If you’re looking into buying your first home right now, and someone tells you that you need a ‘conveyancer’ in order to be able to do this, how might you react?
Would you know what a conveyancing firm is? Would you know that conveyancing is the legal process of transferring property ownership from one party to other? Would you know that, without you finding and instructing a conveyancing firm, you will not be able to get your property purchase or sale completed?
Many will, of course, but don’t worry, if you’re not sure about what a conveyancing firm does, what services they provide, how much they charge, how long the conveyancing process can take, etc. You are not alone.
Conveyancing tends to be the least understood aspect of the whole home buying and selling process, and even those people who have been through it – sometimes multiple times – are not sure what it entails. Although I guarantee, all will know how long it took.
Awareness – what exactly does a conveyancer do?
We at National Conveyancing Week carried out some recent research amongst the general public – both homeowners and renters – to gauge their knowledge on all of the above.
Only two out of five UK adults are aware of what conveyancing is. The number – 52% – is not that much greater for those who are homeowners, and will therefore have used a conveyancer at least once.
There is clearly some confusion about the conveyancer’s role – 40% wrongly believe the conveyancer checks the structure of the property, when that is the job of the surveyor.
It’s therefore clear we have some work to do in terms of educating the public about the important role of the conveyancer, particularly for first-time buyers who, as mentioned, won’t have used one before, may not know what firm to use, and may be unaware of just how long the conveyancing process can take.
How to learn more about conveyancing
This is part of the reason why we established National Conveyancing Week because for too long, despite being one (if not the) most important part of buying and selling a home, consumers tend not to be aware of it, or not understand it.
National Conveyancing Week (NCW) takes the form of a series of events designed to highlight the role of conveyancers in the home buying and selling process, and to help conveyancing firms engage with all their stakeholders, particularly consumers.
There are literally thousands of firms – some large specialist conveyancers who carry out huge numbers of cases each year and many legal firms/solicitors that carry out far less – who are active in the conveyancing space, and can provide these services.
How to choose a conveyancing firm
Yet, which firm to choose from those thousands? Many people – especially first-time buyers – rely upon recommendations.
Our research shows most ask family or friends (21%), some go back to those they have used before (20%), or just find a local firm (19%), while others might ask their estate agent (18%), or their mortgage adviser (15%) – those who are already trusted for one aspect of buying a home and are likely to be able to refer you on.
One way of checking your firm is to visit the NCW website – conveyancingweek.co.uk – which includes a full list of all the conveyancing firms taking part and who are reputable businesses in the sector, providing consumers with the very best possible service.
Open event (and there’s coffee too)
As part of NCW, many of these firms will be opening their doors on Wednesday 13 March for a ‘Collaboration Coffee Morning’ which you can attend in order to get a feel for the service they offer, and how they work through the process in order to get you in your home as soon as possible.
No-one is expecting you to know the minutiae of conveyancing, but these firms will show you what they do, why they ask for the information they do, what might go wrong, how to find a solution, and importantly, why it might take longer to complete than you initially hoped or thought.
Being better informed on this should help you through, and manage your expectations of what is achievable, particularly if you’re in a chain of sales.
Property purchasing is often reliant on others, and knowing what your conveyancing firm is doing and why, could make all the difference to your overall experience, and get you into your property sooner rather than later.
Remember, conveyancers look after your best interests and often help you buy the property of your dreams.
Rob Hailstone is organiser of National Conveyancing Week, taking place between 11 and 15 March
