The only reason they do them is because they don't trust the previous solicitors.
This literally isn't true though is it? The reason is that you don't get the most up to date information unless you do the searches (and most of the rest of the paperwork for that matter) again. It's not the solicitor's fault that things change without the searches changing. It's also not the solicitor's fault that lenders require searches less than 6 months old. Quoting from the lender's handbook:
5.4.3All searches except where there is a priority period must not be more than six months old at completion.
If you buy cash you don't need searches so you're more than welcome to save up to buy a house with cash then you can complete in a week or two (or less!)
What there should be is a rolling search document available that is updated with any new information so it can be instantly downloaded and be accurate. There is no excuse to have to wait weeks or months for a search that may or may not have changed, but you have to do it for the reasons above and these timescales are not solicitor's doing.
My local council is making headlines because of how long they take and they've been the same for nearly 10 years
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/house-sales-north-wales-county-25124448
They've caught up a lot now, but earlier in the year West Oxfordshire were quoting a 65 working day turnaround!!
Then there's the other things like people building extensions and the like that changes the Property Info forms.
Blockchain has a part to play in the evolution of property purchasing I'm sure.
I totally agree. I spend a lot of time thinking about this but I don't know enough about the blockchain or really have any idea about how to go about working to implement something like it.
Indeed. Why does their process take so long, literally admin.
For probably 90% of cases it is or at least basic legal matters. You do still get some extremely time consuming complex ones. There's an awful lot of property out there that hasn't changed hands since conveyancing became a different beast to what it was 20+ years ago.
But despite it being mostly admin it comes with a lot of risk for even basic mistakes.
https://www.forsters.co.uk/news/blo...nce-claims-claims-against-property-solicitors
Then you're into the problem of do you only have experienced, qualified lawyers dealing with everything or do you have "admin" staff doing an "admin" job. Well if its the former your transaction will take a lot longer and then people complain. If its the latter people complain about that exact thing, go look at the reviews for some of the bigger companies.
Big companies are closing their conveyancing departments because it isn't worth the risk
https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/l...nts-and-puts-100-jobs-at-risk/5113363.article
Indemnity insurance is getting more difficult to obtain.
The list goes on...
