The e-mail reads as follows:
"I came across your website in desperation to see if there was an ombudsman to assist in getting some progress on long, drawn out and costly transfers to the deeds office. One thing I have learnt is not to believe any promises because you land up being embarrassed and extremely stressed in the process. In fact a friend told me that it is the same experience as going through a divorce. He was right!
Conveyancers need to communicate effectively with the people they are dealing with and have more empathy with the issues they are dealing with. Most of us have e-mail, and an update on progress on a weekly basis or something would help ease the tension and may even help the co ordination process that seems to be so complicated especially when there is a general lack of urgency with most conveyancers.
Frustrated Buyer/seller"
Frustrated
Reader Comments:
Ek stel voor gefrustreerde Koper/Verkoper lê persoonlik besoek af en spandeer net ldag in die Aktesafdeling van 'n prokureurskantoor en hy sal meer empatie met ons as sekretaresses hê. Om 'n eiendom te koop is nie so eenvoudig as om 'n sjokolade oor 'n toonbank te koop en te loop nie.
Daar is oneindige baie detail waaraan aandag gegee moet word en hy moet ook onthou vir die meeste mense is dit sekerlik die grootste uitgawe of belegging wat hulle ooit in hulle lewens maak. Ook om die miljoene rande van korporatiewe instellings en beleggers te hanteer verdien baie versigtigheid en word daar doodseker gemaak dat beide die verkoper en die koper se belange beskerm word. Hoera vir al die Aktessekretaresse wat nog nie senu-ineenstortings gekry het nie.
I understand your frustration but you must please also realise that a lot more responsiblity has been placed on the Conveyancer's shoulder now than in the past. If buyers / sellers took time to understand that we actually do know what we are doing and if they just let us do what we do and not interfere transfers will go smoothly. Life has become a lot more demanding so if we all work together and the buyers/sellers stop placing us under pressure all parties will get along better.
Maak in die eerste plek seker dat die persoon wat die oordrag hanteer 'n gekwalifiseerde aktevervaardiger is. Onthou dat die verkoper (nie die eiendomsagent) die reg het om hierdie aktevervaardiger te nomineer.
Verder is dit belangrik om in gedagtete hou dat die oordragprosedure slegs deur die aktevervaardiger gefasiliteer word, en is die spoed in 'n groot mate afhanklik van die koper/verkoper. Hoe vinniger aan al die vereiste vir finansiering/verkoop van ander eiendomme waarvan die transaksie afhang voldoen word, hoe vinniger kan die transaksie geregistreer word.
The secretary from George said it perfectly. I have just recently bought a house and did the transfer myself and even in my own transfer there were hiccups. Sometimes you have three transfers all relating to one transaction and then you have the bond registrations as well that makes it sometimes 6 matters relating to one transaction and as you can imagine it is very difficult to co-ordinate all these transactions to make sure that they are registered at the same time.
Then if you have around 50-100 files on your desk you can only imagine the volume of work and the number of clients to see and speak to every day. Therefore it is very difficult to give a progress report on a weekly basis. Over and above that you still have to provide the estate agents with a weekly report which is also difficult.
Most companies now adays use ghost convey and with that comes a program called ghostenquiry(i think),you can view the progress of your transfer via the program so something like that. However we don't mind if you give us a ring every now and again to find out what the progress is, but please just bear with us through the process of your transfer we try and do our best with all our transactions. I have been on both sides of the fence and believe us when we say we do have sympathy as we now what it is like when you want to move into your new home.
The first thing a new agent will ask you is "how quickly can you register my matters?". The Conveyancing Secretary's job is to do everything at a steam enjin's rate anyway. However, the question from the agent must rather be, "how well can you handle the abnormal problems in my transfers?"
Sellers leaving the country, selling for less than he owes, purchasers finding out they don't have costs, going on holiday for 4 weeks leaving you without signed documents and the list goes on and on. In the end, my aim is to ascertain whether, at the end of a transfer, the seller, purchaser and agent are still on good terms with each other regardless of a cracked pool, burst geyser, broken stove etc etc.
It is correct what the previous commentator said about any parties spending just 1 day in a Conveyancing Secretary's office. We co-ordinate up to 11 parties to get registration - seller, purchaser, agent, BC bank, B bond, BC attorneys, B attorneys, City Councils, Receiver of Revenue, HOA institutions and more.
