Today's Conveyancer Podcast

Having talked about keeping the search industry on its toes in their previous appearance on the podcast, Kevin Johnson and Jeremy Dorkins of On Point Data join the latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast to provide update on their progress over the last 18 months, climate change, the quality of search information and advice for practitioners, and the pace of technological change in the property sector.

With the Law Society Property Conference hosting a panel discussion on the topic, and updated guidance for practitioners recently published, climate change is a hot potato for conveyancers. The Law Society is clear, where further guidance is required, conveyancers must refer to the data providers; a sentiment echoed by Kevin:

Solicitors are are not subject matter experts on climate change, or planning for example. It is our role to firms in touch with the right people to help them best advise their clients.

Another issue Jeremy sees is the wrong reports being requested for the type of land use and transaction they're conducting and it is the role of search companies to ensure the reports which best suit conveyancers' need is recommended. 

On the progress of technology and speed of change both agree the "train has left the station" but there is still a lot of technology solving individual problems; where there needs to be a much more cohesive effort. It's likely, says Kevin, we need government intervention to really make progress.

But there are signs we're moving in the right direction adds Jeremy; don't forget it wasn't that long ago we were printing reams of pdfs, using DX and franking machines to send piles of paper search reports to firms. It was a big step forward for lawyers to be accepting reports by pdf and email.. and these steps keep happening as technology improves.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

The Today's Conveyancer Podcast once again brings you the results of the latest Property Trends Report, published by Landmark.

Host David Opie is joined by regular guest Ben Robinson, Managing Director of Landmark Estate Agency Services. This time Landmark Divisional Director Mike Holden joins to lend his expertise to the discussion which looks at the property market statistics for Q3 2024.

This shorter podcast looks at trends across property listing volumes, Sold Subject to Contract (SSTC) numbers, searches ordered and completions and benchmarks current numbers against 2019 data; the last time the property market was in a broadly "normal" cycle.

This latest report sees supply return to the market, with listing volumes above 2019 numbers but with most other measures well below, there is a sense that many movers await the promised reductions in interest rates, and the upcoming budget at the end of October.

Listen in to this shorter podcast which explores the broader trends behind the data and looks ahead at what's in store for the remainder of 2024 and into 2025. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Firms and businesses who want to be found locally online for their products and services need to consider 149 different factors in order to ensure their online presence is search engine friendly.

This is according to Ben Marley, formerly of Rightmove, feefo and ESTAS, who joins the latest Today's Conveyancer podcast to discuss the launch of Geocale; a Google business profile management service that helps firms and businesses to be found, be chosen and be recommended in their locality.

The business was borne out of his experience working with firms to improve their online presence and focuses on helping organisations set up their Google My Business account, and manage it proactively, to appear higher on the map rankings.

And while we know most searches for services start online, if you needed any more evidence of searches for legal services with a local intent, Ben highlights there are 27,000 searches p/m for the term "Solicitor near me"; and 12,000 p/m for "Conveyancer near me".

These 149 factors influence the search results Google provides for search queries and the more you can align with what Google is looking for, the ore likely you are to appear both on the map, and higher up in the search results.

During the discussion Ben shares his top tips for firms for how they can improve some of the fundamental mistakes he sees on a daily basis; including ensuring names, addresses and opening times match up; being clear about locality; and requesting and responding to online reviews.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Ryan Sparrow, a digital content specialist in the legal division of The Access Group joins podcast host David Opie to discuss a newly published report on the current state of conveyancing.

"The State of the UK Conveyancing Market", now in its third year, draws on data and expertise from a range of sources including HM Land Registry, technology and data providers, and industry commentators.

The picture is mixed; transaction volumes are down 20% on last year, the number of active conveyancers in the market is down 9%. There are fewer firms dong more cases, and more firms doing fewer cases; the bottom 50% of active firms have completed on average 47 cases p/a... less than one a week. Over 1000 firms have done 10 cases or fewer; of which nearly 300 have completed just one case.

There is some leeway in the exact numbers given delays at HMLR and some data, like new-build, being skewed, but there is a general trend. 

"It raises the question of dabbling" says Ryan. "Do these firms have the appropriate expertise and risk management measures in place around things like anti-money laundering for example, which is a huge issue for conveyancers."

