Conveyancing grows online

It has emerged that conveyancing needs online are forever growing, and with the Royal Institution of Charted Surveyors (RICS) claiming a slight improvement in the UK property market, house and mortgage inquiries are also rising.

Therefore, an online conveyancing website had appointed two property experts as development directors to build relationships with intermediaries across Great Britain.

The web portal believes that by offering brokers face-to-face meetings to see the service in action, it will mean more intermediaries will realise how easy it is to access the best conveyancing solutions for their customers.

The group has also established itself as a major player in the intermediary conveyancing market over the past year, and offers its intermediary users penny accurate quotes from a carefully selected panel of conveyancing firms through its 24/7 online service with online instruction and updates.

Steve Maine, managing director of the online firm, said: "We are pleased to appoint [the experts] to these new roles." They have "already helped us to establish the panel and introduce intermediaries." They "both have extensive knowledge of the market and are therefore ideally placed to understand broker concerns and demonstrate why [we] can help them provide a better service."

One of the experts commented that they "are extremely excited to bring the [...] message to the mass market." They added that the online firm "offers such a simple and effective answer to brokers' conveyancing issues, and the website also offers HIPS and will writing services. [The group] is a one stop shop built on the best technology, but concentrates on good old fashioned service," they stated.

Groups should diversify if they wish to withstand a changing world

In related news, according to research conveyancers are facing huge pressure over fees but have largely failed to diversify into other sectors.

The information comes after a major supermarket chain worked alongside an estate agency to launch a new property tool to help customers selling or buying homes.

Reports believe that the new product will be a "major force in the distribution of conveyancing and associated legal services" and would "certainly consider applying for a formal licence to offer legal services in 2011."

The survey of 117 law firms by search company MDA SearchFlow, found that 62% said they were now under more price pressure from clients compared with a year ago.

More than a third said their business had been 'significantly' affected by the downturn, and another 38% said it had been 'somewhat' affected. Respondents said they faced growing competition from online conveyancers and panels.

Despite this, 60% of companies had taken no steps to diversify into other areas in the past year. Those that had done so had mostly gone into probate and litigation.

David Kempster, marketing manager at MDA SearchFlow, said: "This is the first time we've seen high-street firms facing such pressure on price, and is combined with the impact of the recession and reduced sales."

Many industry insiders fear that without appropriate changes and guidance that comes with these reforms, the new product (which could be followed by many others) will have a massively negative impact on the sector.


Despite conveyancing and mortgage enquires increasingly growing online, many still fear that the property industry cannot cope with the changing world, and experts have stated that groups must learnt to diversify if they wish to cope with the recession and new products that are coming into the sector.