Brokers should exercise due diligence when referring clients to conveyancers
In the same week that Goldsmith Williams announced they have paid over £4M in referral and advice fees to mortgage brokers Eddie Goldsmith of Goldsmith Williams and John Malone of PMS the large mortgage intermediary service business have warned brokers about the collapse of conveyancing firms. They point out that the recent demise of Fridays […]
Gross mortgage lending falls 6% in December
The CML published its monthly market commentary today and said that the latest mortgage lending figures were the lowest, for a December, in over a decade and the fourth month in a row where the monthly outturn has been weak. The latest figures show an 18% drop from the £13.3 billion in December 2009, although […]
NAEA reports a buoyant start to 2011
The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) carried out a poll of almost 700 Estate Agents in which almost two thirds of those surveyed reported that home buyers, registering with them in the first half of January, has been higher than expected for this time of year. Enquiries from potential sellers have also increased with […]
Have you got a Twitter widget?
We have added a new function to the news section so that you can see what people are tweeting about when they mention conveyancing. It will enable you to browse through tweets that specifically mention conveyancing. Even if you don’t yet have a Twitter account you can still see what people are talking about. Take […]
RICS December Housing Market Survey – Outlook remains mixed
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) December Housing Market Survey, released today, reports that although transaction levels are low they are showing some signs of stabilising with average sales per surveyor edging up in December. They are, however, still well below their average. Additionally, the average number of properties on surveyors’ books has increased […]
Home buyers looking to secure properties before bankers get bonuses
Despite the Governments attempts to intervene it looks likely that bankers will get their big bonuses this year. Property consultants, Cluttons, have reported that home buyers in central London are looking to move quickly in order to beat the bankers. There has been a flood of activity in the first two weeks of January as […]
Are you still working the “old fashioned way”?
I recently saw the following article on my twitter feed and instantly thought “How Interesting?” Have a read and see what you think. A Blast from the Past – A Century of Conveyancing Records published online today have revealed the prices of some of Central London’s most notable properties — from a century ago! The […]
Rightmove House Price Index shows new sellers numbers at two year low.
With the release today of their January House Price Index Rightmove are forecasting a spring stock shortage will underpin prices in popular locations as new seller numbers dwindle. Rightmove also reports that there has been record internet activity indicating stirring buyer interest. With property coming to market at its lowest level since January 2009 scarce […]
LSL Property Services/Acadametrics House Price Index – December 2010 released.
The latest LSL HPI released last week shows: – Average house prices recorded a marginal fall of 0.2% in December – Over the 12 months January to December 2010, house price growth stood at 2.9%, compared to 5.3% in 2009. – Regional disparities are widening – The number of transactions continues to decline, falling in […]
The CLC release update regarding Fridays Property Lawyers (in Administration)
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has released a Notice regarding Fridays Property Lawyers (in Administration). The CLC have released the Notice below regarding the recent announcement that Fridays Property Lawyers went into Administration on 30th December 2010: “Fridays Property Lawyers went into Administration on 30 December 2010. Since that date the CLC has been working […]
How commoditised is conveyancing?
360 Legal Group is a business consultancy for law firms, helping its members to understand the difficult and fast changing trading conditions facing the profession, take advantage of forthcoming deregulation and manage and market their practices more successfully as businesses. For the full article see below: How commoditised is conveyancing? I’ve been asked to write […]
Barratt issue trading update ahead of interim results.
Mark Clare, Group Chief Executive of Barratt commented on the trading update released last week: “The Group has delivered a significant improvement in both average selling prices and operating margin even though sales volumes have been affected by difficult trading conditions. We are on course to make further progress in the second half as we […]
Barratt Homes and Hitachi set to make loans available to parents of first time buyers.
Hitachi Capital and Barratt Homes have teamed up to offer loans of up to £50,000 to parents of first-time buyers, buying a new home from the Barratt Group, in a ground-breaking attempt to lift the housing market. The product is the only one of its kind currently being offered and is specifically designed to address […]
Twitter – can you do better?
Having a Twitter account is becoming more and more commonplace but if you have a look at the Intendance report based on the top 50 UK law firms 19 out of 48 firms have an account with zero tweets. Twitter can be a useful tool to develop your network and it can also help you […]
Planning permissions drop to an alarming five year low
The HBF report which was compiled by Glenigan and published last week is to be the first of a new quarterly monitoring. HBF states that the report gives the first full and accurate picture of the number of planning permissions being granted by Local Authorities across the country. Glenigan have recorded the approval of 36,400 […]
Optima Legal look to expand their community commitment
Optima Legal have joined the national business-led charity Business in the Community to further expand their work for local communities. With offices in Bradford, Newcastle and Glasgow Optima aims to be the first choice law firm for property and litigation services in the UK lending market. Business in the Community are a business-led charity with […]
Lenders report dip in demand for secured lending in Q4
The 2010 Q4 Credit Conditions Survey conducted between 12 November and 7 December 2010 shows lenders reported that the availability of secured credit to households remained broadly unchanged in the three months to early December 2010 and is expected to remain at a similar level over the next quarter. Lenders also report that the availability […]
Light at the end of the tunnel for remortgage conveyancers.
First Direct are offering free switching incentives until 31st January, the deal gives home owners free legal fees and a free standard valuation. They are also offering to pay any enquiry fees the current lender has. The deal is based on borrowing 75% of a home’s value and could give home owners a two year […]
Fridays Propery Lawyers goes into administration
Most conveyancers will be aware of Fridays Property Lawyers. You can hardly do an internet search for "conveyancing" without finding them quickly. Their rapid growth and success led them to make over 150 applications to the Land Registry in August. They appeared to be doing very well. However rumours have been circulating for some time […]
CLC issues updated Guidance Note
An amendment to Guidance Note 13 has come into force from 31st December 2010 following amendments to the CML Handbook, you can read the updated guidance here: http://www.conveyancer.org.uk/news_item.asp?TypeId=1&NewsId=332 Today’s Conveyancer, bringing you the latest conveyancing news and updates.
