Coodes urges Quality

Residential property experts at south west law firm Coodes Solicitors is urging anyone buying or selling a home to choose a solicitor backed by a new quality standard.

Coodes is one of a handful of firms in the region to have been accredited with the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) by the Law Society so far.

The scheme aims to create a “trusted community” of practitioners who undergo a strict assessment, compulsory training, self reporting, random audits and annual reviews in order to maintain CQS status.

Alistair Whyte, head of the residential property department at Coodes, believes the standard is an initial benchmark that will set the bar higher and higher for quality of conveyancing work in the future.

He said: “Undoubtedly, mortgage lenders will only look to instruct CQS-accredited firms. It’s therefore likely that in the future, law firms that fail to meet these standards will fall by the wayside.

“This is just the start of maintaining good standards of conveyancing work in the UK and is good news for all involved in the industry – solicitors firms, mortgage lenders and insurers.”

Currently, 1000 firms nationwide have applied for CQS status. It is open only to members of the Law Society and to those who meet the standards the scheme will set and has the support of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the Building Societies Association, and the Association of British Insurers.