Ek het die kommentaar deur die onderskeie persone hier gegee gelees en besef dat ek nie die enigste een is wat die frustrasie beleef van kliënte wat dink dat net hulle leêr in die laai gebêre word en daar niks aan gedoen word nie. Moontlik kan hierdie kommentare gebind word en aan verkoper/koper gestuur word saam met die eerste skrywe in 'n nuwe transaksie.
Please remember that it not only depends on the conveyancer as to how fast the property is transferred. Sometimes we have to wait more than 2 weeks just to get cancellation figures out of the banks. Then there are delays in getting clearance figures out of Body Corporates or Municipalities.
Right now we are battling with Erkuhuleni Municipality which promises us everyday that our clearance figures are ready, and when we stand in line for more than two hours, we only hear: Sorry, it is not ready yet. Then of course, there are delays in getting guarantees from Bond registration attorneys. The latest problem we have is getting the Bond registration attorneys and Cancellation attorneys to lodge on the same day. They just don't seem to care that we have to link all the documents and lodge simultaneously.
It is because of all the above reasons, that the process is delayed. It is getting frustrating and the clients blame us. We send out a weekly report but sometimes there is nothing to report but the news that we are still waiting for this and that. We have lost good deals with Real Estate agents because they don't seem to grasp the fact that it not only depends on us for a speedy registration.
Dit is baie maklik om te sê "conveyancers need to communicate effectively with the people they are dealing with" wanneer hierdie selfde "kliënte" dié is wat 'n afslag van 50% en meer op fooie vereis - wat verwag hulle dan - dat die Akteuitmaker nog steeds daagliks/weekliks oproepe moet doen, skrywes/e-pos moet stuur om verslag van alles te doen wat aangaan op die leêr teen belaglike fooie.
Het hierdie selfde kliënte al na hul persoonlike telefoonrekeninge en selfoonrekeninge gekyk om te sien wat net een oproep se kostes beloop en dit is maar net een van die uitgawes wat 'n Akteuitmaker moet aangaan bo en behalwe al die briewe en fakse wat in elk geval op 'n daaglikse/weeklikse basis gestuur moet word net om almal se samewerking te kry sodat die transaksie so gou as moontlik afgehandel kan word op vereiste van die partye tot die koop en ingevolge die bepalings van 'n kontrak.
Dit is 'n geval van dat die koper deesdae sy brood aan beide kante gebotter wil hê tesame met die konfyt en room daarby - as jy goeie diens verlang dink ek is dit net minder as reg dat die Akteuitmaker dan dienooreenkomstig vergoed moet word.
Niks in die lewe om verniet nie daar is altyd 'n prys daaraan verbonde. Jy kan nie 'n Ferrari verwag vir 'n Tazz se "koopprys" nie.
The job of a transfer secretary is to facilitate & "walk matters through the system". Most clients do not understand what this entails. They also don't understand that a lot of us go beyond the call of duty to facilitate their transactions as best we can. We are not always able to spend hours on the phone working on their sale/purchase yet some of them expect this because they want it thro "asap". They are always surprised when we request monies from them for rates/levies etc yet we are always held responsible for hiccups which, despite detailed explanations, are not our fault.
The estate agents are the least helpful but the highest paid in the transaction, only being available for info when it's time to pay their commission. They often leave essential information out which we then have to go and dig up. There are many parties to a transfer and nobody should judge the conveyancer and his/her team until they have physically spent time with them in their office, at their desk & looking at their file. Thanks to the clients who already know this.
Banke en Stadsrade is vandag van die grootste skuldige partye by die vertraging van transaksies. Banke begin nou ook al hoe meer om selfs waarborge nie dadelik by registrasie uit te betaal nie. Prokureurs/aktevervaardigers mis ook die basiese boodskap. Kommunikeer met julle kliënte! Stuur bv. vir hulle 'n weeklikse vorderingsverslag per e-pos sodat hulle kan sien hoe die saak vorder en waar die vertragings is. My prokureur doen dit. Moenie net stellings maak soos dat mense nie julle werk verstaan nie. Moenie julle beroep se werking geheim hou nie. Kommunikeer! ons leef in 2006!
Leave a comment: