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"Houseful" is probably best known for the property portal Zoopla, but the technology giant is steadily building an array of property and data businesses and has under it's umbrella estate agent software Alto, new homes software Yourkeys and Hometrack, a UK provider of automated valuations and property insights.
Their latest venture, Movemnt, launched in July 2024 and through their relationship with LMS soon said it was working with 6 of the top 10 conveyancers by volume in the country; somewhat flying in under the radar.
In this latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast, host David Opie is joined by Houseful Product Director, Owen Rogers, tasked with developing their first foray into the conveyancing market.
Owen explains Movemnt is a network where conveyancers can connect with the Houseful ecosystem of estate agents and consumers. It will enable conveyancers to grow their business and provide an 'integration layer' for the exchange of data and communication.
Challenged on Movemnt being another panel management solution, Owen says distribution is a key component of the tool and there will be expectations on, for example, uniform onboarding but the solution is being pitched as a 'data exchange, a connectivity layer' integrating data from conveyancer's systems to other players in the home transaction.
Which leads on to material and up front information which Owen says is a 'catalyst event' for the industry driving the importance of conveyancers up the transaction. The other key driver for change is the Data (Use and Access) Bill which has been introduced into Parliament which seeks to enable data to be used and shared with relevant permissions. Owen sees it compelling the industry to share data, at the request of consumers and will remove much of the current duplication of effort. But, he warns, it will still be incumbent on technology providers like Houseful to work with insurers to support property professionals in their use and reliance on shared data.
Given there is much work going on silos around solving the current issues on material and up front information, reliance on third party data and duplication, is Houseful simply bringing another technology product to market that doesn't solve the fundamental issue that moving home is a hugely collaborative and complicated affair, bringing multiple parties together.
No, says Owen, through its relationships with estate agents, lenders, and consumers, in many ways conveyancing was a missing part of the jigsaw for the business; "I can't think of another business that is as well positioned with its product, distribution, development house, and partnerships as Houseful."
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. -
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. -
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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. -
Movera CEO Nick Hale joins the latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast to discuss the his, and Movera's, progress since his last appearance on the podcast in July 2023.
Across its businesses Movera touch c.25% of all remortgage and sale and purchase transactions. Having been in the role for 2 years, Nick reflects on what he wishes he'd known when taking on the role, that he knows now.
He shares the objectives of Movera which is to improve the home moving experience for people, partners and clients, in a sector where none of those have been particularly well served. He describes how they have adopted a mantra of making the home moving experience "digital when it can be, and personal when it needs to be" recognising that people are at the heart of the business, and that they are one half of a legal system which has players "across the value chain."
It is clear, says Nick, change had started, and it will accelerate with the emergence of players who have the capacity and ability to make decisive change in the home moving process.
He explains how their own investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and automation is designed to help his team spend more time using their technical skills; and says over the past 12 months they have delivered over 500 remortgage transactions in less than 48 hours, and 1500 in less than 5 days. It is, he adds, their ambition to 'lead the market on merit' and points to their net promoter score (NPS) "high 60s early 70s."
Drawn on the criticisms levelled at volume conveyancing businesses Nick hits back at comments online and at a recent conference describing these organisations as "factory muppets."
He suggests that language is not acceptable, or professional and is indicative of a lack of understanding and respect for the larger organisations. Within his own he says they have created career pathways; introduced the Movera Academy which all staff go through and introduces learning interventions and upskilling across the business; improved their NPS scores; with a team who are committed according to their latest feedback
There is, he adds, a bigger story here, highlighting the frustration and tension in the sector. But we can use technology to release that tension. There is a growing group of people and businesses who want to make improvements to the sector
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 collaboration between conveyancing firm Simply Conveyancing and property technology business Orbital Witness is the topic of discussion in the latest Today's Conveyancer podcast .
Host David Opie is joined by Sue Bence, Chief Operating Officer at Simply Conveyancing, and Ed Boulle, co-founder of Orbital Witness to discuss the introduction of Orbital's title checking software, which uses large language model artificial intelligence to support and speed up the title investigation process.
The offering is currently aimed at leasehold transactions where it first digitises the documents before they are fed into the engine developed by Orbital Witness, which incorporates elements of AI, to answer standard form questions within a minute.
It's not a replacement for a conveyancer, says Ed Boulle, rather it significantly reduces the time it takes to triage a new matter; uncover any issues and roadblocks; enables you to communicate those with the client; allocate the most appropriate fee earner to the case; and importantly introduce greater consistency to the process.
