The cost of undisclosed planning and development

The cost of undisclosed planning and development

The risks of undisclosed local planning and development in conveyancing transactions hit the headlines in 2015 and you should consider the risk of longer term effects these cases have on your business. 

The risks of undisclosed local planning and development in conveyancing transactions hit the headlines in 2015 with a number of high profile stories in mainstream media.

  • Thorp v Abbotts
  • Orientfield Holdings Ltd v Bird & Bird LLP
  • The case of the couple from Cumbria who successfully won compensation against their solicitor after a wind turbine was built less than a mile from their property

On the one hand it is quite right to point out that 3 examples amongst the significant number of transactions undertaken does not point to any trend or indeed pose much of a risk to your PI insurer.

That said aside from the eye-watering compensation figures, where there are cases there is a risk of longer term effects on your business. You will have almost certainly lost the trust of a client who may have had a “lifetime value” to your business; there is a reputational impact to consider locally which has a knock-on effect to other departments within the firm; your PI insurer will not take kindly to the claim and your premium will be significantly affected.

Providing information about planning is a very low risk affair. Ultimately as the reports that provide you and your clients with the relevant information are disbursements there is no direct impact on your firm and you should increasingly be flagging such examples to clients and encouraging such investigations.

Indeed what is to stop you from making it a premium service and charging for it? Rightly or wrongly there seems to be an expectation amongst homebuyers that solicitors investigate these issues as a matter of course; be proactive and talk to your clients, educate them on the risks and opportunities and give them the tools to make an informed decision.

ETSOS provides both data and interpretive planning reports. The Landmark Plansearch Plus and DevAssist with Plansearch Plus will provide you and your client with the relevant information to make an informed decision about whether local planning and development will have any impact on the property. Protect your firm today with ETSOS. Contact David Opie on 01524 220001.

This article was submitted to be published by ETSOS as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.

ETSOS

http://etsos.co.uk/

ETSOS is the one-click shop for property professionals whose innovative products and class-leading customer support has seen it become one of the fastest-growing suppliers to the UK conveyancing sector. Our web-enabled search ordering portal has radically simplified the process of requesting conveyancing searches and related products. Through this single interface users can order: Official Local Authority Searches, Personal Local Authority Searches, Land Registry Documents, Anti money laundering products, Planning searches, Utility Searches, Drainage and Water Searches, Energy Performance Certificates, Fire risk assessments, Air conditioning surveys, Asbestos surveys, Lease plans, Floor plans, Virtual tours, Company searches. Search products are being added all the time, giving customers the widest possible choice and complete oversight of the market. Most importantly, dedicated account managers are at the end of the phone to help with any queries, to chase up outstanding searches and to use their local knowledge to help you select the optimum search option. ETSOS customers can also access the free to use Quotation and Referral System (QRS). This can be deployed externally by law firms, where they roll it out to local estate agents and IFAs to enable them to get instant quotes on a conveyance, and to collaborate more easily. It can also be used internally, to help improve the efficiency and quality of the quotation process; law firms can generate a detailed quote in less than sixty seconds while a caller is on the phone, with the ability to email out a fully formatted PDF with a ‘click to accept’ option.


Contact: Paul Tucker Tel: 01524 220000 Email: info@etsos.co.uk Address Units 2 - 5 Willow Mill Fell View Caton Lancaster LA2 9RA

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