I was working as a secretary in a law firm when I was asked if I wanted to assist one of the partners who was massively disorganised – paperwork floor to ceiling! Before long I was giving quotes to clients, discussing their cases with them, and I realised it was something I really enjoyed.

It took a while for me to act on that as I took time out to have my two daughters, but it was always in the back of my mind and so when I eventually went back to work, I decided to sign up for the CLC qualification.

I’ve never considered myself to be academic so it was a bit daunting at first, but I was already a conveyancing assistant with years of experience so I knew deep down that I could do it.

I was fortunate to have my husband cheering me on and helping with the practicalities too. I was working full-time then coming home and spending four or five hours every evening working on the course, as he picked up most of the childcare and the chores. He always says he wouldn’t have been able to do what I did and at the speed I did it – the average time to complete both courses, level four and six, is four years and it took me about half of that, but I just wanted to crack on. I even took two of the exams, totalling six hours, in the same day.

It was hard work and there were some tears along the way, but I’m so proud of what I’ve achieved. One thing I found to be an enormous help was the ‘CLC Distance Learning Group’ on Facebook where people who are studying can go to ask questions and advice. A lot of people, myself included, have stayed in the group long after they qualified so they can help the next generation of conveyancers. We know what it feels like!

I qualified at the start of 2019, so I only had about a year of normality before the pandemic hit. Experienced conveyancers I’ve spoken to since have said it’s been the hardest 18 months they’ve ever known. We were juggling so many different things – for example, staff shortages and delayed searches. Local authorities were under immense pressure too and a backlog quickly built up so routine searches that would have taken 10 days pre-Covid were taking up to a month. Transactions were taking a lot longer to complete and whilst most clients were understanding, some wouldn’t accept that Covid had caused delays.

I think you have to be prepared for that – it can be hard work, but I’m lucky to work in a really supportive team and there are parts of the job that are hugely rewarding. I like it when a really complicated case comes in and I get to delve into the detail and work out a solution. Lots of cases are quite straightforward and I have an assistant who helps me generally, but some are a lot more complicated. For example, I have dealt with properties with a range of issues such as septic tanks, oil tanks, Japanese knotweed, and even bats!

I love it when we’re dealing with first-time buyers and I get to make that call on completion to tell them that they’re now homeowners.

I wouldn’t be happy in a job where I was doing the same thing day in, day out. I get to deal with different cases and different sets of people all the time and that keeps it interesting.

I always say I fell into conveyancing by accident, but I’m so glad I did. I don’t know what the future holds but at the moment I’m just enjoying it and how far I’ve come.