House purchase lending falters in July as threat of base rate rise draws closer
July sees 65,356 house purchase approvals, down 1.8% on June due to rate-rise uncertainty Annual growth slows: house purchase approvals fall 0.2% year-on-year, after three months of strong annual increases Small deposit lending falls 7.1% year-on-year, with just 11,400 loans in July as banks withdraw cheapest mortgage rates The number of mortgage approvals for house […]
OneSearch Direct offer five free Lawyer Checker searches to combat bogus law firms
To celebrate the successful integration with Lawyer Checker, OneSearch Direct have announced they are offering five free Lawyer Checker Account and Entity Screen (AES) searches to their customers. The offer, eligible until 30th September, will be made available to those who have yet to order a Lawyer Checker report via OneSearch Direct. To address the […]
Leading the market into the new generation of conveyancing
Searches UK are renowned in the conveyancing industry for the products and services they offer, alongside their dedication to outstanding customer service. Now Searches UK are also becoming acclaimed for their embrace on advancing technology, both through their online ordering platforms and through ancillary industry products, whilst growing and reacting effectively to market changes. With […]
Prepare for SRA practicing certificate renewals before 1st October
Practising certificate renewal will run from 1st to 31st October this year, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has confirmed. The month-long exercise will bring together key information on solicitors and firms, and the collection of periodic fees. The Legal Services Board (LSB) has agreed practising fees will be unchanged for the coming practising year. Proposals […]
Strongest July for home sales since 2007
Monthly sales surpass 2014 levels for first time this year – following 13% boost in July, and driven by growth in North House price rises accelerating across six regions – and East Anglia leads the way with 6.3% annual increase Crossrail investment pushes Reading property prices up by 15.2% in the past year, the fastest […]
OneSearch Direct asks you: is Met Office warning a storm in a teacup?
As the Met Office issue a heightened weather warning for the majority of southern England, the public are bracing themselves for the onslaught of erratic weather and torrential downpours. This warning coincides with the fortieth anniversary of the Hampstead Storm. On this day in 1975, Hampstead Heath experienced intense rainfall, claimed to have reached up […]
No easy route (Conveyancer Slater – Tweet of the Week)
Is there a quick and easy route to buying or selling a house, or will it always be a long and gruelling process for home movers? What is the most effective way to find the right conveyancer – are you reaching out to prospective clients? @blabers I hear ya. Ours took *forever*. And don’t […]
The Welsh Rugby Team and the TM Group pledge their support of the Matterhorn Challenge
As the conveyancing industry Challenge reaches its conclusion, with Geraint soon to scale the dizzy heights of the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps, the Welsh Rugby team and the TM Group pledged their support. Welsh Team Manager, Alan Phillips, commented: “We wish Geraint the very best of luck in his climb up the Matterhorn. Ty […]
Conveyancing firm for sale
North West licensed conveyancer for sale/merger The owner of Rose and Co Property Lawyers is seeking disposal of his business through sale or merger. Based 7 miles east of Manchester in Ashton-under-Lyne, this sole practitioner and licensed conveyancer operates from well-positioned premises with a loyal client following. The practice enjoys: A turnover of over £180,000 […]
Steady demand growth and a lack of stock continue to drive prices higher
Buyer demand rises at the fastest pace since February 2014 Prices gain momentum for a sixth consecutive month Limited stock continues to act as a restraint on both transactions and new instructions The July 2015 RICS Residential Market Survey shows price momentum gaining pace, driven by a further rise in buyer demand while supply conditions […]
The #ConveyancingFocus £100 selfie
The release of July’s Conveyancing FOCUS welcomed a surge of selfies as Searches UK asked you to embrace the ‘selfie’ and send them your snaps for the chance to win a £100 cash donation to a charity of your choice. To celebrate the release of the third edition of Conveyancing FOCUS, Searches UK decided to […]
Groundsure awarded Legal Eye Quality Standard
Groundsure have been awarded the Legal Eye standard for the second year running. Legal Eye provides best practice, risk management and compliance services to the legal market. They work with Solicitors, Licensed Conveyancers and providers of legal information services, the quality standard is the first assessment scheme to address rules and regulations above traditional quality […]
Pressing the Planning Accelerator
Following Queens Speech measures to simplify and speed up the planning process, the Government has now detailed plans for developers to get automatic planning permission to build on disused industrial sites in England. The plans come as house building figures fell by the sharpest decline in almost four years. Time for more effective medicine? Business […]
UK property drought worsens driving prices higher
Supply of property for sale falls across the UK; down by 10% (July 2015 vs. July 2014). Prices move up 0.6% overall in England and Wales
during the last month. London prices rose the most this month, up 1.5% since July. The South East remains the UK’s fastest regional market, with a typical time on market […]
Interview with Lauren Riley, former candidate from BBC’s The Apprentice
Former The Apprentice candidate Lauren Riley was on the receiving end of a stern ‘You’re Fired’ from Sir Alan Sugar, but that hasn’t stopped her successfully launching a new mobile phone app to aid communication between lawyers and their clients. Lauren told Jane Common at Today’s Conveyancer why her brainchild – the Link App – […]
Social media for law firms: benefits, risks and generating business online
Solicitors are risk averse by nature and the perceived risks of social media marketing can put a lot of law firms off. However, social media is becoming ever more prevalent in modern culture. This head-in-the-sand approach could mean law firms without a social media marketing strategy are missing out on a good chunk of business. […]
Land Registry stop post redirection
In January 2015, the Land Registry introduced a new central address for post and DX. This was to allow their business customers to send applications and correspondence straight to their scanning centre. As of 10th August 2015 any post now that is not sent to this central postal address will no longer be redirected to […]
Don’t take a risk with contaminated land
A recent article from Groundsure has uncovered that contaminated land is more prevalent than originally thought. The article has stated that former industrial land across England and Wales could be twice as contaminated than original figures suggested, meaning that these sites now occupy around 4% of land across the UK. With these new statistics being […]
Local authority liable for incorrect search result
The High Court has held that a local authority (LA) was liable after providing a buyer incorrect information in a local authority search, which was subsequently relied upon in the purchasing of the property. In Chesterton Commercial (Oxon) Ltd v Oxfordshire County Council [2015] the LA failed to disclose an investigation into whether part of […]
Interview with Jill Boulton, Director at JBA Risk Management
Jill Boulton is a Director at JBA Risk Management, which provides the Comprehensive Flood Map to insurers and conveyancers and is used by around 80% of the UK household market. She told Jane Common at Today’s Conveyancer why flood mapping is so fascinating – and what the government’s new Flood Re scheme will mean for […]
