Mr. Keith Anderson:

We work with solicitors every day so we do not want to fall out with them. We try to work together and make it better for everybody. Solicitors have laid off staff this past few years, probably more so in the country areas. The juniors had looked after conveyancing and the senior partner looked after litigation and different aspects. They have less staff now so they are trying to do the conveyancing themselves. Alexander Graham Bell introduced the telephone in 1876 and to this day solicitors will not use the telephone, nor will they use e-mail. They will write to clients. It takes a week to write a letter and week to come back. That is the most frustrating aspect. There is a need to get around the table and sort things out in plain language. E-mail is as good as letters nowadays. It is frustrating that time goes on, which opens up more problems. Where there is a problem there is always a solution but when letters are written back and forward for weeks on end things drag on.

The Law Society tried to introduce e-conveyancing in 2002 and 2008 and there is still nothing done. It is now 2015 and we are pushing this because at the end of the day, people will not respect auctioneers. We have our own profession and do what we want. We are looking for people buying a house for the first time because those are the people we are dealing with. In the last six years when things were quiet, I was out showing houses to first-time buyers every day from 2007 straight through to 2014 - and people thought I was a busy fool. Although I kept showing properties to people, young couples were cautious because they were afraid of what was happening and who would blame them? Everybody just sat back and watched. This year those same young people are back trying to buy houses. They are trying to get on the ladder but it is taking months and months and they get frustrated and so do we. I am pushing to get this moved on to the next step.