St Albans Sinkhole Insight – November 2018

Early on the 6th November a ‘sinkhole’ appeared adjacent to a block of flats in a residential area of St Albans. Early reports of the collapse noted an approximately six metre wide hole located next to an exterior wall of an apartment building at Cedar Court, n. Cedarwood Drive. The location of the ‘sinkhole’ so […]
SLC Calls For Standardised Lender Requirements On Lease Terms

The Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC) has called on mortgage lenders to standardise the unexpired lease terms on which they will lend. This call has been made to halt a trend of requiring ever longer lease terms as a condition for granting a mortgage. Whilst there are still a good number of lenders that require […]
Fraudster Jailed For Exploiting Families Using Fake Rent-To-Buy Scheme

A property fraudster that unjustly conned many trusting people out of their property deposits, worth thousands, has been jailed. The 63-year-old con artist, Jonathan Mark Turner-Miller, pleaded guilty to the offence of fraud at Teesdie Crown Court. Turner-Miller had set up a fake rent-to-buy scheme between 2011 and 2014, whilst he was a director of […]
Home Owners Struggling To Make Second Step

The vast majority of people have found the property market fairly hostile in recent months. According to a recent report by Lloyds Banking Group, a third of home owners looking to take a second step up the housing market feel as though current conditions are making it a lot more difficult than 12 months ago. […]
Hidden Costs Overwhelming Home Buyers

As price transparency knocks on the door of the legal sector, a new report has criticised the house buying process for the level of hidden fees a buyer is expected to pay. Furthermore, the survey into the hidden fees of buying a house has condemned conveyancers and estate agents for crippling many home buyers. Research […]