as we would like. There may be a complex chain of transactions where money is needed at different points to enable the next one to take place. Then there is pressure from estate agents who want to push transactions through quickly to meet their own deadlines. Sometimes this causes unnecessary stress when a more relaxed timetable may be in our clients best interests. So what should be a lot more simple in an IT enabled environment, can actually be quite a difficult process with unexpected complications.

I have to say I am full of admiration for our conveyancing teams. Despite the difficulties, the vast majority of our clients rate our services as excellent and would recommend us to a friend. This is quite the accolade for our teams guiding our clients through a difficult system. The government have been talking about reforming the property market for years but there seems to be no current appetite for change. So, well done to our Jackson Lees Conveyancing department for always striving to do the best job with as little stress possible. 

We are also working hard to improve what we do to make the process as client friendly and smooth as it can be. Making a Positive Difference, even during the the stress of a house move, is what we are here for and we will continue to put our clients at the heart of everything we do!