conveyancing
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Latest property news
Leading solicitor savages online agencies for their sales progression shortcomings
A leading conveyancing solicitor has jumped head first into the online agency debate with a report that heavily criticises them for not providing enough sales progression support for their clients. South East solicitors Rix & Kay, which has offices in Sussex and Kent, has published the report today after six months spent interviewing 16 of its high street agency clients face-to-face, who between them have 127 branches. One of the key findings of the report is that many traditional agents are having to “fill in the gaps” left by online agents to stop chains collapsing. This is driving up costs for traditional agents who are then – in effect – paying to provide the service online agents cannot afford to, the report suggests. It also highlights how the public have little awareness of what sales progression is, how skilled agents need to do it well, and how critical it is to keeping chains in one piece. “During the last six months I’ve witnessed unrivalled passion for an industry which has suffered for decades from a tarnished reputation,” says the report’s author Scott Garner from Rix &Kay (pictured, left). “The traditional agents I spoke to have been central to their communities…
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Latest property news
Scotland leads the way in conveyancing with seven-days-a-week service for buyers
The weekend has always been every agent’s nightmare when a sale is going through the final stages as conveyancing solicitors down tools for a – probably – well-earned rest. But that is set to change in Scotland after a conveyancing firm announced that it is to begin a seven-days-a-week service to help buyers gain the competitive edge. Unlike other conveyancing firms including those in England and Wales that offer online case tracking and call-centres over the weekend, Edinburgh and Glasgow-based Gilson Gray says it will offer a full service including ‘live’ partners on hand to give advice. Weekend legal advice is a key differentiator in Scotland. There solicitors are the first port of call for buyers hoping to make an offer and, therefore, waiting for a whole weekend for their offices to open can be a disadvantage. Gilson Gray’s service will be offered to private purchasers at first before being rolled out to housebuilders, developers and mortgage brokers, who will be able to help their customers get ready to buy a property faster. “Traditionally, people look at a range of properties over the weekend and if they see one, they have to wait until the Monday to contact their solicitor…
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Latest property news
Is the Brexit effect finally over? Conveyancers and lenders report improving property market
Both conveyancers and mortgage lenders say the property market has recovered significantly in recent months, signalling a return to ‘business as usual’ in many areas of the country. This includes the workload of conveyancing solicitors which has risen to its highest for a year, with some firms experiencing an increase of up to 27% over the past three months, says data firm Search Acumen. Its Market Tracker reveals that transactions “bounced back” between July and September compared to the previous three months, when transactions nosedived. Between July and September conveyancing volumes increased from 210,964 to 254,606 or 21% between the two quarters. Search Acumen says the increase in case-load came directly from an improvement in the property market. But although the number of homes being sold has surged ahead recently, Search Acumen says the property market still has some way to go before it returns to complete health; transactions levels are still 6% down year-on-year, it says. “After the noticeable dip in conveyancing activity revealed by the Q2 2017 edition of the Market Tracker, it’s encouraging to see an uptick in activity through the summer period,” says Andrew Lloyd, Managing Director of Search Acumen (pictured, left). “The conveyancing industry has broadly…
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Latest property news
Agents don’t get proptech
Just five per cent of property businesses consider themselves technologically advanced, according to research by Qube Global Software.
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Features
Are conveyancers good at what they do?
One of the most frequent criticisms in the home buying and selling process is the legal delays – slowing down the conveyancing process, causing chains to break, creating frustration and fury. Is it all the law firms’ fault?
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Latest property news
Davis Tate celebrates 25 successful years
After a modest start at Goringon- Thames in January 1991, Davis Tate now celebrates 25 successful years of trading.
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Features
Can tech finally make sales progression more transparent?
Technology is making sales progression easier for all parties, it is claimed. Nigel Lewis talks to specialists leading the digital charge to keep the chain together.
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Latest property news
Guaranteed exchange of contracts in just 30 days
Conveyancing provider offers first class service with guaranteed timescales.
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Latest property news
Dezrezlegal reaches completion landmark
Dezrezlegal, which is based in Swansea, is celebrating its seventh birthday by reaching a company milestone after helping over 10,000 people move into new homes since its launch in 2009. Dezrezlegal, which offers an alternative approach to conveyancing services to individuals throughout the UK, has enjoyed a flying start to 2016. The firm has increased the size of its team by 10 per cent so far this year in a bid to keep up with demand. The landmark 10,000 figure was achieved during March, the firm’s busiest month on record, in which it helped 245 people complete on their purchases, reflecting national statistics that show the UK property market could be in for a bumper year. Laura Burkinshaw, director of Dezrezlegal, said, “Last year was quite a busy time for the housing market when one in 60 people moved house at some point. Figures from the Office for National Statistics and the Land Registry back up the demand we have seen in our own business. “We are delighted to have achieved what is a notable landmark for the business. We take pleasure in knowing that every one of those customers had a better and smoother experience when moving thanks to…
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Latest property news
Property sales boost was no April Fool
31st March was a busy day for My Home Move, completing a record number of property transactions. To help people complete their property transactions before the 1st April stamp duty changes came into play, My Home Move – provider of mover conveyancing services – alongside many others in the industry worked around the clock to complete a record of 1,210 property transactions on 31st March. This was a significant jump of 40% from the previous record in December last year. My Home Move completed more cases on 31st March alone than 93% of conveyancing firms completed in the whole of 2015. As a result, this marked both a record day and record month of completions for the business and is likely to have been a similar story across the industry. The record day also made it a record month, with My Home Move completing a total of 6,178 mover transactions in March, a 22% increase from its previous monthly record in October 2015 (5,060 completions). Doug Crawford (left), CEO, said, “There was a great amount of dedication last Thursday and in the preceding days and weeks to help customers purchasing an additional property and win the race to save on…
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