Deeds Office criticism

At the height of the 2004 to 2006 boom, says Tony Clarke, MD of Rawson Properties in a company media release, the Deeds Office examined up to 200 deeds per day and on average taking ten working days process each deed prior to transfer. Now, he says, the average turnaround time from the submission of the documents to the point where they effect a transfer is up by 50% - to 15 working days, a "ridiculous" situation.

"Considering that the number of deeds now being processed dropped by two thirds, these delays," said Clarke, "need to be explained."

"In practice," he said, "the 15 working days equate to almost 30 calendar days and I need hardly remind those involved that these delays are costing the sellers, the buyers, the banks and the estate agents a great deal of money. They are also causing the conveyancers embarrassment because the man in the street, wrongly, blames them for the hold-ups."

Article on RodneyHayter.com