The ongoing discussions around the future roadmap for buying and selling property are undoubtedly well intentioned and there is no question that many across the industry have spent years trying to improve what remains an overly slow, fragmented and stressful process for consumers.
Digitisation, upfront information, greater data sharing and wider process reform are all sensible ambitions and few would argue against the direction of travel. The problem, however, is that we have now been discussing many of these same issues for the best part of two decades and yet consumers, brokers and conveyancers still find themselves dealing with remarkably similar frustrations.
Completion times remain stubbornly long. Transactions continue falling through at significant levels. Communication across the process remains inconsistent. Consumers are still regularly unclear about costs, responsibilities and timescales.
Meanwhile advisers continue finding themselves caught in the middle trying to manage client expectations on transactions they often have very little visibility over once the legal process begins.
At some point, the industry has to acknowledge an uncomfortable reality. Structural reform alone is not going to improve the customer experience quickly enough for the advisers and clients dealing with these problems right now.
Confusing process reform with customer experience reform
I want to be absolutely clear here – this is not a criticism of the work being done around reform because it is valuable and necessary. However, the industry risks falling into the trap of believing that improving the process structurally automatically improves the customer experience itself. The two are related, but they are not the same thing.
It may be an uncomfortable truth but clients do not judge transactions based on how many working groups have been established or how many consultations have taken place. They judge them emotionally through the stress they experience, the time it takes, the outcome and results they get, the quality of communication they receive and whether they feel somebody is actually taking ownership when problems emerge.
That is why advisers cannot afford to sit back and wait for the process to eventually improve.
The advisers delivering the strongest outcomes today are usually the ones staying closest to the transaction itself rather than treating conveyancing as something sitting outside their responsibility once the mortgage recommendation has been completed.
Consumers increasingly expect one joined-up experience and they may not separate the adviser from the conveyancer in the way the industry often does. If delays escalate, communication disappears or costs suddenly change during conveyancing, that frustration inevitably reflects back on the adviser relationship regardless of who caused the issue.
Advisers need more visibility and control over the transaction
This is precisely why advisers should be far more involved in conveyancing conversations.
That does not mean advisers suddenly becoming legal experts or attempt to manage every aspect of the transaction themselves. It means recognising that guiding the client through the legal process, helping them understand timescales, steering them towards the right conveyancing firms – a hugely important first step – and remaining visible throughout the transaction are all now part of delivering a strong customer outcome.
Increasingly, advisers are recognising that remaining front of house throughout the process strengthens trust, improves retention and creates a much stronger long-term client relationship. Clients remember how the transaction felt overall, not simply the mortgage rate they secured at the outset.
Not all conveyancing routes deliver the same experience
Equally important is the route advisers choose to access conveyancing services in the first place because not all conveyancing platforms, panels and distribution models are built in the same way.
Some still operate on a volume-first basis where the adviser becomes increasingly disconnected from the transaction once the instruction is made. Others place far greater emphasis on transparency, communication, access, service, oversight and the support given to ensure advisers remain involved when problems arise.
That distinction matters enormously because the conveyancing experience can either strengthen the adviser relationship or undermine it completely.
Consumers are already expecting advisers to uphold very high standards around fairness, disclosure and customer outcomes across mortgages, protection and other services and products. It is entirely reasonable that they expect the same standards from the conveyancing process as well.
Advisers cannot wait another decade for improvement
The reality is we may still be years away from achieving the kind of fully modernised homebuying process many across the industry are pushing for. Are we getting closer? Probably. When will this deliver results? Quite frankly, who knows. Advisers cannot pause client expectations until then.
People are still moving home now. Remortgages are still happening now. Transactions are still progressing now. Which means advisers need practical ways to improve customer outcomes now as well.
That starts with recognising conveyancing is no longer simply an ancillary referral opportunity sitting alongside the mortgage recommendation. Increasingly, it is a central part of the adviser’s wider client proposition and one of the biggest influences on how consumers ultimately judge the overall experience they receive.
Harpal Singh is CEO at conveybuddy
