A new conveyancing collective has told of its ambitions to tackle the issues facing conveyancing one at a time and “from the inside out” in an effort to create a better conveyancing experience.
Speaking at the conclusion of the Bold Legal Group Conference on Wednesday, founder Rob Hailstone announced he would be launching the Conveyancing Improvement Collective (CIC), explaining it will be: “a small group of conveyancers who want to help resolve some of the issues that make the conveyancing process more complicated and stressful than it needs to be”.
Hailstone said the group has ambitions to grow into a series of “satellite collectives” that will operate within their own localities, working on solutions and feeding back centrally so “problems, ideas and solutions” can be raised with the relevant powers, including lenders, UK finance, regulators, insurers, brokers, agents and surveyors.
Conveyancers from all types of different firms are encouraged to take part and provide input.
“The CIC wants to tackle the day-to-day issues that slow the whole process down,” said Hailstone. “Anything and everything that conveyancers feel clogs up the home buying and selling process but are things that they can do something about by coming together and discussing as one.”
The group will initially focus on the number of unnecessary enquiries being raised and clarifying the need or not for mortgagee protection clauses.
Criticising the inconsistency across firms when raising pre-contract enquiries, Hailstone cited the example a contract pack sent to a firm acting for a potential buyer which raised six additional enquiries. When the sale was aborted for non-legal reasons, the same pack was sent to another firm – and 46 additional enquiries were raised.
“So, the first issue we want to address is the increasing number of additional enquiries that are being raised,” Hailstone said. The Bold Legal Group founder called for conveyancing firms to adopt the recommendations addressed in the Guidance for Raising Appropriate Conveyancing Enquiries (GRACE) document, compiled by Vicki Redman of Swiitch and the Bold Legal Group, with the input of conveyancers from 35 firms.
GRACE was launched at last year’s Bold Legal Group Conference, with its authors explaining its publication was in response to repeatedly receiving ‘wholly inappropriate” enquiries. GRACE was recently updated to account for the changes in the sixth edition TA6 Property Information Form.
The CIC will formally launch on or before 1st August with an initial group of around 10 conveyancers, with Hailstone hopeful further local collectives will develop over time. It will also work with “other groups and initiatives that already exist”, said Hailstone, in a nod to the myriad existing home moving improvement initiatives including the Home Buying and Selling Council, Digital Property Market Steering Group, and the Future Property Transactions Group.
“But we must remain focused and create a better conveyancing experience, from the inside out”, Hailstone urged the assembled conveyancers.
“We are not trying to boil the ocean in one go”, he added. “But just pick off one issue after another slowly but surely.
“We can’t do this alone, but if we all do a little, we can do this together.”
More information on the CIC and its objectives is available on its website.
Hailstone’s announcement came at the end of a successful day, which began with an update on the government’s home buying and selling consultation from Tom Treadwell, strategy adviser at the Minister of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The consultation had prompted “a rich discussion” with property professioinals, Treadwell said, with 1300 responses analysed over the last six months and currently being discussed by ministers.
Proposals will be announced “fairly soon”, he added, in the form of a traditional government consultation response.
“There’s also going to be a roadmap for reform; a strategic document setting out how government will reform the home buying and selling process over the remainder of this parliament”, he promised.
Mark Evans, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, discussed the future of conveyancing with conference founder Rob Hailstone, saying it had been “an honour and privilege” to be in the role during “exciting and challenging times” for the profession.
Acknowledging the increasing pressures on conveyancers, Evans said the SRA’s recent client interest proposals were introducing more risk for smaller firms, adding to the impact of AML regulations and HMRC’s tax adviser registration requirement “on a profession that is already flat out”.
However, he pointed out that since he began his career as a conveyancer in 1993, the sector took part in “regular meetings with politicians now, we have a voice at the table, and that didn’t used to happen”.
During a discussion of avoidable requisition rates, Nationwide Building Society’s risk manager Epi Pearce highlighted the “significant impact” of unregistered charges on lenders.
“If you have a high avoidable requisition rate we want to know why”, she explained. Encouraging conveyancers to complete HM Land Registry’s training, she added: “We want our applications and charges to go through as smoothly as possible.”
Further panels discussed the progress of the NPTN property network, with Today’s Conveyancer’s David Opie hosting a debate on the impact of HMRC’s requirement for conveyancers to register as tax advisers. The Council for Licensed Conveyancers’ research into referral fees was presented in the final panel of the day to a full auditorium, with the audience split on whether the fees should be banned.
Speaking to Today’s Conveyancer after the event, Hailstone thanked the many people who make it possible. “We’re always grateful for the sponsors, the team and my family, the delegates – everyone who makes it a great day.
“It’s a bit like a wedding, it takes a long time to set up and it’s over in one day, but hopefully people will take away something they can think about, reflect upon and even challenge.”
