The warning comes following the recent Mortgage Business Expo in Manchester where Conveyancing Alliance estimated that half of all those brokers spoken to had never offered a conveyancing recommendation to a client.
Conveyancing Alliance estimates that brokers who do not offer such a recommendation are missing out on an average of £150 to £200 per mortgage case. For an average mortgage of £100k, this is tantamount to an extra 0.2% on the procuration fee.
Many brokers spoken to by Conveyancing Alliance staff at Expo gave the following reasons why they were not involved in conveyancing:
- They had a lack of confidence in selling the product and, in particular, in recommending a solicitor when they had never done this before.
- The process was deemed to be too complicated, with not enough reward for the work involved.
- Clients were assumed to be picking their own solicitors and did not need the broker’s advice.
- They had never been asked by a client for a conveyancing referral.
Conveyancing Alliance exhibited at Mortgage Business Expo Manchester where it was promoting its Convey99 purchase conveyancing product.
Harpal Singh, Managing Director of Conveyancing Alliance Ltd, commented:
“For brokers, there are many benefits in being able to recommend a conveyancing service and we believe considerable numbers are missing out because they are basing their decision on false information or misconceptions about the work involved.
"This is not just about the added income to be made, although this is obviously appealing, but it is also the case that those involved in the transaction have much more control over the whole purchase/remortgage process and can successfully manage the client’s expectations because of this.
"Many brokers feel they are not in a position to offer such recommendations however we believe with some hard work and focus, plus the support of a quality distributor like ourselves, many more practices could be benefiting from the sector.
“In terms of income considerations, it’s certainly fair to say that no lenders are raising their procuration fees at the moment and the likelihood is that fees are going to fall further. Therefore, on an average mortgage case brokers can add a not insignificant £150 to £200 to their overall income.
"As a percentage of the procuration fee this makes a noticeable difference.
"We fully accept that some brokers find the products perplexing and overly complicated which is why we have worked to ensure that our most recent products are transparent and easy for both the broker and client to understand. It also helps when they are market-leading in terms of price.
"We believe we can help any broker who is looking to increase their income via conveyancing recommendations and would urge any firm interested in developing their proposition in this area to contact us immediately.”
