The ides of March were all about conveyancing

March has been a very interesting month in the world of conveyancing, not least because we at the CA – and I’m sure many of our member firms – took a full part in the first ever National Conveyancing Week (NCW).

 

I was very disappointed to not be at the NCW as I was on the other side of the world, but there was a great deal of involvement from the CA and we had lots of buy-in for it. 

 

It was clearly a major moment for our industry and I should give a huge ‘shout out’ to Rob Hailstone, David Opie and all those who helped put together the week-long series of events which I think went a very long way to highlighting the conveyancing sector, supporting firms as they seek to navigate a changing market, and indeed drawing much greater attention to the role of conveyancing and conveyancers in the buying/selling process.

 

As many have said to me before, conveyancing tends to be the least understood of all parts of the process and yet, arguably – although I admit many would disagree with me – the most important. If conveyancers don’t carry out the work then no-one gets to buy or sell. It’s really that simple.

 

Which is why we at the CA have been very supportive of National Conveyancing Week, and it’s my hope this will be repeated year after year, because I think we would all agree, the central role of conveyancing in the process does need to be highlighted, and we as a property market – and all stakeholders – need to come together regularly to push forward those initiatives and measures which will improve the experience for all.

 

There were a lot of events through the week, and I know member firms also opened up their doors to industry contacts, old and new. However, if you were not able to fully immerse yourself in all the events, then I would just draw your attention particularly to the Home Buying & Selling Group’s Upfront Information Roadshow at which our Director of Delivery, Beth Rudolf, presented on one of the CA’s key workstreams.

 

The link above takes you to the full video of the session, and – if you haven’t already – I would advise all CA members to watch it and to see how the provision of Upfront Information is progressing, what difference it could make to the home buying and selling process, and what is coming down the tracks that all practitioners and property market stakeholders need to be aware of.

 

It is looking like a significant game changer for the market, and perhaps most importantly, the consumer who should hopefully have greater certainty, transparency and fuller information about the property they are interested in, rather than only finding this out when they are already financially and emotionally committed.

 

And there is widespread cross-sector support for it, as you will identify from the Roadshow which included contributions from a large number of those who see the full benefits and what it could mean for their specific part of the market – advisers, agents, lenders, etc. From my perspective, it is must-watch.

 

And if you would like to see what else happened at National Conveyancing Week, then please head over to the website here, where you’ll find a lot more information.

 

Talking of events in the future, I also want to draw your attention to forthcoming CA member meetings which are taking place throughout the rest of the year, and which we’d love to see you at.

 

The first takes place in London on the 15^th May and once again Howden are kindly hosting us at their offices. We then have further meetings in September and December, and our Annual Conference will take place in February next year.

 

These are a series of meeting for member firms, Affiliate members and other stakeholders within the industry, and we’ll shortly be announcing the agenda for the next meeting. As always, there will be the opportunity to network amongst many of your fellow professionals, colleagues and peer group, which I know many of our members find absolutely invaluable.

 

If you feel there is benefit to be had by others in that regard, please put them in contact with our Secretariat who can outline the different types of membership we offer, and what you get for that membership.

 

Anyway, it has been an incredibly important month for conveyancing and we at the CA plan to build on this with our next series of meetings. We hope to see you all there.

 

Nicky Heathcote is Non-Executive Chair at the Conveyancing Association (CA)