Conveyancing is an integral part of the property buying process in the UK for sound legal and practical reasons.
After all, a change to any property’s ownership is a significant transaction, usually involving large sums of money, banks and other institutional lenders, as well as people who have never met each other.
Given that context, it is in the interests of all parties involved for a conveyancing process to be carried out meticulously and in ways that are legally watertight.
However, delays to the associated processes can be hugely frustrating and potentially costly for homebuyers, which naturally leads to a desire to see conveyancing efforts accelerated where possible.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of the main reasons why a conveyancing process might be delayed and how it can sometimes be sped up.
Common reasons for delay
From a homebuyer’s perspective, it is important to be aware that a delay to any aspect of the conveyancing process will generally cause a delay to the entire transaction that’s being enabled.
Every conveyancing undertaking unfolds slightly differently because the specifics differ in each case and the whole process is about ascertaining and accounting for every detail that could potentially be of relevance.
However, there are issues that commonly arise to cause delays to conveyancing efforts and the associated transactions, such as:
| Incomplete documentation |
| Slow responses from any of the parties involved |
| Search and survey delays |
| Mortgage approval or funding problems |
| Property chain issues |
| Title and identification hold ups |
| Sellers not being able to buy their next property |
| Solicitors not doing their jobs well enough |
Common problems created by delays
Delays to conveyancing processes can be hugely frustrating, not least because those delays can lead to prospective homebuyers having to bear certain extra costs.
A buyer might, for example, need to continue paying rent for longer than they’d hoped or be obliged to cover other accommodation costs. For families particularly those costs can quickly add up.
Families might also find delays acutely stressful because they impact directly on their children’s schooling or childcare arrangements.
Delays in these scenarios can also create professional and financial problems for anyone aiming to coincide their house move with a switch to a new job role or a new employer.
How can you speed up the conveyancing process?
It could be that even your best efforts as a buyer will not have any impact on how long it takes for a conveyancing process to conclude.
However, as one of the essential parties involved in these scenarios, there are steps you can take that could move your conveyancing process along and help to avoid delays as you progress towards a deal completion.
Tip 1 – Prepare all your documentation up front and in advance of enlisting a conveyancer
Tip 2 – Find a high quality, and suitably experienced conveyancing company to support your transaction
Tip 3 – Use digital tools and online communications as much as possible to limit the need for documents to be physically posted from one place to another
Tip 4 – Be proactive (without being rude or unkind) in your communications with your conveyancer to encourage them to retain a good level of focus on your case
Giving yourself the best chance of avoiding delays
Being proactive and pre-emptive where possible can, over the life of a property ownership transaction, make a tangible difference to how long the whole process takes from beginning to end.
However, there is no silver bullet or ‘one weird trick’ that means the length of time a conveyancing effort takes can be dramatically reduced. The reality is that every aspect of a conveyancing process is legally necessary to protect all the parties involved and there are some corners that simply cannot be cut.
That being said, there’s no doubt that it can be maddening from a buyer’s perspective to be met with delay after delay to the conveyancing process. Indeed, dealing with delays in these settings can be enormously stressful, particularly if you are part of a chain of transactions.
From a homebuyer’s perspective, as outlined above, there are ways you can help to keep your arrangements on the right track but perhaps the most fundamental is to find and hire the right conveyancer for your specific purposes.
How we can help
Home Legal Direct connects homebuyers and sellers across England and Wales with conveyancing service providers of the highest calibre. Via our online network you can access tailored quotes from dozens of potentially suitable service providers in a matter of seconds.
Crucially, Home Legal Direct also operates on a ‘no move, no legal fee’ basis, which offers our service users valuable peace of mind.
We are also exceptionally well placed to offer advice, guidance and practical support to anyone concerned with how long their conveyancing process is taking to conclude.