"Any news from the solicitor?"
The client calls on Monday. The estate agent emails on Tuesday. The broker has no idea: the offer went out weeks ago, and since then everything has been with the conveyancer. So the broker phones the conveyancer's office, waits on hold, leaves a message, sends an email. On Thursday a reply comes: searches back, enquiries raised, waiting on the seller's side.
That is one case. A busy broker has many at this stage, each with a different firm of solicitors, each needing its own chase.
Why updates do not flow
Conveyancers are busy and their clients are the buyers, not the broker. They update when asked. Some use case management portals that share progress, many do not, and those that do rarely connect to the broker's CRM.
The broker's own process is informal too. Chasing happens when a client or agent asks, not on a schedule, so the broker is always reacting rather than knowing in advance.
- Updates only arrive when someone asks.
- Every conveyancing firm communicates differently.
- Phone calls and voicemails eat time on both sides.
- Nothing records progress stages consistently in the CRM.
- Clients and agents chase the broker for news they do not have.
Nobody is being unhelpful. A conveyancer handling a large caseload has little reason to update a broker unprompted, and a broker phoning for news interrupts work that moves the case forward. Both sides would prefer a lighter way of sharing progress; there just is not one in place.
What the chasing costs
| Stage | Why the broker needs to know |
|---|---|
| Searches received | Case moving, offer timing on track |
| Enquiries raised and answered | Likely timing to exchange |
| Exchange | Offer and completion date locked in |
| Completion date set | Offer expiry and funds release checks |
| Completed | Case closed, protection and retention next |
Hours on the phone are one cost. Another is missed warning signs, like a case that has stalled for weeks while the offer expiry gets closer. And clients judge the broker on the whole purchase, including parts they cannot control.
The progress updates we build
- When an offer is issued, the conveyancer's details are taken from the case, and they receive a short introduction explaining the update requests.
- At intervals you choose, the conveyancer receives an email with a one-click form: which stage has been reached, any expected dates, anything holding things up.
- Answers update the case in your CRM automatically, with a date.
- Where a conveyancer's own case tracking portal can share updates, we use it instead of asking again.
- The client and the estate agent can receive a consistent summary after each update, if you choose.
- Cases with no update after a set time, or with a stage that has not moved, appear on a list for the broker to phone.
We keep the request short on purpose. A conveyancer can answer in a few seconds, which is the only way a request like this gets answered regularly.
How the week changes
The broker opens the CRM and sees each case's latest conveyancing stage and date. Clients and agents get updates without calling. Phone calls to solicitors are kept for the cases that actually need one. And cases drifting towards an offer expiry show up early.
Over time, the brokerage also learns which conveyancing firms respond reliably, which helps when clients ask for a recommendation.
Estate agents appreciate it too. Sales progressors spend much of their day chasing the same information, and a broker who shares a consistent update, with the buyer's agreement, becomes an easier partner to work with.
Is this how your cases go quiet?
- You chase conveyancers when clients or agents ask you.
- Brokers spend time on hold to solicitors' offices.
- Your CRM does not show conveyancing stages.
- Stalled cases are found late.
- Clients ask you for news you do not have.