X-Press Legal Services Franchise Estate & Letting Agencies

X-Press Legal Services Ltd

Together with being one of the UK's leading search organisations X-Press Legal Services is an established franchise. The success that the business has experienced and the recognition that the brand attracts is due in no small part to the focus and dedication of over 40 franchised offices.

The Business

X-Press Legal Services is highly regarded as a specialist provider of support to professionals concerned in the sale of all kinds of residential and commercial property. The products are also required for repossession and remortgage matters. This means that in a slower housing market the demand comes from different areas of the industry. The majority of clients are Conveyancing Solicitors who facilitate the contractual process and work is also undertaken for Licensed Conveyancers and Property Developers. However from 2007 all property listed for sale is subject to the Government's HIP legislation meaning that Estate Agents and HIP Providers are also potential clients.

The Franchise

The X-Press Legal Services Franchise reflects the real benefits of a throughly tried, tested and proven operation. Based in Warrington, Cheshire the original business started in 2000 and quickly gained its first clients. By virtue of a reputation for excellent service, the client base expanded considerably and resulted in a substantial turnover with excellent profitability. Key to its success is bespoke software which sets out appropriate courses of action and enables detailed client reports to be produced throughly , accurately and promptly.

The Franchisor

Managing Director is Lynne Lister who was the Editor of Business Franchise Magazine, the official journal of the British Franchise Association from 1992 to 2002. Her understanding of franchising is quite exceptional and her clear perception of what makes a really first class franchise is fully embodied in X-Press Legal Services.

The Opportunity

Local Authority Personal Search

At the outset, it is important to grasp the terminology and clearly understand that the process has nothing whatever to do with looking for properties or being a solicitor. A Local Authority Personal Search refers to the process of checking various records concerning Rights of Way, Land Charges, Planning Entries, etc., and is carried out by personal visits to Local Authority offices. Hence, the expression "Personal Search", which relates to the investigations having been undertaken in person. As a Franchisee of X-Press Legal Services, you save your clients time and cost by dealing with these matters on their behalf and producing a comprehensive Personal Local Authority Search Report, setting out all relevant information in accurate detail.

Every residential and commercial property transaction requires a search, as do remortgage and repossession transactions. In addition from December 2007 under government legislation all property being put onto the market has to have a Home Information Pack and each HIP needs searches. The market has been contracting throughout 2008 when it comes to people moving house however in the same period the X-Press Franchise Network has doubled its turnover. This is as a direct result of dramatic increases in repossession and remortgage work, together with the added work for Estate Agents. As a business you will also provide your clients with one or more of the following services:

Environmental Reports

Subsidence, brown-field, soil contamination, flood risks, Radon Gas. These are just a few issues facing property buyers that could take up too much of your valuable time. X-press provides comprehensive Commercial and Residential Environmental Reports for a quick and accurate result - every time.

The land assessments that we provide cover a 250-500 metre radius of the property and include likely flood risk areas, any past landfill and industrial use.

The information is drawn from many sources including historical maps, The Environmental Agency, The Coal Authority and the British Geological Society. All in all, your buyers' risk of ending up with a property built on contaminated land will be greatly reduced and fully complies with The Law Society guidelines on best practice.

Land assessments covering a 250-500 metre radius of the property
Flood risks and subsidence checks
Past industrial and landfill use
Reduced risk of purchasing property built on contaminated land
Results can be insured against future risk

Provided in co-operation with leading environmental database experts, Landmark and GroundSure

Plan Searches

All too often a beautiful home is purchased, with a beautiful garden, located in beautiful, idyllic surroundings only to be ruined by a factory or supermarket built in front to block the view. All it takes is a little effort on our part to eradicate these problems, whilst reducing the effort on your part to concentrate on other important matters.

X-press will supply reports detailing all Planning Applications and Land Use Policy relating to the property and surrounding areas including the extent of any flood-risk areas. What's more this information can be on your desk within 48 hours. A Plan Search will help your clients see their dream home as it should be, not how it might be.

Detailed report outlining future developments such as supermarkets, nightclubs and motorways within 500 metres of property
Report available within 48 hours at a nominal cost
Includes detailed maps highlighting the relevant areas
Enables the buyer to make an informed decision

Water & Drainage Reports

Over £250 million is spent on repairs to private drainage alone in the UK every year. So it's vital that you get the right information for your clients. X-press works closely with the water companies of England and Wales to ensure the conveyance of a property is as trouble-free as possible.

We'll look into private sewers and waterways, something which potential buyers are sometimes unaware of given that they think all services are maintained at public expense. Quite simply, we make sure your clients are home and dry. Not left high and dry.

Working closely with water companies for accurate reporting
Public and private sewers with detailed maps
Check for private drain location in respect of future development
Fulfills residential and commercial conveyancing needs

Mining Reports

Whilst many coal-mining sites are now closed, such sites throughout England, Scotland and Wales, active or otherwise, will still have possible issues where housing is concerned. Our Coal Mining Reports Service provides not only fast, accurate reporting, but is also property-specific.

