When you purchase or sell a property in the United Kingdom, you’ll end up realising the fact that one of the most complicated and time-consuming processes that will affect your experience is conveyancing.
Regardless of the type of property that’s being sold, the property's market value, or the pace of the negotiation process, real estate transactions will end up becoming slower than they should be because of the process in question. If you’re at that point where you’re only waiting for all the paperwork and checks related to the transaction, then you’re probably wondering if you can speed up the process!
What is the essence of the conveyancing process?
Before we go over the possibility of speeding up the conveyancing process for your experience’s sake as a buyer or seller, it’s important to first understand what the process is all about.
Conveyancing is a process that encompasses the legal switch of ownership of an asset from the seller to the client. Consisting of numerous steps to present this, this critical part of a real estate transaction usually enlists the services of a solicitor or conveyancer to correctly deliver the property deal from offer to completion.
During the conveyancing process, a hired solicitor or conveyancer will be tasked with managing all the various legal factors included in the process. These legal tasks include critical services such as managing legal contracts and giving legal advice during the exchange of contracts. Apart from the standard collect-and-consult set of services, hired solicitors and conveyancers also perform nearby council searches with the land registry to check if there are legal issues or troubles with the land being bought.
The current state of conveyancers and solicitors as critical parts of the process
Today, licensed solicitors and certified conveyancers typically handle real estate transactions on behalf of the client to ensure that their customers get the name deeds to properties and the land they sit on.
While many may argue that the conveyancing process is something that can be done by oneself, the fact is that it still presents a certain level of difficulty that makes it advisable to hire an expert instead. As such, this growing reality has caused home buyers and sellers alike to cultivate a certain level of dependence on their hired service providers to get the job done and ensure that the transaction moves everything smoothly.
Why does the conveyancing process take longer today?
Beyond the fact that conveyancers and solicitors are of great help towards facilitating the most difficult part of a real estate transaction, a problem of lengthy processing experiences still leaves many frustrated over the conveyancing. Despite continuous innovation and improvements made to the process, it still remains one of the most time-consuming parts of an average real estate transaction. In fact, the lengthy nature of the process itself has caused a host of problems and difficulties that British home buyers and sellers experience today, the most recent being Stamp Duty-related delays.
In today’s current COVID-19 pandemic, the delays that are commonly associated with conveyancing processes have worsened by a significant margin. Although many would believe that the recent improvements are nothing to slight, the fact remains that pandemic-related increased processing times are causing even more troubles for thousands of transactions in the UK.
Can you speed up the conveyancing process?
Although many buyers, sellers, and traditionalists alike believe that the conveyancing process is set so deep in stone to the point that nothing can change it, this couldn’t be any further from the truth.
You see, breaking up the conveyancing process into multiple parts will reveal that certain stages can be expedited when you use the right approaches and tips. Over time, the minimal deductions in processing will eventually lead to a large cumulative deduction in processing time so that you can offload or transfer ownership at a much faster pace!
How can you speed it up?
If you’re stuck in the middle of a real estate transaction, then you’re probably dealing with a lengthened delay that may be putting off completion for farther than you initially expected. To help ensure that you have a much faster turnaround by tweaking the factors that you can control, here are a few proven tips and tricks you can use:
Tip #1: Do your identification work early
When it comes to ensuring that you cut down on the processing times during the conveyancing process, you’ll be surprised to learn that even the most minor changes can lead to significant reductions. One such example of a simple tweak that leads to reduced processing times is doing your identification work early.
With money laundering regulations growing even stricter each year, it’s important to ensure that you provide your necessary information early on so that solicitors don’t need to wait before they start acting for you. By providing a passport, driving licence, and documents that prove your address (utility bills or bank account statements), you’ll be able to save days, weeks, or even months on your processing times!
Tip #2: Use a simultaneous exchange and completion clause to your advantage
In recent months, one of the most effective ways buyers and sellers have been able to help their conveyancers and solicitors cut down their processing times is by using a simultaneous exchange and completion.
With a simultaneous exchange and completion, you can speed up your conveyancing process to significantly minimise the risk of experiencing a failed completion. Given the uncertainty of the pandemic and its constant effects on processing times, Conveyancing Calculator’s experts recommend using this method because it helps move the process better and faster!
Tip #3: Use a longstop completion date
Another effective way to speed up the conveyancing process when you collaborate with your conveyancer or solicitors is to suggest a completion date.
While it may work on a case-by-case basis, going for such an arrangement can be especially helpful because it suggests they can revoke their legal ties to a transaction if the process isn’t completed by a certain date. Opting for a longstop completion date means that you can shift to a faster processing experience at will in case you find yourself stuck in a particularly long transaction!
Tip #4: Set your expectations early with an accurate quote
One of the main reasons conveyancing processes take long is that buyers and sellers wait too long before enlisting the services of a conveyancer or solicitor—which often happens when they aren’t aware of the costs. Fortunately, you can bypass this common time constraint and prevent it from eating up the amount of time spent on your transaction by getting an accurate quote with our conveyancing calculator today!
Conclusion
Although real estate transactions are an inherently lengthy process, the one part of the whole experience that causes a bigger problem in terms of time spent is the conveyancing process itself. As fixed as the nuances of the whole conveyancing process may seem, it is very much possible to speed it up as long as you use the right tips and tricks along the way!
Are you looking to streamline your home buying or selling process in the UK without taking any unnecessary risks? Check out our conveyancing fees calculator today to get the best and most accurate results from our team of fully regulated and trained professionals!
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