How being ‘sale ready’ can save you weeks
Does instructing a conveyancer before you sell speed up the process?
Most sellers tend to wait until they’ve found a purchaser before appointing their conveyancer. Let’s face it, spending 45 minutes on this type of paperwork can be a tedious task. But what if you could reduce your sale time by WEEKS once you have found a buyer?
To instruct your conveyancer, you will have to complete a property information form, fixtures and fittings form, and leasehold information form (if applicable), and there is usually a generic information questionnaire too. Once completed and returned, your conveyancer will be ready to send out draft contracts immediately once you find a buyer. Not only does this offer more transparency from the offset, but it allows your buyers’ solicitor to start work earlier, which in most cases should reduce the process by 2-3 weeks.
If you need some guidance with the forms, your estate agent will be happy to help, and your solicitor should be there to give assistance too.
There are so many conveyancing firms to choose from and it’s easily one of the most important decisions you’ll make in the process. So, how do you find a company that will be the right fit?
Here are some of our tips and questions to ask to help with this process:
Firstly, If you receive a recommendation from friends, family, or even estate agents, it is important to ask who the specific case dealer is, not just a company name. The person you work with will influence the customer experience you receive, not the business name. Once you’ve been given the name check their reviews for some further assurances.
Is the conveyancer full-time? If not, is there a point of contact whilst they are not in the office? You would expect part-time employees to have a reduced workload and if you find yourself in a chain, other parties waiting longer for information can eventually create some anxiousness and sometimes can make it more difficult to manage. Having peace of mind you have someone to speak with throughout the week should be reassuring.
Do they limit their workload and what number is that? Speaking with conveyancers ourselves, generally, 60-65 files are manageable whilst providing you with a high level of service. On the other hand, the more high-volume companies- that are often the cheapest- will be trying to manage around 100 cases, which as you can imagine is far more difficult. That’s not to say they can’t provide a good service, but something worth considering.
Who will I be working with? Ideally, and with most things, you want to be working with someone as experienced as possible, but there will be times, especially with the higher-volume companies, you’ll deal with more junior staff or people who are in training having to have their work signed off, which is absolutely fine, but can mean information between solicitors can sometimes be slower.
After years of trialing and testing different companies, we’ve found a few that offered the communication and service level we felt confident to recommend. If you’re struggling and want us to introduce you, we’d be happy to put you in contact.
