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It's not about fees and it's not about asking price.

 

Most people agree that the greatest stress they experience during a house move is caused by uncertainty, exacerbated by delay. This deadly combo not only prompts dramatic increases in blood pressure for all concerned, but it directly causes sales to fall through, leaving people's home-moving plans in shatters - along with their nerves. And don't even mention the reputational damage and loss of commission from the agent's perspective. 

 

Let me get one thing straight - delay, per se, does not cause a sale to fall through. But delay provides a window of opportunity within which a sale is more likely to fall through. 25% of the time last count. That's one in every four sales! (Source C.Watkin with 20Ci data). This is because of the stupid system we have in this country, of non-binding offers, combined with increasing levels of regulation, security checks, procedural restraints and official lethargy (eg 3-months to get a search back!).

 

This is the window. While the window's open, buyer or seller, anywhere up or down a chain, can change their mind for all sorts of reasons - they're offered a better property, they are worried about the market, they move jobs, they suffer illness or death, they lose or inherit money, they have a baby, or they just can't take the stress any more.

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Our job as estate agents has been to pour oil on troubled waters by communicating with conveyancers and making sure everyone knows what's going on. Solicitors have been pompous, secretive and protectionist, fearing that their relatively simple role could be substantially automated. Too right! And there has been little connection between estate agents and conveyancing solicitors to find a way of dramatically shortening the whole process. Until now. 

 

I've recently been consulting for a new type of conveyancer that really gets it. Driven substantially by the efficiencies of technology and backed by substantial funding, I recently came across a sale through them that exchanged within three weeks of sale agreed.

 

In a nutshell, imagine a conveyancer that:

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1. Allows the agent to incorporate or even white-label their dashboard within the agent's website, so that the agent can provide conveyancing quotes online, hands-off, AT TIME OF INSTRUCTION (which can also help you win instructions).

2. Facilitates the seller to provide everything required in the TA6/TA7/TA10 forms, so that a contract and full supporting legal pack can be prepared before a buyer is even found.  

3. Anticipates expected enquiries, and replies-to-enquiries, so they can be supplied with the legal pack. 

4. Arranges insurance to cover searches, title issues, chancel repair, listed buildings consent and other breaches, etc to cover all eventualities.

5. Enables all parties to access the dashboard, upload documents and track progress in real time, with easily-understood flags for missing info.

6. Pays the agent a typical initial referral fee of £100 on instruction, followed by £300 on completion. Er. . . yes they do!

 

My relationship with this fabulous business, (as used by Foxtons and over 1500 other progressive agents) means that you'll be looked after royally, as well as reducing your fall-through rate by an average of 40%. 

 

If this sounds interesting - and it flippin' well should - you might just want to check them out by asking for a short demo HERE.

 

Go ahead, save some sales, speed up your cash flow, make more money and have happier clients. What's not to like?   

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If you'd like to discuss - feel free to call me. 01242 421 022.