PSG sponsor the first SLC Road Show for 2014
Market leading conveyancing search provider PSG, will once again support the Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC) as sponsors of the first in the 2014 series of national Road Shows. The event, which is to be held on March 8th in Brentwood, will run from 10am until 2pm and will carry 4 CPD points. Topics covered […]
Comment: ‘Pay as you Trade’ Provides Reassurance for Landlords with Tenants in Administration.
A landmark ruling from the Court of Appeal involving the now insolvent retailer, GAME, has restored the balance between landlords and insolvent tenants. The Court has ruled that when a tenant is in administration, the rent payable for the premises they are continuing to occupy should count as an administration expense. Landlords (following the […]
Increase in First Time Buyers
There is a current swelling wave of lending, first time buyers who are looking to get on the property ladder will need to catch this swelling wave of lending- mortgages are currently more available than a year ago but with a limited supply of homes available rising house prices could counterweight the excitement of cheaper […]
Remortgage Lending Rises 33% in Jan 2014 from Jan 2013
In Jan 2014 remortgage lending rose to £4.27 bn, up 33% on the same month last year. Source LMS Remortgage report Gross mortgage lending was an estimated £15.5 billion in January, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This is down 8% compared to the gross lending total of December 2013; however, it is a […]
ETSOS gearing up for growth
Conveyancing search specialist ETSOS has announced a further expansion of its sales team with the appointment of not one, but two new business development managers as it looks to capitalise on the business’s success in 2013. Sue Lawrence joins to focus on law firms across the Midlands, South and South West, while Julia Kilby will […]
What if that SRA e-mail is real?
The SRA recently warned that solicitors report receiving scam e-mail messages purporting to be from the regulator and referring to pending investigations. But what if the e-mail was authentic and your firm was targeted for an investigation? Would you be ready? In deference to solicitors’ preferences, the SRA uses e-mail "to inform regulated individuals and […]
SearchFlow to hold 21 free CPD seminars throughout the UK
SearchFlow, the UK’s leading information and data provider for the property transaction market, has released the latest set of dates for its free CPD seminar programme. The seminars will provide updates on anti-money laundering, environmental risks, energy installations & infrastructure, flood risks and planning as well as tips on compliance and risk management. Perran Moon, […]
Peel Land and Property (Ports No. 3) Ltd v TS Sheerness Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 100 (14 February 2014)
The maxim quicquid solo plantatur, solo cedit (whatever is affixed to the ground belongs to the ground) is well known to property lawyers. This case concerned a tenant’s right to deal with certain property which the parties accepted were tenant’s fixtures. The landlord considered that the tenant intended to strip the premises of substantial, […]
Pearson Hards goes for Ochresoft option
Legal workflow specialist, OchreSoft, has announced further success for its Intelliworks Conveyancing solution, with Surrey firm Pearson Hards Solicitors going live earlier this month. Pearson Hards has deployed an end-to-end conveyancing solution comprising Cloud-based content enabled workflows and Quotes module, with the Virtual Firm customer portal targeted as the next phase of system development. Partner Hatice Mustafa explains: […]
Bold Group reacts promptly to scam email purporting to be from SRA
On Monday 24th February a number of law firms began contacting the SRA because they had received an email with the heading: Subject: Important update from the SRA regarding your law practice (XXXX & Co), possible investigation To make it look genuine, the email contained the firms correct DX address and phone number. It went on […]
Landmark case re defines s.61 Trustee Act conveyancer responsibilities.
The Court of Appeal in Santander UK v R A Legal Solicitors supports lenders high expectations of conveyancers. Santander UK Plc advised by Matthew Arnold & Baldwin and Thomas Grant QC from Maitland Chambers have successfully appealed, an earlier Judgment of the High Court. This ruling has turned on its head a trend of judgments […]
Fracking Podcast
Landmark Information Group is pleased to present its first podcast in a forthcoming series that will review and explore key themes and topics of concern to the conveyancing market. Podcast One — The future of fracking This podcast explores the Government’s current policy on hydraulic fracturing and provides comment on the impact on future generations. […]
Quantus Legal to Improve CML Handbook Compliance with LENDERmonitor
Lexsure and Quantus Legal have teamed up to enable law firms using Quantus searches to order free LENDERmonitor policy searches directly off the Quantus website. This will streamline solicitor access to LENDERmonitor’s comprehensive database of lender policy changes. In addition to real time alerts — regularly e-mailed to thousands of lawyers in England and Wales […]
BCP International Law Firm and TM Group working together
Selecting the right international law firm to partner with you to handle overseas work for your clients is critical both to the reputation of your firm and your relationship with your client. With the resurgence in foreign property sales following on from the improved UK Property market TM Group, the largest provider of property searches […]
February's edition of The Brief is out
As ever, this edition of The Brief is jam packed with opinions, interviews and profiles. Firstly, we have a piece from Mike Grant, who is head of Legal Services at Weightmans, on regulatory compliance which makes for interesting reading. We also hear from George Bull – chair of the Professional Practices Group at accountants Baker […]
Labour MP's concerns about estate agency practices
The Labour MP and shadow Consumer Minister Stella Creasy has spoken out about some estate agents taking advantage of the current property demand to charge extra fees to both buyers and sellers. Her comments have come as the government proposes to move responsibility for the England and Wales real estate industry to the Powys and […]
Land for new homes
Housing Minister Kris Hopkins has said the government has sold enough brownfield land to build 68,000 homes, the same number as in the whole of Blackpool. Over 430 sites are said to have been sold across the country, with every new home supporting up to 2 jobs, a total of over 135,000 jobs as the […]
Law Society comments on Lender Exchange
The Law Society has issued a message to firms that have been contacted by Santander regarding application to the Lender Exchange Scheme. Created with the support of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, which has had a small oversight role, the scheme is due to go live in the beginning of 2014 and so far Lloyds […]
Moneypenny calls for law firms to get involved as it launches #ServiceFirst campaign
With staggering figures from Ombudsman Services suggesting that UK consumers complain about products and services every second of every day, with further millions of victims of poor service afraid to complain or not trusting companies to act, telephone answering specialist Moneypenny has launched a new campaign aimed at improving customer service and showcasing examples of […]
A Princely Planning Problem?
Prince Charles as Duke of Cornwall owns a large property portfolio and within this is land on the Albert Embankment in London. The former offices of the Metropolitan Police in Tintagel House stand on part of the land. The building (owned by Galaprice on a 140 year lease) has been empty for some time and […]
