How Live Chat Is Changing Lead Generation For Conveyancers And Helping To Capture And Nurture Leads In Real Time.
As technology reshapes the very essence of how legal practices operate, we are all very aware of the value of the customer experience, particularly in a digital, fast paced and highly competitive conveyancing market. Conveyancers need to offer a more digitally-savvy and 24/7 response to meeting the needs of clients and prospects and it’s where […]
School Cancer Fear From Potential Land Contamination
Two schools in North Lanarkshire have found themselves at the centre of chemical contamination fears and may be closed early for the summer holidays. Teachers and union officials at the Buchanan and St Ambrose high schools in Coatbridge want the school shut down during a site survey to be carried out by the local Council. […]
The Health And Well-Being Of People Working In Legal Services
Two thirds of solicitors (66%) feel high levels of stress in their jobs according to a myriad of research into the legal sector and mental health issues. Every year in the UK, 70 million workdays are lost to mental illness. When mental illness is now the leading cause of sickness and absence from work, it […]
Land Registry Applications Increase Marginally In May
Completed land registry applications in the month to May increased marginally by 0.5%. Last, HM Land Registry completed 1,732,280 applications to change or query the land registry. May’s total number of completed requests represents a 2.9% increase on the 1,682,690 requests made in April. The majority of applications regarded requests for an official copy of […]
Market Resumes Seasonal Norms As Buyers And Sellers Return
Buyers and sellers are returning to the market as the number of registered property hunters and new instructions return to seasonal average in May. A welcome statistic from May’s Housing Report by the National Association of Estate Agents is the return and increase of housing stock to the market. The number of available properties registered […]
Government Offer Leaseholders Hope Following Immediate Sector Changes
Following a speech at the Chartered Institute of Housing Conference earlier today, James Brokenshire, Secretary of Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has announced that all new build housing will need to be sold as a freehold property. There will be an immediate action to ban Help to Buy developers selling leasehold houses. […]
Search Acumen Comments On MHCLG Planning Applications In England
Andy Sommerville, Director at Search Acumen, comments: “It’s been a strong year for housebuilding, but planning applications and grants have continued to fall – 2018/2019 has seen the biggest dip in applications for a decade. At this rate, a slowdown in housebuilding is inevitable. “While there is a dip in the time taken to grant […]
Double Shortlisting Honour For SearchFlow At The 2019 Modern Law Conveyancing Awards
SearchFlow – the UK’s leading provider of search solutions and legal reports – has been announced as finalist in this year’s Eclipse Proclaim Modern Law Conveyancing Awards, in two categories. It has been shortlisted in the ‘Search Provider of the Year’ and ‘Outstanding Commitment to Training’ categories. The award nominations both celebrate SearchFlow’s commitment to […]
Landmark Information Announces Industry Partnership With CILEx
Landmark Information, the property, land and environmental data specialist, has been announced as an official industry partner of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx). Industry partners are recognised service providers that offer approved products and services to CILEx’s 20,000 members and stakeholders. Already involved in CILEx’s ‘specialist reference group’ for conveyancing and a sponsor […]
Recent Court Ruling Stamps Out Stamp Duty Avoidance
A stamp duty expert has lost an appeal after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) accused the property buyer of tax avoidance. David Hannah, owner of Cornerstone tax and expert in Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) issues since 2003, bought a property worth £765,000 in 2011. After paying an initial deposit of £38,250 to the vendor, […]
Central London Property Transactions Starting To Improve
Despite property transactions in Greater London falling by more than a fifth since 2014, recent data has found that property transactions in the capital may be on an upward trajectory once again. According to London Central Portfolio, quarterly transactions in Greater London have improved by 13.8% from the start of the year. Although on a […]
LFS Conveyancing Awards’ Shortlist For Best Innovation in Conveyancing Shortlist Category
The Law Firm Services Conveyancing Conference and gala dinner with awards ceremony have become a leading conveyancing event in the UK, with its array of innovative ideas, exhibitors and speakers. The 2019 event, which is sponsored by Groundsure, brings together the conveyancing industry to celebrate its achievements in the last 12 months, will take place […]
Billion-Pound Commercial Real Estate League Revealed
Twice as many locations in England and Wales broke the £1bn sales mark in 2018 than 2016 Search Acumen Commercial Real Estate Insights – June 2019 Thirteen local authority districts across England and Wales exceeded £1bn of commercial real estate sales in 2018, compared with only six in 2016 Total value of commercial sales jumped […]
June UK Flooding: Our Vulnerability Exposed Again
After a sun baked February, the UK weather once again confounds us in June. 3 months rainfall in 3 days has left extensive flooding across parts of the Midlands, the South and Lincolnshire. It has led to fresh human dramas and exposed the vulnerability of our infrastructure to locally extreme rainfall and its impact on […]
Council Housing New Builds Reached 29 Year High In 2017/18
The government are ramping up their commitment to solving the housing crisis as more local authorities now own building and development companies than ever before. According to a study conducted by the Royal Town Planning Institute, 78% of local authorities now own their own building company. This has led to the most council owned homes […]
Proptech Expert Discusses Role Of Technology In Conveyancing Process
Legal technology is still in its infancy and law firms are only beginning to scratch the surface in their understanding of how innovative tech can help the conveyancing process. The Government has recently invested £2 million in legaltech innovators, recognising the importance of ensuring the legal sector, currently worth £35 billion a year to our […]
Who Should Report A SAR?
The publication this week of the Law Commission’s report into the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements for the reporting of suspicious activity has prompted firms to return the perennial question of who should be responsible for reporting? It’s been a long-held theory that the quality and quantity of SARs reporting might improve if it was the […]
Multiple Organisations Plead For Right To Rent Abolition
A group of national organisations have pleaded with the hopeful future leaders of Great Britain, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, to scrap the Right to Rent scheme which breaches human rights and causes racial discrimination according to the High Court. Residential Landlords Association, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and the3million, which protects […]
UK’s Top 50 Law Firms Vulnerable To Economic Incidents
The UK’s top 50 law firms do not hold enough cash to cover an entire month’s wages if the sector suffered an economic setback. According to accountancy firm Smith & Williamson and website Legal Week, on average, the top 5o law firms hold monthly cash of £410 million. However, the average monthly payroll figures exceed […]
Later Life Lending Will Increase 85% Within A Decade
Later life lending to set to double in the next decade. According to joint research, carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) and commissioned by more 2 life, have found that lending to property buyers and owners over the age of 55-years-old is set to increase by 85.7% from £295 billion […]
