Almost every industry has faced challenges due to the global Coronavirus pandemic, and the conveyancing and home buying markets are no exception.
In fact, due to the halt on home sales during the pandemic and the backlog now facing the industry, the home buying market has faced even more challenges than most.
The backlog is not entirely due to the disruption the housing market saw earlier in the year. In addition, many homeowners are appraising their living situation as a result of the pandemic and considering moving to find a home with more space for home working, or one that is in a more desirable area. Many buyers are also looking to take advantage of the stamp duty land tax holiday.
To help home buyers and sellers to manage expectations and ensure that they get the best support possible during this challenging time, industry leaders in the conveyancing space have joined together.
The Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC), the Bold Legal Group (BLG) and the Conveyancing Association (CA) are all working together to spread the word about the issues that the housing market is facing right now and to work tirelessly to support their clients.
While home buyers and sellers face pressures, the conveyancing industry is dealing with just as many, and the team at these organisations want home buyers to understand that they need to be patient with their conveyancers.
As a result, they are pushing for estate agencies to discuss this backlog with their clients and make them aware that practices such as chasing conveyancers can actually slow the process down. When conveyancers and their staff have to reply to large volumes of emails and messages asking where reports are, then they have less time to spend creating the reports themselves.
While conveyancers from across the SLC, BLG and the CA have worked weekends and many hours of overtime in the evenings to support their clients, the industry cannot cope with the influx of work that it is seeing now. As such, individuals throughout the home buying space need to support their conveyancers and allow them the time to conduct their vital work to the best of their abilities.
As well as supporting clients, these organisations are also speaking with key decision-makers throughout the property market to ensure that policy changes are enacted to support conveyancers in the future. For example, the three organisations believe that the stamp duty land tax holiday needs to be extended to avoid disappointment for home buyers next year.
At Ison Harrison, we understand the frustrations that home buyers and sellers face, but we also know the pressures that our team, and many others in our industry, are under currently. We support the message made by the conveyancing industry, and we are working to provide clients with as much assistance as possible, as quickly as possible.
If you would like to contact us about your property and enquire about our residential or new build conveyancing services, please call us on 0113 284 5000 or email us at newbusinessenquiries@isonharrison.co.uk for more information.
