The Intermediary – June 2025 - Flipbook - Page 11
RESIDENTIAL
Opinion
spend more just to stand still.
In an industry where margins
were already thin, something’s got
to give. Either the service dips, or the
price goes up. And rightly, many are
choosing the laer.
The right people
It’s not just about keeping the lights
on. It’s about holding on to the
people who actually do the work.
As mentioned, good conveyancers
– actual qualified, experienced
fee-earners – are increasingly hard
to find.
In places like Manchester, Leeds,
and Cardiff, where multiple large
firms compete for a limited talent
pool, staff retention is a full-time
job in itself. If a firm can’t afford to
pay competitively, it’ll lose people.
When that happens, it loses service
standards, too.
The challenge isn’t just geing
people in the door – it’s keeping
them. Good people know their
worth. They’re not going to stay in
roles where the workload is brutal
and the salary hasn’t moved in five
years. Firms that want to deliver great
service need to pay enough to keep
their teams stable. Fundamentally,
that has to be paid for with increased
fees. Think about it. What do your
clients want? It’s likely they want
clarity, speed, and confidence. What
do you want? Happy clients who
come back again and refer their
friends. Neither of those things is
helped by conveyancing being done on
the cheap.
When a firm earns £100 more per
case, that gives them room to breathe.
Caseloads drop. Phones get answered.
Enquiries get dealt with. Pipelines
move quicker. Completion dates hold.
Suddenly, everyone’s blood pressure
is lower, and you’re not fielding angry
calls from clients.
If you’re thinking, ‘But hang on,
won’t my client care about paying
more?’, then let me be blunt: most
clients are not au fait with what
conveyancing should cost. They’re
not comparing a £750 quote to a
£950 quote and demanding answers.
They’re just trusting you to steer them
to someone who gets the job done. So,
if you tell them this slightly pricier
option means beer service and fewer
delays, they’ll nod and say, ‘Thanks,
that’s exactly what I need’.
Considering commissions
Now, here’s the bit that’s oen
overlooked or misunderstood. Just
because a quote is high doesn’t mean
the firm’s geing paid well. We’ve seen
quotes from other panel managers
that are £300 more than ours,
yet the law firm earns
less because of
commissions.
We pay
one
Too many still chase
the cheapest deal and pass
on the cost in other ways
– hidden fees, unclear
quotes, poor service”
of our firms a significant amount
more than one of our competitors, and
yet somehow our total quote is still
cheaper. It will not take a genius to
work out why.
As a panel manager, we’re not
taking the Michael when it comes to
our panel fee. We believe in paying our
firms properly, while keeping things
fair for the client.
Which, of course, makes your
choice of panel manager more
important than ever. Are they paying
their firms properly? Are they
squeezing them dry? Are they using
their margins to add value or just
extract more?
The sad truth is that too many still
chase the cheapest deal and pass on
the cost in other ways – hidden fees,
unclear quotes, poor service.
You want transparency. You want
integrity. You want to know that when
fees go up, they’re going to the right
place. At conveybuddy, we make sure
that happens. We’re not perfect, but
we’re proud of the way we support our
panel, our brokers and, ultimately,
our clients.
Cheap rarely means cheerful in the
service industry. Conveyancing is no
different. So let’s stop pretending that
a race to the boom helps anyone.
The best firms know what they’re
worth. The best brokers understand
the value of good service.
Together, we can help clients get
what they really need: a smooth,
successful move from start to finish. ●
June 2025 | The Intermediary
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