IRIS Legal World – Are you ready to face the future of Legal Services?
IRIS the legal software provider that claims to have 40% market share and over 550 clients held “IRIS Legal World” conference today in Manchester. Today’s Conveyancer went along to listen and learn what the large software house had to say to conveyancers in this difficult climate. Doug Hargrove the Managing Director, IRIS Legal opened the […]
Price balance still negative in September say RICS
The September RICS Housing Market Survey continued to show more surveyors reporting falling rather than rising prices, with the headline price net balance suffering the third consecutive monthly fall. That said, half of all respondents to the survey indicated that prices have been broadly stable over the last three months. The latest drop in prices […]
Remortgaging at a 10 year low
Remortgaging accounted for only 25% of loans in August, the lowest proportion in over 10 years, according to the latest survey data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The large remortgage sheds and panel managers will no doubt be suffering more pain. August saw 25,000 remortgage loans, worth £3 billion, advanced by lenders. The number […]
Can conveyancing be sold on twitter? Optima Legal Direct clearly think so.
Many conveyancers are slow to adapt to changing technology and marketing methods and even when they do adopt new methods the execution and up take can be rather mixed. The large Conveyancer Optima Legal Direct seems to have embraced the new age of social media and has over the last few days suddenly changed the […]
Law Society and Land Registry warn about property fraudsters
The Law Society and Land Registry have prepared a joint practice note in order to help conveyancers make their clients more aware of how they may protect their property interests against fraud and safeguard their rights as legitimate property owners on the register. Two public guides are also available from Land Registry to help property […]
SRA’s enforcement action on ARP shows results
Today’s Conveyancer welcomes the stricter policies the SRA is taking to remove firms from the market that are unable to work themselves out of the ARP. The SRA has claimed that its strategy to manage the Assigned Risks Pool (ARP) more effectively is starting to show results, with firms paying up over £3/4 million of […]
ETSOS seeks new introducers to promote its conveyancing ordering system.
ETSOS, the new on-line conveyancing ordering system which was launched on the 1st February 2010, has indicated that it is enjoying early success after turning over more than £2m in just eight months of trading. Due to this success it is now aiming to continue to grow by inviting Introducers to partner with it. ETSOS, […]
Mail on Sunday campaign brings swifter action from SRA to warn about fake solicitors
Following his article two months ago about Acorn “solicitors” of Rotherham who were not in fact a firm of solicitors Sebastian O’Kelly Property Editor of the Mail on Sunday has subsequently noted a distinct change in the behaviour of the SRA and the Law Society. Back then he wrote an article pointing out that the […]
Gordons Property Lawyers launch webcast to promote conveyancing
In a brand new webcast featuring the Managing Director Bob Bhalla, Gordons Property Lawyers have set out detailed information on the remortgaging. The webcast has been produced as an introduction as to how Gordons deals with the conveyancing process, with detailed background as to the awards won and position that Gordons hold in the market. […]
LSB rules out ban on referral fees
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has confirmed that it does not back reinstating the ban on referral fees but suggested that instead all agreements between lawyers and their introducers should be made public The LSB said today that there is insufficient evidence to make the case for a ban, but that transparency and disclosure need […]
Weak mortgage data fuel fears of consumer spending collapse
Fears grow of a further collapse in consumer spending, as new figures on mortgages and personal lending are released by the Bank of England. Mortgage approvals slumped to a six-month low in August, leading some commentators to anticipate the possibility of a “double dip” in house prices. Any fall in prices is bound to have […]
Market activity sees September pick up.
Transactions in September increased by 3.4% in the month, up 11.5% compared to last September, reveal LSL Property Services/ Acadametrics House Price Index. Average house prices registered a 0.2% increase in September. Over the last six months, house prices have registered a modest 1.0% growth. Year on year house price growth slowed to 7.0%, and […]
Law firms and joint ventures with financial services providers
With conveyancers being pressured on every side, Allan Carton of inpractice has reminded firms about the opportunities that will arise over the coming months from providing services that aren’t legal but are linked to the legal services sector. Explaining that the number of law firms providing in-house financial services in England and Wales has dwindled […]
Home Owners' Protection Policy
Alan Riley of Property PSL has kindly allowed us to publish a recent article he has written on the First Title HOPP. http://www.propertypsl.co.uk/ Home Owners’ Protection Policy Posted by Alan_Riley on Fri, 01/10/2010 – 10:33 First Title have introduced a Home Owners’ Protection Policy. It is for the residential market. It covers the client against […]
August 2010 Land Registry Data
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New beginning for legal recruiter
A new conveyancing legal recruiter has entered the market. Ben Whiting has established “Ab Initio”: Latin meaning “from the beginning” following over 9 successful years in legal recruitment with a national recruiter. He has developed a reputation as a frank and reliable recruiter and over the years has amassed a strong network of contacts He […]
Land registry applications see a dip in August
Today’s Conveyancer has obtained from Land Registry its figures for applications made by firms in August. This gives us a good idea of the volume and amount of conveyancing transactions that conveyancers are completing. Total applications, as many may expect given the recent gloomy market forecasts and the traditional summer hiatus, are down from […]
BSA fears over-burdensome regulation will stifle interest only mortgage market
The Building Societies Association (BSA) has today responded to the Financial Services Association (FSA)’s Mortgage Market Review (MMR) on responsible lending with specific emphasis on interest only mortgages. The BSA remains concerned with the overall direction, impact and timing of the FSA’s MMR. It is concerned that the MMR does not cripple the recovery, either […]
CLC holds October CPD event
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers is holding an event which is to focus on key changes in the legal services market. The seminars will be held in October at three venues across England & Wales — Cambridge, Cardiff and Leeds and will offer an opportunity for licensed conveyancers and anyone with an interest in the […]
And the winner is….
The lucky winner of this month’s prize draw is Keeley Miller, a conveyancing lawyer with Sackville’s, a long standing and well established firm of solicitors in Hornchurch and Rainham, Essex. Keeley wins a bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne for registering on the Today’s Conveyancer website. Keeley says: “What a wonderful surprise, it was my lucky […]
