Fosters Law announce conveyancing promotions
Kent based firm Fosters Law have announced a number of promotions and new appointments. Louise May from their Sheerness office has been promoted to full-time Conveyancing Executive. Andrea Anniss from the Ramsgate office has been promoted to full-time Conveyancing Executive. Kevin Crow will be starting at the Ramsgate office on 3rd July, taking up the […]
Mortgage broker receives record £1m fine
The Telegraph has reported that a record fine of £1m has been handed to Birmingham-based mortgage broker Gurpreet Singh Chadda. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Mr Chadda had told customers the price offered was based on an independent valuation of their property, when this was not the case. In some cases investigated the seller […]
Housing minister announces Affordable Housing Guarantee scheme
After their initial announcement on 6 September 2012, the government have now officially opened Housing Guarantees for business. The licence to provide the Affordable Housing Guarantees Scheme has been granted to Affordable Housing Finance plc (AHF), a subsidiary of The Housing Finance Corporation Limited. The Housing Minister Mark Prisk said in a written statement to […]
Home Market Turnover Indicator shows significant supply drop
In a couple of articles in the past week industry leaders have raised the issue of restricted housing supply in the market. To track the rate of flow of stock, Home.co.uk has created the Home Market Turnover Indicator (HMTI), which combines monthly data on overall stock levels and average marketing times from 2005 to the […]
Manchester promises thousands of new build homes
Manchester City Council has set out ambitious plans to accelerate house building to cope with the need for an estimated 55,000 new homes in the city by 2027. The “Residential Growth Prospectus” sets out the city’s plans to become the fastest growing city in the UK. In good news for conveyancers in the north-west, their […]
Unexpected fraud hot spots should be warning to conveyancers
Altrincham in Cheshire has been identified as the top location for identity fraud outside London. The global information services company Experian has revealed that the Cheshire town recorded 13 fraud attempts for every 10,000 adults, with residents targeted at over three times the national average. The perhaps surprising appearance of green and leafy Cheshire at […]
Signs for optimism as house prices pick up
Despite a yearly decrease of £1,982 from the year to April 2013 prices are up £2,430 from than December 2012. The latest figures from LSL Property Services also show the average house price is now £143,965. Alan Penman of Walker Fraser Steele, part of LSL Property Services, said: “There has been an uplift in […]
£91 million ploughed into empty and derelict homes
The Communities Minister Don Foster has announced that 6,000 empty and derelict homes will benefit from a £91 million fund to bring them back in to use. The money will be used to address issues such as squatting, rat infestation and collapsing house prices, driving remaining residents away. Funding is being allocated under two programmes; […]
Land Registry e-DRS system enhanced
The Land Registry has made enhancements to their electronic Document Registration Service (e-DRS). Business customers who are signed up to e-DRS can now submit electronic applications that contain a plan including: Deeds of Grant, Agreed notices (AN1) and cancellations (CN1), Unilateral notices (UN1) and removals (UN2) or cancellations (UN4), Restrictions (RX1) and withdrawals (RX4) or […]
HMRC figures show transactions on the increase
The latest HMRC Property Transaction Statistics show that the seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of residential property transactions increased by 6% between April 2013 and May 2013 to 83,740 residential transactions. This represents an increase of 9% from the same period last year. Over the last 18 months transactions have been fairly flat with […]
CML figures show lending at long-term high
It is estimated that May 2013 saw the highest level of gross mortgage lending since October 2008. The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders estimate that total gross mortgage lending in May increased 21% from April to £14.7 billion. This figure is up 17% from the total of £12.6 billion in May 2012. […]
Law Society of Scotland to consult on conflict of interest rule change
The Law Society of Scotland has launched a consultation with solicitors, lenders and consumer interest groups on proposals to change its rules on conflict of interest in property transactions. At the moment a single solicitor can carry out work for a client wishing to buy a residential property and their lender, however, solicitors voted in […]
Leading Solicitors PI Insurance Broker endorses compliance management system CLIENTCAREmonitor
St Giles Legal and Professional Risks, specialist brokers in the field of solicitors professional indemnity insurance, has announced its endorsement of CLIENTCAREmonitor the online compliance service designed specifically to meet the requirements of the new regulatory regime. The system was created by the the legal risk software house Conveycentric. Conveycentric has enjoyed a close working […]
Alert: PII firm Balva Insurance licenses suspended
Around 1,200 firms are affected by the suspension of unrated Latvian professional indemnity insurance firm Balva. Yesterday, the Latvian regulator (FKTK) decided to withdraw all the operating licences issued to Balva. The news follows several recent warnings on the dangers of using unrated insurers. The Law Society has warned affected firms to think very carefully […]
Property bodies announce new Presidents
The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) have both announced new Presidents. Jan HÓ±tch from Arnolds Keys LLP has been appointed President of the NAEA while Susan Fitz-Gibbon, of Fitz-Gibbon, takes over as ARLA President. Jan HÓ±tch began her career with Arnolds in 1993 and rose through […]
Party Wall Act (1996) guidance updated
The government have updated their guidance on the issue of The Party Wall Act 1996. The Party Wall etc Act 1996 provides a framework for preventing and resolving disputes in relation to party walls, boundary walls and excavations near neighbouring buildings. A building owner proposing to start work covered by the Act must give adjoining […]
BSA warns of future house price bubble
20% of first time home buyers say Government schemes like Help to Buy will help them get onto the property ladder. The BSA’s quarterly Property Tracker report revealed that raising a deposit remains the single largest barrier to home ownership, with 54% of those wishing to buy saying it is their main deterrent. Property Tracker […]
A Well Earnt Break for CILEx Student as PSG Announce Title and Legal Insurance Competition Winner
Conveyancing Assistant Annie Scrancher of Bromets Jackson Heath in Tadcaster, was this week announced as the lucky winner of the PSG Title and Legal Indemnity Insurance Competition earning her a prize of five hundred pounds of holiday vouchers. Annie, who has worked at Bromets Jackson Heath for 3 years, says of winning the competition “When […]
50 new jobs at Moneypenny
Telephone answering specialist Moneypenny, endorsed by The Law Society and supporting more than 700 law firms across the UK has created 50 new jobs so far in 2013 with the likelihood of more to come. The latest appointments take the total to over 300, with four staff at any one time based in Auckland, New […]
SRA issues warning over 'Chameleon Solicitors'
The SRA has on 14 June published a scam alert over “Chameleon Solicitors” who are claiming to represent sellers on a property transaction in the West Midlands. “Chameleon Solicitors” are advertised on a variety of directory websites, linking to an address at 63 Pershore Road, Kings Norton, Birmingham, West Midlands, B30 3DR. The directory listings […]