At the other end of the scale, the largest conveyancer completed 11,000 purchase transactions last year; 2% of the market total. The numbers fall dramatically thereafter with the 4th largest conveyancer completed just 50% of that number, and once you get down to the 50th largest by transaction volume, the number of transactions is c.10% of the largest. The report itself also looks at the breakdown regionally.

Other issues raised by the report include client complaints around communication and delays (a growing problem year on year identified by the Legal Ombudsman),  business development and referrals.

The third edition of "The State of the UK Conveyancing Market" is available to download now.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Sayinthen Vivekanantham is the latest guest on the Today's Conveyancer Podcast to discuss his second career as founder of prop-tech solution Homey.

In his first career Say was a medical doctor until a few years ago when his side-hustle in developing a small property portfolio turned into a passion for helping estate agents and conveyancers work better together.

Homey has two sides; an estate agent referral element, and a client on-boarding element. Homey can facilitate the flow of work between estate agents and conveyancers, enabling firms to 'make more money from a captive referral base' says Say.

There is an opportunity to incorporate referral fees, but Say is clear Homey doesn't have a position on whether referral fees are good or bad. However, whoever is building technology in the property space would be foolish to ignore the way in which many transactions are currently instructed via a financial incentive; we can't be 'utopian' about this issues he adds.

Clearly referral fees squeeze margins so our focus should be on how we can play our part in creating greater efficiency in the process and raising fees. Say adds the profession must also play its part and encourage greater commerciality amongst staff. The law is a vocation, and the motivation to do a good job is admirable, but ultimately we must ensure we make the right commercial decisions to enable firms to grow; and do the right thing by your staff and shareholders/partners.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Celebrating 25 years in business, X-Press Legal Services co-founder Dave Lister joins the latest Today's Conveyancer podcast to discuss the changes he has seen in his time in the industry.

X-Press Legal Services, a search and ancillary services provider, is run by Dave and his wife Lynne, and their 3 adult children. The origins go back to Lynne's time in publishing when as the editor of a franchise magazine, she was introduced to the Property Search Group (PSG). The rest, as they say, is history.

In the 25 years since the business has seen the search industry change beyond almost all recognition. In the early days everything was paper-based, there was no digital services, says Dave. And they would spend hours and days hopping between local authorities to get the information.

He empathises with the sentiment that conveyancers are under far too much pressure; everything we do is to help the conveyancer and make their life easier says Dave.

There is still a place for the personal touch, recounting a recent call with a client about an issue identified with lead mining. You can't automate the process, he adds, there are too many rabbit holes. You won't ever remove the human from the process.

He calls on the profession to continue to collaborate and work together; and set expectations accordingly when it comes to access to data; let's not confuse the word "open" with the word "free" - these companies have spent huge sums of money building these data sets; we can't expect them to provide access free of charge.

Dave says he will continue to play an active part in the business despite approaching a milestone birthday, and continues to enjoy working in the sector and alongside his family.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

As one of the disruptors in the wake of the Legal Services Act 2007 QualitySolicitors (QS) was launched in 2009 with the ambition to help the high street fight back against the anticipated onslaught of major brands entering the legal market - so-called 'Tesco Law.'

QS grew rapidly, with firms up and down the country adopting the familiar black and pink branding, adding the name "QualitySolicitors" to their firm name to create greater brand recognition. In 2011 an investment of c.£100m saw Palamon Capital Partners take a majority stake in the group.

In the years since QS has remained steadfast in its support for the high street and, after a short stint as part of Metamorph, emerged relatively unscathed following a Management Buyout (MBO) in 2022.

On this latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast, host David Opie welcomes CEO Richard Skelley and Chief Operating Officer Victoria Browning to discuss what's next for QS.

There is still much continuity; Victoria has been with the business since 2016 overseeing much of the work done to support firms with recruitment and business development, employer branding and conveyancing panel services. And equally there are breaks from the past; QS firms no longer need to rebrand their firm for example.

The business is now focused on 4 key principles, explains Richard. The QS Way: A Philosophy for Sustainable Growth covers People, Process & Procedures, Power of Many, and Profile - principles supported by continued to efforts to help firms through the QualitySolicitors consumer-facing website which still generates 1m hits annually.

