The Law Society
has launched its Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS).
This provides a recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing practices.
Achievement of membership will establish a level of credibility for member firms with stakeholders
(regulators, lenders, insurers and consumers) based upon:
* the integrity of the Senior Responsible Officer and other key conveyancing staff.
* the firm's adherence to good practice management standards.
* adherence to prudent and efficient conveyancing procedures through the scheme protocol.
The CQS is intended to help conveyancing solicitors, particularly those in small firms,
demonstrate to lenders, consumers and insurers that they have effective risk assessment processes.
Firms seeking membership of the scheme have their application assessed against a risk-based points system
developed by the Law Society in conjunction with the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Association of British Insurers.
Today's Conveyancer is a free online newspaper for conveyancers with relevant news,
resources and jobs. It is run by Chris Harris, previously Legal Serivices Director of Legal Marketing Services which is the largest panel
manager of conveyancing services in the UK. The journal is dedicated to keeping
UK conveyancers informed about the changes that are happening, whether they be regulatory, technological, lender or
estate agent driven.
HouseHop.co.uk is a new online estate agent assisting people who want to sell their
home. The seller puts up their details (including photos) on the site and potential buyers can search by location and other factors.
Buyers contact the seller through the site so personal details remain confidential. And it is free.
See also
here for lists of firms who provide information on their web sites about conveyancing and
here for information on landlord and tenant issues.
Below here is the old section on organisations and general information relating to HIPs.
It is now out of date but most of these organisations still exist and some have remodelled themselves to take
account of the passing of HIPs so I am reluctant to remove it just yet.
ExploreHomeInformationPacks is a non profit-making
site designed to provide overall information on HIPs for the ordinary person.
There are sections on Benefits of HIPs, How Useful is a HIP, What Will HIPs Change about the House Buying Process?,
Buying a Home, Important Things to Look Out For, Questions a Homebuyer Should ask, & Receiving a HIP.
There are over 40 articles on these and related HIPs topics written by property experts.
There is a section on
Features of HIPs
with more technical (legal) information.
HIPAG is an Independent HIP Group of solicitors,
estate agents and future home inspectors.
Several hundred firms of solicitors are already signed up as members.
The group is led by Rob Hailstone, an acknowledged authority in the buying and selling process and an
expert on legislation surrounding HIPs. HIPAG's partner is OyezStraker and Stat Plus, part of the OyezStaker group -
the country's leading independent supplier of office products and services to the legal and professional
customer. The group provides HIPAG with the infrastructure, finance, digital printing and distribution services
to enable it to produce HIPs quickly and efficiently.
HIPAG has developed a unique system of working with Estate Agents, Solicitors and Home Inspectors,
which will ensure that not only will a HIP be produced quickly but that the HIP will be comprehensive and
will deliver the government's objectives of speed, transparency and certainty.
Clutton Cox host a blog on their web site written by
solicitor Paul Hajek covering topics of property, conveyancing, HIPs and related areas of interest.
hipCENTRAL provides a central registry for all
activities, services and information relating to HIPs. There are National HIP Providers,
Providers of Home Condition Reports, HIP Providers based in particular areas,
Training Providers, Domestic Energy Assessors and various House and Home related resources.
A modest fee is charged for the listings on this site.
Hipcentral.co.uk is a trading name of New Build Inspections Ltd.
Per Pro is a new organisation for estate agents surveyors and lawyers
to promote and protect the interests of small independent property professionals in an environment increasingly
geared to swell the profitability and success of large firms, threatening the very survival of small ones.
The Chairman, Michael Garson is a solicitor and estate agent and currently training as Home Inspector.
He served four years as the Law Society Council Member for Residential Conveyancing and is current Chair of
the Property Section and member of the NAEA. Membership is open to independent estate agents, surveyors, brokers,
solicitors and conveyancers.
The National Land & Property Information Service
(NLIS) is the leader in the provision of electronic local authority property searches across England
and Wales via a number of channels.
NLIS is managed by Land Data, a community interest company committed to making property search
information increasingly accessible to the general public.
To date NLIS has processed over 15 million searches for UK homebuyers and continues to help to
streamline the homebuying process.
The current NLIS Channels are Searchflow, Thames Water and GlobalX.
