A Day in the Life of a Conveyancer at Fishers Solicitors

Did you know that only two out of five UK adults (40 per cent) are aware of what conveyancing is? Conducted by the HomeOwners Alliance, on behalf of National Conveyancing Week (NCW), this statistic was revealed in the latest research which sought to highlight the level of understanding of conveyancing and the role of a conveyancer in the home purchase and sale process.

As part of National Conveyancing Week 2024 (March 11-15), Fishers Solicitors is here to help raise awareness of the crucial role of conveyancers in the property transaction process.

Today, we are featuring Enel Ots, our brilliant Associate Licensed Residential Conveyancer, to give you a glimpse into the day in the life of a conveyancer. Read on to dive into the world of conveyancing at Fishers Solicitors!

What does a typical day look like for a conveyancer?

No one day is the same in conveyancing. We handle many files at the same time all at different stages of the process. Some are right at the instructions stage and some are closer to exchange and completion. We keep our file levels at a reasonable level to ensure we offer the highest client care in all matters. Every day is different as every client is unique and every transaction is unique. Most days we always learn something new, making our days challenging and most days we walk away from it seeing what a difference we do make to our clients.

How does a conveyancer start their day?

A working mothers' day starts with the school run allowing me to immerse myself in the life of my 10-year-old daughter during our walk ensuring my mind is fresh once I arrive at work. A working day always starts with reading emails that have come in which helps to write my to-do list and decide the priority of matters. Every client is a priority but it is standard that more urgent matters come first on the priority list. Always important to catch up with colleagues as we do not do this job alone. My colleagues also see I cannot start the day unless I have a large coffee on my desk first.

What are the key responsibilities of a conveyancer throughout the day?

One responsibility is to ensure completions are set up and running smoothly for the day, and then any exchanges are ready and prepped due to happen on any day. My other responsibility is to answer emails and phone calls and communicate throughout the day with agents, clients, solicitors, or brokers. It is not uncommon for a conveyancer to deal with over 100 emails every day and at the same time with phone calls. Key responsibility is to ensure every file is progressing as it should and every client is being kept updated. We have to be able to communicate and be organised. Every client wants to hear their file is moving toward completion. We have to also chase matters on files as our job is not all in our control such as chasing management company packs or replies to enquiries or searches etc. Our responsibilities do not stop after a transaction, we also have to do post-completion work with the Land Registry and monitor the applications until they are completed.

How do conveyancers liaise with other parties involved in property transactions, such as estate agents and lenders?

We speak on the phone and we email agents or brokers or other side solicitors or lenders. Email is amazing but in my experience, a good conversation makes a huge difference to finding a solution or obtaining the best update for the client.

What challenges do conveyancers commonly face during their day-to-day work?

My role as a conveyancer has changed and expanded a lot over the years I have been practising. We are now required to be experts not just only in property law but also in measuring the height of buildings for the Building Safety Act, fire safety assessments applicable to leasehold properties, building control, planning laws, and solar panels. We worry for our clients not just in regards to the legal title but also whether the boiler and electrics will work on completion and we are not surveyors. We are more and more tasked with policing the source of clients' funds and wealth to ensure no proceeds of crime are being used to buy property or land. We read complex title documents and study searches and mortgage offers for our clients but these tasks are not done without interruptions and we can have several files open all at once on our desks. This means we are working longer hours to ensure we are giving our clients the best client care and leaving no stone unturned.

How do conveyancers prioritise and manage multiple cases simultaneously?

We have excellent organisational skills and are good at coping with the speedy pace of the market demands.

How do conveyancers maintain a work-life balance in a demanding profession?

The school walk in the morning helps, we do manage our caseloads to ensure a work-life balance is possible, we ensure we do take time out in the evenings to enjoy a hobby or exercise and weekends are for our family time. It can all be done but we have to ensure we set the time aside for us to then come back and be the best for our clients. As a firm, we do take time out together such as lunch time social lunches together, and evening social events for all colleagues ensuring we look after each other and do take time out.

What advice would you give to someone considering a career in conveyancing based on your daily experiences?

I think the job is very rewarding. No one day is the same, the law is changing and it's exciting to keep up with it such as attending conferences or training days and meeting people in our industry, the property market is intrinsically linked to our economy and politics giving you a much wider view of society, meeting different people and getting to know our clients is fascinating and wonderful. The property law industry is striving to evolve constantly and exciting concepts are being created all the time to modernise this industry.