The discussion outlines some of the process and metrics Simply Conveyancing used as part of its initial pilot to understand the potential impact on efficiency and quality improvement for the firm. Sue tackles the benefits of early identification of complex cases and issues, better and more consistent way of reporting, and the costs associated with pilots like this. There has to be a clear cost/benefit analysis and she encourages firms to look at capacity, time and productivity opportunities available to conveyancers.
Sue also explores the response of the staff which ranged from welcoming through to scepticism; and discusses how Simply identified change agents in their business who helped smoothe the transition and support the introduction of new technology. Far from replacing the skills of the conveyancer, the idea here is very much to support them, says Sue.
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. -
Do conveyancers get the credit they perhaps deserve for the progress they have made in adopting technology and new processes? Do they come under pressure to adopt change and technology and how can we improve the way we introduce process and change management in our businesses and bring people along with us on that journey?
How can we ensure our staff are both technically competent, and have the soft skills required for the role; conveyancing is an increasingly multi-faceted role with technology, legal expertise, stakeholder management, client experience and customer service skills all critical to an individual's success.
All topics of conversation in the latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast with guest Gemma Fulbrook-Felstead, Operations Director at Collaborative Conveyancing. The discussion explores the challenges of change management and introducing new technologies and processes, encouraging firms to visualise what the short, medium and long term impact of change could be. Gemma also discusses how we can support people with individuality and flair within process driven roles.
And on the topic of change management Gemma draws on her experience working in management consultancy in getting firms to draw out of staff their fears and concerns around change and drilling into the "why" of change so people can understand and challenge it.
But firms must also be cautious of process and technology change; conveyancers use an average of 3.7 technology systems in their roles and as Gemma says, what we don't want is to introduce changes that end up creating barriers, or clash... we need them to be cohesive and seamless.
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. -
Nicola Ashley and Nicola Davies are former conveyancers and now founders of outsourced title investigation service N Title. They join podcast host David Opie on this latest Today's Conveyancer podcast to discuss their journey over the past 4 years, as well as exploring the opportunities outsourcing provides firms to flex up and down without adding significant overhead.
By their own admission the business model has pivoted in the time they have been in business. Having set up anticipating they would be running an overflow service for the majority of their clients, they are now an integrated part of firms' processes up and down the country.
Nicola and Nicola explain how firms adapt their processes depending on the nature of the title, with increasingly complex investigations now being sent to them, instead of being dealt with in house. They are also engaged to cover holidays and staff absence.
As a result of their expertise they are often called upon to provide training, and say their reports can be used as training tools. On the topic of enquiries they are clear; they will raise only relevant and necessary enquiries, borne out of the experience of their team.
With a fragile market, and uncertainty around transaction volumes, especially with the upcoming election, there is merit, they say, in looking at employment vs outsourcing models and considering what works best for the law firm of the future.
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 discussion which will no doubt elicit cries of empathy and a collective nod from compliance teams in law firms up and down the country, Lucy Batten joins the latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast to discuss her role as Executive Director and Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) at Gloucestershire-based Montpellier Legal. Her role encompasses oversight of the full gamut of compliance and regulatory requirements placed on the modern law firm and she fulfils the role of Money Laundering Compliance Officer (MLCO) and Senior Reporting Officer (SRO) for the CQS regime.
In a wide-ranging discussion on the extent of the role, the importance of empowerment and training, and the practicalities of keeping a team on the straight and narrow, Lucy articulates the challenges she faces, and the tools she adopts to ensure the firm remains compliant.
Lucy also goes into detail about a recent SRA AML audit the firm was the subject of; providing some insight into the expectations of the audit, and the firm's take-aways and learnings from the inspection. Critical, says Lucy, is the level of detail in firm's Practice Wide Risk Assessment (PWRA); it is also important that all staff understand the policies and procedures in place as they will be interviewed.
Lucy moves on the discuss the importance of training and explaining to staff why we do what, which will embed the learning and understanding. She reminds us of why we conduct money laundering checks; to protect the firm and more importantly, to protect the public. It cannot be seen as a tick-box exercise, says Lucy, and demonstrates the need for firms to dedicate more resource to compliance roles and responsibilities.
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 this specially recorded podcast, the Today's Conveyancer podcast joins forces with its sister podcasts from the Today's Wills and Probate and Today's Family Lawyer online news publications to discuss the topic of mental health and wellbeing ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week, from 13th May 2024.
