When we received a promotional email from a company offering “cut-price conveyancing by qualified and experienced solicitors” we decided to take them up on their offer and called for a quote. Unfortunately, no-one was available to take our call, so they couldn’t give us the low-price they had promised. We find it surprising that some consumers still do not understand that a low-cost service can only mean cheaper, fewer and less-experienced staff to deal with their issues. Ironically, the payment of referral fees reduces the margin that providers can make, resulting in an even poorer service. We continue to question the ethics and the wisdom of such fees, as the quality of a referred company directly reflects on the company giving the referral and ask how can any company concerned about its reputation recommend a supplier that has been forced by their actions to offer a poor quality service?
Planning permission required for HMOs
A recent change in the law has meant that landlords looking for buy-to-let properties may find it more difficult than before. Since April 6th, under an amendment to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, all properties that have not been let out to multiple individuals (Houses in Multiple Occupation - HMOs) previously, must receive planning approval from the local authority if an owner wishes to change their use to do so. The rationale behind this change is to try and reduce “student-only” areas of towns, but its impact could be far-reaching. We have already experienced a local authority refusing planning permission to one of our clients which halted a deal that was close to exchange.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) concerns
One of the most common frustrations with EPCs is for sellers of older or more unusual properties, especially where clients have spent time and money improving their properties to make them more energy efficient. For certain types of properties, such improvements do not always result in good energy ratings and high fuel bill estimates, and this can be highly disappointing. Agents should be aware that we are happy to provide an explanatory sheet for clients explaining the reasons for their rating, which can often help to reduce tensions in such circumstances.
Website launch focussing on conveyancing service
We continue to be delighted with the positive response from clients and agents to our responsiveness and professionalism with our conveyancing services. After just a couple of months, agents are referring clients to us for conveyancing due to the confidence we have been able to generate with our proven communication expertise. Our new iPartnership system is proving extremely popular, enabling agents and clients to keep track of the case as well as add their own questions and comments.
iPartnership is accessed in exactly the same way as our existing system and our new website will be going live later this month.
