Behind the timesLet us assume that I have been instructed to act for the seller of a property at 9am on a Monday morning.

My procedure is: open the file, request office copies by telephone, request the title deeds by phone, fax, DX, or post and send the property information form and fixtures and fittings form to the client to complete.

By Thursday, I should be able to forward a draft contract to the buyer's solicitor.

By Monday, the buyer's solicitor should submit his local search and raise any additional enquiries.

The search and enquiries could be replied to and returned within six working days.

The whole procedure can take as little as ten working days.

The alternative is the seller's pack.

The pack is, we are informed, likely to take up to 15 days to prepare.

When a sale has been agreed, the pack will be sent to the buyer's solicitor.

There are a number of matters that could then be raised as additional enquiries, for example, the draft contract might need amending or a request for documents, not contained in the pack, but referred to in the office copies or local search could be made.

I do not believe that most practitioners will be satisfied with the contents of a pack until they have been able to fine tune it.

We will, therefore, be at least a week or two behind the system that already exists.

Rob Hailstone, conveyancing manager, Mann Jenkins, Exeter