And membership has been reviewed with a new tiered approach offering free, 'lite' and full options for firms. It is, says Richard, a much more flexible approach than previously.

We've kept the great bits QS had - we have over 100 sites across the country and still have clients that joined right at the start - and augmented it with a range new options based on member feedback, concludes Richard, adding we are always happy to talk to firms interested in learning more about how QS can support them in the growth ambitions.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

In a wide ranging interview Deputy Vice President of the Law Society Mark Evans talks to Today's Conveyancer podcast host David Opie about his experience of working in property law, and more recently his role as a Tutor at the University Of Law.

In October Mark will transition from Deputy Vice President to the role of Vice-President, and ultimately President of the Law Society in 2025, and discusses his view of conveyancing and the challenges and opportunities facing the profession.

The Law Society's upcoming Property Law Conference in October will cover many of the topics conveyancers need to know about; including the next round of guidance on climate change, legislative updates, TA6 consultation and technology and Mark encourages practitioners to attend and stay up to date on the latest sector goings on. 

As a tutor at the University of Law, Mark is on the frontline of education and eulogises to his students about the importance having a home remains to the general public. We will always need conveyancers, says Mark, and goes on to defend students and newly-qualified conveyancers from some of the criticism levelled at them and their understanding of land law.

It is incumbent on firms to ensure they continually invest and train their staff and ultimately support them to be better at their jobs.

The discussion finishes with a synopsis of the Law Society's current work on the TA6 consultation. With a timetable now in place, and having chaired the recent Special General Meeting personally, Mark says he is pleased to see the level of engagement from around the profession and is looking forward to being involved in the consolation in the coming months. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has recently requested law firms complete an anti-money laundering and sanctions data collection exercise. The SRA is required by Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) to take a risk-based approach to supervision and is requesting firms complete the requested information as full as possible.

It will, they say enable them to "see the distribution of risk across the legal profession, which in turn informs our programme of inspections and our guidance."

The latest Today's Conveyancer podcast welcomes Gavin Ball of HiveRisk to tackle the tricky topic of what firms need to be thinking about when it comes to completing the information, and wider considerations when it comes to firms' anti-money laundering policies, processes and procedures.

In 2024 alone law firms have been fine £200,000 directly relating to failures in their anti-money laundering and sanctions processes.

Gavin goes on to discuss the areas he sees firms failing on as a compliance specialist. He talks technology and how it can help firms with their compliance obligations but warns the key is understanding what the information is telling you... in their audits the SRA will challenge firms and staff to interpret reports provided through technology and how to interpret its content.

Gavin also discusses politically exposed persons (PEPs), sanctions, and how to deal with reporting suspicious activity (SARs) to the National Crime Agency (NCA) in this informative and insightful podcast. 

The deadline for firms to complete the SRA form is by 13.00 on 23 September 2024

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

A general election, interest rates, mortgage rates and the European Championships... a perfect storm of economic, political and social issues have come together to continue to strangle the property market according to the latest Landmark Property Trends Report for the second quarter of 2024.

The report tracks property listing volumes, Sold Subject to Contract (SSTC) numbers, searches ordered and completions and benchmark current numbers against 2019 data; the last time the property market was in a broadly "normal" cycle.

Podcast host David Opie is joined by Managing Director of Ochresoft Rob Gurney, and Managing Director of Landmark Estate Agency Services Ben Robinson to discuss the results of the latest report which identifies listings being 6% up on 2019, SSTC 32% down on 2019 levels, and completions some 40% down.

It all points to a disconnect between the start of the transaction, which is positive with more properties coming to market and more choice, and the end of the transaction.

"The property market is not like a waterfall flowing freely from top to bottom" says Rob Gurney. "Rather it's much more like a bottle of ketchup, needing intermittent taps to encourage progress, with a splurge of completions anticipated soon."

When exactly that will be remains up for debate.

"The Summer holidays has traditionally seen a slowdown in property activity before ramping up in the Autumn" adds Ben Robinson.

"Most of the reasons we've seen for the property market being held back seem to have been alleviated," concludes Rob Gurney.

Watch this space...

CLICK HERE to review the Landmark Property Trends Report Q2 2024

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.