SPECIAL FEATURE: How conveyancers can optimise their workflows with lenders as remortgage instructions rise – ProConveyancing

This week’s special feature is written by ProConveyancing, on the subject of how conveyancers can optimise their workflows with lenders as remortgage instructions rise.

General concerns around inflation and the impact this could have on mortgage rates has been fuelling demand for remortgage instructions over the last quarter. In October alone, the market witnessed a 35% increase in instructions.

Now, with the bank of England (BoE) having recently increased the base rate from the historic low of 0.1% to 0.25% on 16th December, coupled with expectations of further rate rises over the medium term, many more homeowners are looking to look in favourable rates while they still can by remortgaging.

As new instructions start to pile up during the beginning of the year, the surge in volume is putting many lenders and their conveyancing partners under pressure.

To better manage caseloads and scale-up operations, conveyancers should focus on streamlining communication and workflows with lenders, as well as setting and managing realistic expectations. In this article, I’ll explore some of the key areas conveyancing firms should focus on, to drive efficiencies with their remortgage workflows and processes.

Invest in CMS automations 

Time is the most valuable commodity within any conveyancing firm. Yet, much of this commodity is spent on repetitive and tedious administration tasks. And while conveyancing case management software (CMS) streamlines the process, if you’re not running intelligent automations within your CMS, then you’re not harnessing its full potential.

One of the most valuable automations is the HM Land Registry API. Once setup and configured within your CMS, it removes the need for staff to log into the Land Registry portal and perform manual searches and downloads. All of this can be requested via, and pulled into, the CMS. What’s more, as well as property searches, the API also enables conveyancers to send APIs to the Land Registry within their own CMS.

The API is relatively new, however, so not all CMS platforms currently offer this as a service. But even if your CMS platform doesn’t currently offer this feature, you should still ensure you’re taking full advantage of other automations, such as automated communication with lenders and borrowers whenever a step is completed within each case.

Review service level agreements

If you know you’ll soon be ramping up remortgage case work with a lender you’re partnered with, then now is the time to review your service level agreements (SLAs). The fact of the matter is that a significant increase in referrals from a lender may render existing SLAs unworkable, at least to begin with while you scale up capacity and processes.

If you find yourself in this position, then it’s best to be realistic and transparent with the lender from the get-go. If you need to renegotiate the SLAs, then first determine what is achievable now and what could be achievable in the medium term once you scale up. This will enable you to have a frank discussion with the lender and find a way forward that works for both parties.

A potential solution could be a temporary relaxation of SLAs over a predetermined time period, which then begins to revert back to previous levels as you either scale up or caseloads decrease.

Look again at the relationship management structure

Your existing relationship management structure with the lender may not be equipped to handle the extra strain, especially if you have no dedicated point of contact within the firm to answer and triage all queries and requests. So ensure there is a central point of contact who has the capacity to adequately manage this work, and that the lender is aware they should be funnelling all queries via this person.

In addition to a dedicated relationship manager, now is also a good time to ensure the relationship management process and reporting are fully stood up and are designed to avoid unnecessary touch points with the lender. This should include weekly meetings between your point of contact and the lender, where all actions can be discussed, as well as detailed dashboard reporting that can be shared with the lender each week, so they have full transparency on all cases. And of course, the more of this reporting you can automate, the better.

Final thoughts

While remortgages are generally more straightforward to process than new purchases, conveyancers must still adequately prepare themselves to deal with the additional caseloads. In the meantime, lenders should be realistic and prepared for additional negotiations with conveyancing firms.

With inflation expected to grow in 2022 and with the BoE expected to make further rate rises in response to this, the first quarter of this year is shaping up to be one of the busiest remortgage periods within the recent past. So act now to ensure this doesn’t overdurben your firm and your hardworking staff.

Written by Joanne Davies, Remortgage and Transfer of Equity Executive at ProConveyancing, an online residential conveyancing firm operating in England and Wales that offers high quality, fast and sensibly priced conveyancing to buyers, sellers, and industry partners.

Kindly shared by ProConveyancing

Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay