Conveyancing Firms - Work Being Done in Phillipines..........

Hi All

Two of the cheaper conveyancing firms in QLD (1 does national) have moved all of the conveyancing work to the Phillipines. We don't compete in their price range (although they do primarily quote a low price and then charge for everything along the way so their bill is comparable at the end) so we don't treat them as competitors at all.

In QLD only law firms can complete conveyancing and non lawyers doing it are supposed to be closely supervised.

One of the firms has had their Business Development Manager resign because of the large number of complaints from their service from her referrers.

I have previously used admin staff in the Phillipines and they are educated and do well at repetitive tasks. BUT I just can't see how you can do all of the conveyance from there with non-legal staff and not to have serious issues all the time. If nothing goes wrong with a conveyance and the contract is straight forward then no issue. But the culture there is of not wanting to upset your supervisor and so any mistakes made are not likely to be communicated through.

Opening a NSW based conveyancing practice (with no lawyers needing to be involved) and then having it all done in the Phillipines with no phone communication etc would be an attractive proposition for the lower end of the market. You could offer really cheap prices with no service and no communication but purely treat it as an administrative transaction. I reckon you could run at about $500 for a purchase and $300 for a sale (plus searches) and make a profit. You would want to have great insurance coverage and ensure that your entity separation was solid so that you could sleep at night. There would also be zero referrals from agents as that wouldn't tolerate the complaints it would get.

Made me think whether a software driven, almost automated conveyancing business would be an attractive option to people on here. I personally think , given the money involved in the transaction itself, that saving a couple of hundred on a sale and $400 ish on a purchase is not worth it.

Would love to hear you reasons as well as the poll.

 

Property purchase/sale will be the biggest transaction in most people's lives so it shouldn't be skimped on. But there are people out there who would risk it all for a $200 savings.

 

I would not. While conveyancing is generally not complex, an individual purchase or sale could be complicated. My last one was and required many phone calls to my conveyancer to address each issue and keep her up to date. I also relied on her knowledge, expertise and experience to get the job done. If I hire a complete unknown, could I rely on them to do the same thing? I would not risk it for such a small amount of money.

 

IMO anyone who doesnt advise you of the offshore nature should have to account for a claim of misleading and deceptive conduct. For a lawyer or tax agent etc that can result in severe problems. Tax agents who dont disclose can have their registration limited, suspended or terminated. I cant comment on law society rules but cant imagine they are different.

Who saves money on this cut-price deal ? The firm or the client. Tell me its just the client and I call BS. And what other corners do they cut to make an extra $. No PI ? Cheap rubbish staff ? Skip a search ?

I would never advertise $79 tax returns like some do. I could not do them for that price and cannot imagine what I would need to do to even bother. I dont want to engage with those people who want to pay $79.

The key issue is that conveyance is a legal service and when its gets complex you want someone who assists. Its not like buy a postage stamp at a shop.

 

You pay hundreds of thousands for a house, yet skimp on paying a couple of hundred to ensure you actually own it? Doesn't make sense to me.
However, a lot of people don't have any understanding of what is required in order to transfer a title. So are probably likely to overlook what the cost difference is made up of.

Blacky

 

If it's a really simple conveyancing job where everything lines up, gets ticked off and goes really easily, where it's done doesn't really matter.

Unfortunately you usually can't pick the really easy jobs up front, so I recommend conveyancers with a proven track record. I'm 99.9% certain they do all the work in their office, but that's irrelevant, they do a great job. The price is also irrelevant I'm more interested in the outcomes.

 

Its like a building and pest inspection. If everything is ok it doesn't really matter if you get one or not. But they only way to know that you don't need one is to get one.

 

Like travel insurance... IMO if you cant afford a P&B dont buy the property.

That and LL insurance...I have heard some aweful client stories over the years from those who took a punt. Yet nobody has ever said "Ï'm glad I got the P&B / LL policy".

 

My partner picks up on errors made by other conveyancer/lawyer in Sydney. The Philippines? Without close supervision? Recipe for disaster.

 

I believe a family friend of my mothers who works for a conveyancing firm was looking to or has started developing such program. Haven't heard anything more of this, was around 12-18months ago. At the time she was asking me for firms that were interested in selling up.

 

Same. All I want from my conveyancer is: do it right, first time, on time. If they can't do that I won't deal with them again. In Perth, I don't have to pay a lot to get that level of service.

 

We had lost documents, stamp duty discount not claimed for (had to do post purchase), poor communication, many delays and only got it through on the last day before funding lapsed (wouldnt have got new funding due to new baby). Stressful time.
Would never use cheap conveyancer again.

 

That sounds just like my expensive property solicitor in Melbourne except we didn't manage to settle on time and had to pay penalty interest due to their incompetence. I would never use an expensive property solicitor again.

 

I want them local so I can put my hand on their neck later if needed
I think reliability and expertise come before price, especially in transactions worth hundreds of thousands of dollar

 

I have 3 times in Perth. 2 purchases and 1 sale. No issues. It certainly went smoother than the Melbourne solicitor disaster. On my an earlier deal I was so impressed with the sellers settlement agent that I have hired her for every deal since then. She's excellent and doesn't overcharge. I was very glad I was not trying to DIY the last deal. I would not have known how to do it. Too complex for me. That's when you want a competent professional on your side