Paul Moves to Eric Robinson

There is no doubt that Paul Sams knows Southampton. Having diligently networked at every opportunity in the area for the past six years, he has become one of the most recognised faces of the local property market and now made his own move to join Eric Robinson Solicitors’ Residential Conveyancing Team.

Paul Sams studied law at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, completed his LPC at the University of Northumbria in Newcastle and stayed in the city for a year to work as a Personal Injury paralegal.

He moved South in September 2001 to join his then girlfriend, now wife, who he met at university and had returned to her home of Southampton. He completed his training course during three years at Lawcomm Solicitors and became Section Leader for the firm’s Residential Conveyancing Team.

‘I discovered during my training that I had a certain aptitude for conveyancing,’ says Paul. ‘I began to understand the needs of the Estate Agents, IFAs, Property Developers and developed my knowledge of both the local business and property communities. I believe good service is crucial. If someone is referred to you and receives bad service, you will have upset both them and the person who recommended you. You are only ever as good as your last job.’

In 2004, Paul joined the Trethowans where he built up a Residential Conveyancing Team from scratch in their Southampton office, was made an Associate of the firm and a Team Leader. Last month he moved to Eric Robinson.

‘I had listened to Eric Robinson’s radio adverts and, to be completely honest, had made approaches to some of their staff to come and work with me. None of them would even entertain the idea of coming for a first interview to explore the possibility which I thought was most unusual. As I learned more about the firm, Eric Robinson showed personality, vibrancy and a real commitment to the area in which it serves. All these things I found very attractive, so I made the move to join them.’

And he could not have joined at a better time. ‘Things are tough in the property market at the moment for a number of reasons: five interest rises in a year, two stock market crashes, the threat until recently of a General Election and, of course, the much publicised introduction of HIPs all mean the public are nervous in parting with their money.’

‘The original idea of HIPs was a good one. It would reduce the number of transactions that fall through after a survey exposes unknown problems, but it also ran the risk of creating second class property slums. For example, if a property has subsidence that is often grounds for negotiation, but with the original HIPs grading system on the now defunct Home Condition Report (HCR), people would have been looking for top grade properties and would not even view anything they perceived as deficient in some way. Currently HIPs is a ‘green issue’ and doesn’t really reveal anything. I don’t know of anyone who fell in love with a property and then wouldn’t by it because it was less energy efficient than it could be.’

‘The property market is slow, but it isn’t dead. There is a hope that interest rates won’t rise in the forthcoming Budget, people will get through Christmas and the market will pick up in the New Year. I am convinced that the New Year will bring better news than 2007 has.’

In his spare time, Paul is a passionate supporter of Newcastle United and is currently training four mornings a week at the gym to be fit enough to participate in the Great North Run.