Solicitors could oust estate agents as the first port of call for home sellers if a trend started in Merseyside catches on nationally, a conveyancer claims.

Liverpool firm MSB says that after launching a cost-price home information pack (HIP) it has had a 500% surge in new instructions and seen prospective home sellers come through its doors before going to an estate agent.

MSB says it charges only the cost of searches and energy performance certificates – £149 including VAT – for the HIP, provided sellers instruct the firm to do the conveyancing.

‘HIPs present a golden opportunity for solicitors to take control of conveyancing,’ said Paul Bibby, managing partner and head of property at MSB.

Paul Marsh, Law Society president, praised the initiative and said: ‘Solicitors have found themselves pushed to the back of the queue and we need to get to the front. Firms need to be proactive.’