Embracing the conveyancing recommendation

‘Conveyancer jailed after facilitating 80 mortgage frauds for criminal network.’
‘Conveyancers need to be more transparent with their pricing.’
‘Conveyancing crisis as number of firms hit eight-year low.’

While I’m not fundamentally disagreeing with the first two headlines – one of which is a statement of fact on a recent case, the other an opinion from a broker – I will take some umbrage with the term ‘conveyancing crisis’ being based on the number of firms active in the sector hitting an ‘eight-year low’.

Indeed, as I’m sure you’re aware I take quite the opposite view. The sector is probably the strongest it has been in terms of those firms active in it, because the number of ‘dabbling’ firms – who carry out very small numbers of cases and, on the whole, don’t carry them out particularly well – has fallen by a significant number over the past few years. We have moved from a cottage industry to one where we have a significant number of large specialist firms who are working at the top of their game, and can be relied upon by broker/lender/client alike to deliver within the necessary timescale.

Now, I fully appreciate that this is a view that’s hardly going to ensure that (from a press point of view) we ‘drop the dead donkey’ but it’s one that I think it’s important for other stakeholders to be aware of, and (rather crucially) for clients to be hearing.

Take, a first-time buyer client for instance, who is able to secure a mortgage through your advice and is about to embark on purchasing their very first property. What are they likely to know about the conveyancing process? Well, for a start, they might not even know that the ‘legals’ for property purchase is called ‘conveyancing’ and therefore they might have very little clue about what is going to be done on their behalf and how long it’s going to take?

If they have any view of conveyancing, then I suspect it will be from the media, family and friends, and the likelihood is that it’s not going to be the most positive understanding of the process. Most people are likely to have told them how long it’s going to take, how much it’s going to cost them, how much chasing and cajoling they’re going to have to do themselves, and perhaps how little value for money the process tends to deliver.

And, of course, these viewpoints can be valid – not all people have a positive experience. Let’s not deny their validity – after all, there’s a reason why the Government is seeking to improve the process, to make it cheaper, and to cut down on the number of transactions that fall through each year.

But, what of those who have been satisfied with the conveyancer and the work they carried out on their behalf? Perhaps we, as an industry, need to push these positive reviews forward a little more. Go on Trust Pilot for example and pick a conveyancer that you have/are about to recommend, and for every negative view, there’s likely to be at least 10 more that are positive about the service and the process.

And, lo and behold, these are for firms specialist in their sector and for whom the ‘day job’ is conveyancing, not something they feel they have to do because it’s come from the son/daughter of a long-standing client.

But, how do clients – whether a first-time buyer or otherwise – find themselves with the specialist rather than the dabbler? Well, the answer is via advisers like you. Advisers who do not wash their hands of the conveyancing recommendation and instead, embrace it, and deliver clients into the hands of those firms best-equipped to deal with their cases. And they do this via portals like our own which are set up to ensure the whole process is as simple as possible and that advisers can quickly make the recommendation, keep control of the transaction and earn extra income.

Let’s not shy away from this last point either because I believe it’s going to be increasingly important in 2019. We’ve already had lenders stopping lending due to market conditions; my view is that it’s going to be a difficult mortgage market to deal with in 2019 and beyond, and that advisers need to go back to the core messaging of providing a one-stop shop of all services, not just the mortgage. The anticipation must be that purchase activity will continue to flatline and remortgaging might not forge forward in the way it has once these 12 months are up.

To that end, advisers not only have the duty of care to their client to help them have the most positive mortgage advice experience, but they should cover GI/protection/conveyancing and all other needs as part of that. The client’s lasting view of the whole process will be the conveyancing and advisers who can provide the best service possible to their client via a recommendation are going to have a much better chance of leaving a good taste in their mouth(s).