X-press has relationships with several recognised data providers and is able to supply reports to enable you to complete a successful and informed conveyancing transaction on a property, residential or commercial, that lies within a mining area.

Complete access to the coal mining database
Total support throughout the search
Search in active and inactive areas
Can be property-specific

Home Information Pack Components

X-Press Legal Services has taken the pioneering position in this emerging market of not becoming a HIP provider. As businesses across the country join an already rolling bandwagon we have decided that our expertise is in the search business and not in the provision of HIPS.

The customer is not short of places to purchase their Home Information Pack whether it is Estate Agents, Solicitors or Specialist HIP providers and as many of these businesses use X-Press Legal Services it makes little sense for us to compete with our client base.

We are able to provide all of the components that your business needs in order to provide your own HIP and if you require an off the shelf HIP pack we can introduce you to one of our partners.

Fully HIP Compliant Searches
CON29 DW Water & Drainage Reports
Energy Performance Certificates
Third Party Online Ordering & Printing

The Support

Initial Training

The Training Department, which is based at our H.Q. in Warrington, delivers a programme that addresses every aspect of X-Press Legal Services, according to a detailed syllabus based on the Franchise Operating Manual, which is provided during training and subsequently updated as necessary to provide an instant source of reference. Everything you need to know about the personal search processes and client reporting functions is covered. In addition, with a view to your developing a well organised and profitable business, meaningful guidance is provided on marketing, administration and accounting.

Information Technology

In this business, information is of the essence, gathered by methodical research and communicated to clients in reports which, notwithstanding their comprehensiveness, are produced speedily by way of advanced bespoke software, regularly updated when necessary. Appropriate computer equipment is especially important, therefore, and rather than simply tell you to acquire a computer, we provide you with a bespoke P.C., custom built to X-Press Legal Services specification. And we go further, undertaking direct responsibility for the warranty. In the event of a serious malfunction, we will even provide you with a replacement at no extra charge other than the overnight courier fee.

Ongoing Support

We operate a technical support funciton by telephone and regular visits to the franchised offices by support staff. In addition X-press' position as a leader in the search industry means that we are working with government and industry bodies and sharing this knowledge. We also run regional meetings for training and networking and have an annual conference and awards ceremony.

Business Description: X-Press Legal Services - Specialist provider of support to professionals concerned in the sale of all kinds of residential and commercial property

BFA Membership: Provisional list

Franchise Type: Single Operator Exec

Minimum Personal Investment: £ 15,000

Minimum Total Investment: £ 19,000

Dan Archer
10 Friars Court
Rylands St
Warrington
Cheshire
WA1 1EN

Tel: 01925 577377
Fax: 01925 574216
Web: www.xpresslegal.co.uk

Before joining X-Press Legal Services, Karen had enjoyed an extremely varied and very unusual career. It encompassed training as a ballet dancer and then joining the family’s funeral business. She was the youngest person in the area working in this field and the first female to do so.

As a child Karen loved to dance and won a scholarship to study classical ballet at Elmhurst Ballet School in Surrey, where she trained from age 11 to 18. Then she chose to work in musical theatre, travelling extensively for three years until she felt she needed to settle down and get a “proper” job.

Discussing the possibilities with her father, he suggested she could join the family business. Unsure, Karen decided to give it six months’ trial but in fact, she stayed 16 years, working her way up from general ‘dogsbody’, qualifying as a funeral director on the way, until she became managing partner when her father retired.

When the family decided to sell up, Karen became a full time Mum until December 2007, when she thought she should start working again. She wanted to have her own business.

With no real intent to pursue the idea immediately and no thought about becoming a franchisee, Karen was flipping through a newspaper when she saw an article about X-Press and the Gloucester franchisee, Penny Brierley. Penny, an opthalmic optician, is now X-Press’s “Franchisee of the Year” and has a business that became so successful her husband Graham gave up his job to join her.

“Penny’s story inspired me. I liked the concept of franchising and recognised the value of the X-Press franchise and the importance they place on high quality standards. Having previously worked in a family firm, I felt that franchising - at its best - is similar. You can have your own business but with back up. I wanted to be my own boss but starting from scratch is daunting and I didn’t feel sufficiently confident about taking such a big step. Once I’d read about Penny and the benefits of franchising, I decided to research the concept thoroughly.”

The nature of X-Press’s business appealed to Karen. Karen explained: “In a word, it’s professional. I also felt that quality of work counted with X-Press, something I was used to with my previous business.

“Once I met the Listers I knew instantly that I could work with them. It was like being back in my old family firm.”

Karen’s franchise got off to an excellent start in February 2007 and all is going according to plan. Now she aims to be less ‘hands on’ so that she can concentrate more on developing the business. She is being helped to achieve her ambition by her husband who provides backroom support after working in his “day job” and, later this year, Karen’s mother will also join the franchise.

Karen has a number of interests and hobbies. She used to row with Oxford Rowing Club and appeared in the last episode of Morse as a rower. Coincidentally, her father appeared in the first one.

Karen Underwood