Podcast host David Opie welcomes Legal Director at Convey Law Laura Burkinshaw, Michael Culver (Culver Law) and Marc Etherington (Rayden Solicitors) to discuss the mental health and wellbeing of those working across residential conveyancing, private client and family law. The three guests identify some shared, and unique, challenges they face in their own roles, and discuss their own experiences of dealing with their mental health and wellbeing.
What is clear from the discussion is that legal services is taking mental health and wellbeing much more seriously than it ever has; with firms taking a more proactive approach to support for staff.
The podcast moves on to explore a range of skills and tools we can employ in our own mental health and wellbeing journeys to cope with the stresses and strains of modern legal life; with some fantastic ideas shared to help people exercise their bodies and minds, cope and deal with their roles, and get into what is described as their "flow state"; the experience of being so absorbed by an engaging, enjoyable task that your attention is completely held by it.
The podcast is being published as part of Mental Health Awareness Week 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. -
In this latest episode of the Today's Conveyancer Podcast host David Opie discusses the challenges firms face with the Building Safety Act (BSA). Liz Ramsden and Hannah Page, Senior Associate and Associate respectively at law firm Knights who have immersed themselves in all things Building Safety Act and now act on behalf of Knights in matters where the BSA applies; and have also worked with other conveyancing and property law firms to support them.
Liz and Hannah explore what the key issues are, not least of which is whether the property actually comes under the scope of the act. It is, says Liz, a hugely complex piece of legislation. Every property is different and each transaction must be taken on its own merits. It can also be difficult to establish where liability sits with regards the landlord or developer.
Hannah concurs, adding that even determining the height of the building is a critical element that conveyancers should be seeking external advise on from surveyors.It is also common for leaseholder deed of certificates and and landlord certificates to be incorrectly completed; and some lenders won't lend on non-qualifying leases
The list of woes continues; the BSA is open to interpretation and getting it wrong could have catastrophic consequences for individuals and firms, Advice in many cases is to obtain guidance from counsel but this tends to increase costs.
What is apparent is the attitude of professional indemnity insurers toward transactions involving the BSA, which has been understandably risk-averse. Knights have actively engaged to demonstrate expertise, procedures, policies, disclaimers, enquiries and retainers which have been agreed between the firm and PI insurers to enable them to do their work on BSA. Critically, they have been clear on what they will, and will not, undertake as part of their work.
This wide ranging discussion explores the challenges presented by BSA, the interim updates which make the act more workable, and some practical advice on how firms can address BSA related issues with transactions.
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. -
Joining the latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast is Dan Temple, an expert in acknowledging and understanding the human impact of working, and managing employees and businesses. The discussion centres on creating effective and high performing teams, and what steps law firms can, and should, be taking to enable this in their business.
There should be a clear objective and vision which can be communicated to the teamRoles and responsibilities are clearly defined and people understand their own contribution to successProcesses and procedures are in place that ensure the training is effectivePeople have to have the ability to get on with others; they don't necessarily need to like one another, but there must be mutual respect
Dan leads Cobalt Human Solutions, a training consultancy which focuses on creating effective teams, drawn from his own experiences in the Royal Air Force as part of the Chinook helicopter crew.
The podcast discusses how creating high performing teams requires a number of key elements. Dan describes how trust and accountability are paramount.Ultimately, says Dan, the environment and culture of the workplace is where the success and failure of organisations is derived. He suggests that one of the key failings he identifies in many businesses is a blame culture; the inability of staff to be open, honest and appropriately challenge - what Dan describes as a "just culture." Staff are fearful of doing something wrong, rather than challenging management.
As well as root cause analysis, Dan encourages organisations to conduct "pre-mortems" - the idea being that you spend time identifying potential pitfalls in a plan and anticipate how you might deal with them should they arise.
And if you ever wanted to understand how the difference between egg mayonnaise and aircraft is relevant to leadership and management, listen in to this insightful and entertaining discussion.
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. -
Host David Opie is joined by Landmark Estate Agency Services MD Ben Robinson, and Ochresoft MD Rob Gurney for this short review of the latest Property Trends Report, covering January to March 2024.
Covering listings, sold-subject-to-contract, search ordering and completions, the data provides insight into the current market conditions, and provides an indicator for what we might expect in the coming months.
Listen in for expert insight and discussion on the latest stats from across the property market.
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. - Vis mere
