Rise in British property millionaires
According to research from property website Zoopla.co.uk, increased demand for high-end properties meant 47,024 more British property millionaires were created in 2012. This represents an increase of 19% from this time last year and takes the total number of property millionaires up to 300,142. The bulk of this increase comes from London with the equivalent […]
Rise in rental prices
In 2012 advertised rental prices in Great Britain increased by an average of 1.9%, or £37 per month. The increase was pronounced in London where a rise of 3% was seen across the year. Rents rose at the fastest rate in April as property owners sought to take advantage of the Olympics. Price levels fell […]
Reliance on payday loans
Homeless charity Shelter has warned that almost one million people took out a payday loan over the last 12 months to help them cover their mortgage or rent. The charity warned that around 7.8million Britons are struggling to keep up with their rent or mortgage payments. This marks an increase of 44% over the past […]
New fees for Ombudsman
The Legal Ombudsman has announced a change to their fees structure which will see an end to free cases for firms. Whilst previously firms were allowed two free cases per year they will now be charged £400 for the first case. The new approach will allow the Legal Ombudsman to raise an extra £1.6m through […]
Law Society clarifies independent advisor position
The Law Society has clarified its position on solicitors referring clients to non-independent advisors. Back in November we reported controversy between the Society and the Solicitors Regulation Authority, after the SRA passed new rules that softened its stance on referrals. Following the decision by the SRA to grant solicitors the right to refer clients to […]
Lending falls in November
The latest figures from the Bank of England show that lending secured on dwellings fell by £0.2 billion in November to £11.6 billion. This was compared to the previous six-month average increase of £0.3 billion with lending at £11.5 billion. Repayments in November were up to £11.3 billion, compared to the previous six-month average of […]
Seven tips for a successful 2013
A new year always brings with it both challenges and opportunities. We thought you might be interested in what our editor Chris is watching this year. 2012 was described as the “perfect storm” for conveyancers by Eddie Goldsmith of the Conveyancing Association. But what does 2013 hold? Will it be any better? Well to start […]
Statistics show smaller conveyancing firms still fighting
Last week the Land Registry issued account holder transaction statistics for November. The figures showed that small conveyancers are continuing in business and not vanishing as has often been predicted. Of the 4562 Land Registry account holders that made applications in November over 2000 of them conducted five applications or less. This means 44% of […]