“A money making scam” – Leasehold reform passed second reading in Parliament
The government has bullishly outlined its approach to leasehold reform through 3 hours of discussion and debate as the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill passed through its second reading in Parliament. As a succession of MPs aired their own constituent’s views, Housing Minister Michael Gove responded by saying he “couldn’t agree more” with the assertion […]
How Your Firm Could Be Making Better Use of Capital Allowances in 2024 with Leyton and On Point Data
The capital allowances regime is an ever-evolving form of UK tax relief which is available to almost every business that incurs capital expenditure for the purposes of their qualifying activity. In most instances, accountants and tax advisors are familiar with the relevant legislation and make claims as part of the routine year-end tax compliance process […]
Armalytix Legal Year in Review 2023
Against a tide of regulation, Conveyancing remains very much the highest risk area and this was evidenced by the fact that a failure to carry out Source of Funds checks continued to remain the second most common reason for an AML report to be received by the SRA. According to the regulator in their most recent report, understanding the source […]
1m home moves predicted in 2024
Mortgage lending is predicted to fall to pre-Covid levels according to UK Finance figures released this week. Lending for property purchases has fallen by 23% in 2023, and is predicted to fall a further 8% in 2024 before a small recovery in 2025. The result is that lending will return to levels last seen in […]
9 month suspended sentence for tipping off
In a first for the legal profession, a solicitor has been handed a 9 month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, for “tipping off” a client about a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into the funding of a property purchase. William Osmond, co-founder of Osmond and Osmond Solicitors Ltd, is the first solicitor to be […]
The estate agent’s view: Market resilient in face of economic backdrop
CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals, Iain McKenzie delivers his thoughts what we learnt from the property market in 2023, and what the year ahead might look like for property professionals. Describing the market as “resilient” McKenzie says “The economic winds are changing, bringing optimism to the market. Mortgage rates are normalising; however, buyer […]
“All change please”: End of the line for status quo?
It is fair to say that ‘Home Information Packs (HIPs) 1.0’ wasn’t exactly embraced by the industry and eventually brought the “quasi-lawyers” (estate agents) out onto the streets with their pitchforks! The reticence then was HIPs would slow the market down, add extra cost to selling and alienate casual sellers. From my memory of selling […]