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14 | Conveyancing
Test of time
Speedy conveyancing is key to a good service.
Phil Whitehouse, head of The Mortgage Alliance
(TMA), shares with us some findings from its
broker research into conveyancing
inancial services and the British vital for brokers to maximise opportunities in intermediary without a link, or access to a link,
F
public in general do love a bit of every link of the mortgage chain amidst renewed with a good conveyancer to really investigate this
research and statistical data. tough market conditions. area of the market.
Ranging from how property As a mortgage club it is important to get close
prices have performed in any to our members to ensure we are providing Panels
given month through to the them with all the necessary components to their Other results from The Mortgage Alliance
names of the naughtiest children’s offering. With the housing market positivity (TMA) inaugural conveyancing broker survey
name, we continue to be introduced to a raft of resonating around the industry we felt it was an found that almost nine out of ten directly
useful and not so useful information. appropriate time to quiz members on their authorised brokers use lenders panel solicitors
Research and surveys, when done correctly, conveyancing experiences. but the majority find the service received only
can certainly help a business to gauge their ‘average’ amidst calls for greater consistency. The
customers’ views on what they require and if Research survey found that 88% of DA brokers said they
their needs are being served. They can certainly Whilst the research we undertook was on a face- did currently use lenders panel solicitors,
highlight any areas that may need addressing as to-face basis which resulted in a relatively small however, the majority (60%) only classed this
well as underlining the things that are being sample of the overall market, this fitted with our service as being average overall. 22% highlighted
done right. They can be also be used to gauge current ethos in regards to getting closer to the service as being good, 14% as being poor
potential demand in a new market or simply to members. We firmly believe this sample reflects and 4% as being very poor. Respondents cited a
test the resolve of an existing one. They also wider market conditions and concerns. The great variety in service quality from lender to
generate many headlines. results are interesting and looking at the overall lender which encouraged them to plump for the
As a nation we remain fixated on property picture an immediate alarm bell that rang out ‘average’ option. DAs surveyed also commented
prices. At the time of writing, the headlines was the fact that there were still some that they would benefit from greater consistency
currently staring back at me are variations on intermediaries who admitted to not in service standards. In terms of the quality of
the theme that house prices are now back to recommending a conveyancer or legal services service of lender panel solicitor offerings it’s fair
where they were at this time in 2008. The provider to their clients. to say that DAs reported experiencing high’s and
September figures released by the Nationwide Whilst, thankfully, this number proved only low’s and they are, quite rightly, looking for
suggest that the average price of a home last to be a small proportion, roughly one in ten greater service consistency.
month rose by 0.9% to £161,816, almost (12%), it is still worrying to us that there are When asked what factors brokers looked for
identical to that of September 2008. directly authorised brokers still missing out on a in a good conveyancing proposition, 36% of
The building society reports that house prices quick and simple way to earn a decent referral those surveyed reported a quick turnaround to
have now risen for five months in a row. It’s a fee. Not only that, by referring clients to a be the most important element when dealing
statement that has been made with increasing conveyancer, the intermediary can keep an with a conveyancer or legal services provider.
familiarity over the past few months but there is element of control of the transaction by using 21% highlighted the size of referral fee as being
sufficient cumulative evidence to suggest that case tracking facilities to make sure the the top of their list, 14% quoted getting a fixed
the housing market is slowly but surely mortgage case continues smoothly to fee as being at the pinnacle of their agenda with
emerging from the darker times. There are still completion. In a tough market it is vital not to online case tracking being the focal point for
plenty of reasons to be cautious but it remains miss out on such opportunities and I urge any 7%. 22% stated that other factors were key
November 2009 Mortgage Introducer www.mortgageintroducer.com
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