Whether you are thinking about buying or selling a property or are currently in the process of doing so, there are normally two parties you will have to work with very closely during the entire process; the estate agents and solicitors. This is why, it is always very important to have a good understanding of the relationship between the parties, how they work with each other to ensure the process of the sale as well as the purchase goes through as smoothly as it possibly can.
Even though estate agents tend to offer a fixed fee, statistics over the past years have showed their models are not as attractive to eyes of the sellers as solicitor estate agents. This is why they are falling behind with the number of properties they are selling. Many people hold the view that solicitor estate agents benefit from a higher success rate due to the fact that they are in a position to look after their clients from start to finish, delivering a very professional and attentive service. From listing the property on the market right through to completion of the conveyancing work, solicitor estate agents have a very good opportunity to develop great relationships with their clients, exposing themselves to perhaps to future recommendations. In addition to this according to some surveys solicitor estate agents sell properties faster and more effectively in comparison to other estate agents models.
With the increased success rate of solicitor estate agents, according to the data produced by SPC, other estate agent models throughout Scotland need to ensure they are doing everything they can to stay competitive within the housing market. This is why a good relationship with solicitors is crucial.
Relationships between solicitors and estate agents vary from one place to another. In some areas in Scotland, the relationships are more developed and you can see that the two parties are working very closely with one another. For example, in smaller towns and cities, it is very common for solicitors and estate agents to work closely. This might be due to a number of reasons such as the numbers of years they have known each other, the number of sales and purchases they have concluded with each other’s assistance or simply knowing each other’s reputations.
Although the initial process of a sale of a property begins with the estate agent, it is the solicitor who handles the file once an offer is accepted. Consequently, it is right from the stage of the offer being made and the file being passed to the solicitors for conveyancing that estate agents need solicitors.
From the moment the file is passed over to the solicitor, the estate agent awaits their fee to be paid from the proceeds of the sale. It is therefore not very uncommon for solicitors to be bombarded with emails and phone calls from the estate agent looking for updates about progress made in a sale of a property. And with a well known fact that some solicitors are busier than others and all have different workloads, it can become rather agitating always being asked for an update, especially if you are not the client themselves. It is therefore not unheard of that in some situation, solicitors will therefore choose not to proceed to update the estate agents and only provide updates to the client directly, not wishing to get any unnecessary phone calls from them. To add, very often solicitors get the impression that the only reason why estate agents are getting in contact is to check whether the sale has reached a stage where they are in a position to issue out a fee for their marketing services. The estate agent in such situation is left to speak to the client directly and ask them to update them of any progress made. And if you are a busy, working individual who does not have the time to update their estate agents on the progress made in relation to your sale, one stop shop such as a solicitor estate agent will be more appealing for you. This is why estate agents need a good working relationship with the solicitor dealing with the conveyancing aspects of a sale to ensure no potential loss of clients. By offering to chase certain matters for solicitors, estate agents try to establish a good working ethic between the two parties.
This in turn allows them to be certain of the stages the transaction reaches, whether it is progressing with missives, stalling or in some circumstances whether there is any indication that it might not be going ahead. Such information is vital to the estate agents as they need to know whether the property will need to be still advertised on the website as well as when it should be removed from the market. In addition to this, it also allows estate agents to have a better understanding of when the sale should complete and when they should expect to get their fee.
Scottish solicitor Jones Whyte Law understand the importance of a close working relationship between both estate agents and solicitors. This relationship ensures that the buyers and sellers are looked after from start to finish and that they have a very good understanding of what stage the conveyancing process is at. In addition to, it ensures that estate agents can too offer a professional and attentive service, even though they are not looking after the entire process from start to finish. Lastly, it gives them the chance to try to stay competitive within the housing market.
