Conveyancing lawyers have identified lenders’ panel-selection decisions as their greatest threat in the next 12 months, according to a survey carried out by property search provider Search Flow.
The arrival of the alternative business structure (ABS), on the other hand, has so far made little impact, while the weak property market and the cost of insurance are also low on the list of concerns of the 108 conveyancing firms surveyed.
Nearly half of respondents said they had no plans to adapt their business to the arrival of ABS, but 15 per cent said they would increase their marketing spend and ten per cent plan to offer fixed fees.
Richard Hinton, Business Development Director at SearchFlow, said: “Despite initial concerns as to the impact of the Legal Services Act, in terms of the licensing of new forms of legal practice to deliver legal services, it appears to have made little difference so far.”
The Law Society is currently negotiating with Santander over its decision to shed firms from its conveyancing panel, and has asked business secretary Vince Cable to intervene. It is also asking solicitors to lobby their MPs over the issue of lender panels and consumer choice.
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