Enquiries add 3 weeks to the average transaction. The back-and-forth is the single biggest cause of delay.
Pre-contract enquiries and requisitions on title are the single biggest source of delay in residential conveyancing. Buyer's solicitors raise additional enquiries from title defects, search results, and property information forms. Seller's solicitors must respond — often chasing clients for information. The Conveyancing Association consistently finds that enquiry delays account for the largest portion of transaction time. Standard enquiries (CPSE for commercial, additional enquiries for residential), property information forms (TA6, TA7, TA10), and requisitions on title (TA13) generate significant back-and-forth between solicitors. Your agent drafts responses to standard enquiries from file data, raises additional enquiries from title defects identified by the title checker, and drafts requisitions referencing specific issues.
What Your Agent Actually Does
Your agent drafts enquiry responses from file data and raises additional enquiries from title issues — reducing the back-and-forth that adds weeks to every transaction.
Drafts responses to standard pre-contract enquiries
Property information form queries, additional enquiries from title issues, leasehold-specific enquiries — your agent drafts responses from the information already on file, flagging where client input is needed rather than requiring the conveyancer to draft every response from scratch.
Raises additional enquiries from title analysis
Title checker found a restrictive covenant? Searches revealed a planning application? Your agent drafts the additional enquiries to the seller's solicitor, referencing the specific title entries or search results that prompted them.
Drafts requisitions on title (TA13)
Post-exchange requisitions on title — checking completion arrangements, undertakings, and outstanding issues — drafted from the transaction data and ready for the conveyancer to review and send.
Chases outstanding enquiry responses
Enquiries sent three weeks ago with no response? Your agent tracks outstanding enquiries by date, generates chaser communications, and escalates to the conveyancer when responses are significantly overdue — keeping transactions moving.
Maintains an enquiry audit trail
Every enquiry raised, every response received, every follow-up sent — documented in a clear timeline. Useful for client updates, complaints defence, and demonstrating diligent file management for Lexcel and CQS purposes.
The real numbers.
| Conveyancer/paralegal time on enquiries (significant per transaction) | £2,000–£5,000/year |
| Transaction delays from slow enquiry resolution | £1,000–£3,000/year (client dissatisfaction, chain collapse risk) |
| Follow-up and chasing time | £500–£1,500/year |
| Realistic annual cost | £3,000–£8,000 |
| Agent build (one-off, configured to your enquiry templates and workflow) | £2,500–£4,000 |
| Monthly running costs (hosting + AI usage) | £80–£150/month |
| Enquiry form and protocol updates | Included in first year |
| Realistic first-year total | £3,460–£5,800 |
Enquiries are the single biggest cause of delay in residential conveyancing — and the back-and-forth consumes a disproportionate amount of conveyancer time. The information to answer most enquiries is already on file; the bottleneck is drafting the responses.
Your agent drafts from file data, your conveyancer reviews and sends. Faster responses, shorter transaction times, fewer chaser calls from clients.
Good fit / not a fit.
This works brilliantly for:
- Conveyancing firms where enquiry handling is a major time sink
- Firms experiencing delays from slow enquiry resolution
- Practices where paralegals draft initial enquiry responses
- Firms handling both buyer and seller sides with high enquiry volumes
This probably isn't for you if:
- Your practice handles very few transactions per month
- You specialise in simple freehold transactions with minimal enquiry issues
- You already have a highly efficient enquiry workflow you're satisfied with
Let's talk.
We'll start with your transaction volume, how you currently handle enquiries, and which types of enquiry cause the most delay. Usually a 10-minute conversation.
hello@nimblecroft.com