News brought to you by the Today’s Conveyancer editorial team.
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
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
The second reading of the much heralded Leasehold and Freehold Bill is to have its second reading in Parliament today (11th December). The bill was released just weeks after the King’s Speech and was lauded
There is an opportunity for a change in the way conveyancers offer their services as a result of the introduction of the Material Information Guidance, suggests Head of the National Trading Standards Estate and Lettings
A halt in interest rate rises, lower mortgage interest rates and rising house prices have contributed to an increase in positive sentiment across home buyers. A third of people recently surveyed think house prices will
“In the fast-paced world of conveyancing, time is a precious commodity” says Adil Hamid, Business Development Director at Auxilio, a private equity backed legal outsourcing service. “Auxilio enables busy fee earners, managing 50, 80, even
A technology start-up which aims to automate dealing with additional enquiries raised in the conveyancing process has received “substantial investment” as accelerates the development of its product. Collaborative Conveyancing, which had previously announced it has
Plans for Leasehold reform, first announced in the King’s Speech and the subsequent Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, could cost the taxpayer millions of pounds in compensation. Trade body the Residential Freehold Association (RFA) has
The wide availability of home owner data empowers criminals and enables title fraud warns the founder of a new service designed to tackle the issue of property being sold from under the noses of the
The property market in England is estimated to have risen in value by as much as 27% following the pandemic. It has been suggested that the total value of property now sits at £7.7tn, up
The appointment of a trio of senior hires has been hailed as a “milestone” for regional law firm Steele Raymond. The appointments of Tim Higham and Jane Lynch in their residential property and private client
A pressure group that says it represents the interests of property lawyers has described the Parts A, B, and C guidance introduced last week by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team as
An Australian practice management system has formally launched in the UK at this year’s Legalex Conference. Smokeball is a cloud practice management platform first launched in Australia in 2008 and since then has expanded in
Conveyancer Insights have launched a directory. They specialise in providing mystery shopper reports to law firms that are trying to improve their new business and first client contact processes. Mike Stainsby, Commercial Director at Conveyancer
A self styled homebuying platform and challenger portal has claimed it has succeeded in cutting transaction times in half following a year-long express conveyancing trial. OneDome describes itself as “a digital platform for property transactions
A survey of SME home builders has identified planning system failings and falling buyer demand as two key factors in the fall in the number of new homes being built. The Federation of Masters Builders’
The government’s heralded “Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill” has been published without a key element of the intended legislation. The published bill does not ban developers from selling new build property as leasehold, an admission
Property Insights Round Up for 4th December 2023. Today’s Conveyancer reported on the latest property transaction data, stating that property transactions were down 17% in October 2023 compared to the same time last year. Propertymark
A fundamental lack of understanding amongst home movers on the complexity of the conveyancing, and home moving, process is preventing fees from being increased. The failure of conveyancers to properly explain the value of conveyancing;
Conveyancing nirvana might be the perfect contract pack says Rob Gurney, Managing Director of Ochresoft in the latest Today’s Conveyancer podcast. Rob discusses how the desire for speed has created a rod for our own
An update on the CTS website has been published providing further information around their response to the “cyber incident” reported over a week ago. The Managed Service Provider (MSP) has said it had implemented a
Home movers, estate agents and conveyancers are being urged to get “MoveReady” following the launch of a home moving app that will encourage vendors to instruct their conveyancer before listing their property, enabling compliance with
Conveyancers affected by the cyber incident at infrastructure provider CTS are “doing their best” to get people moved as the outage enters its second week. The incident was first reported last Wednesday (22nd) and confirmed
A 12 month trial of an in-house on-boarding software has resulted in a reduction in transaction times of up to 7 weeks, say Derby-based legal, property and financial specialists, Sort Group. The software, which was
A new report from countryside charity CPRE has suggested that England is in the midst of a “rural housing crisis” as people are driven from country living by record house prices, low wages, a rise
Further details have emerged around the £3m of funding allocated to investment in the home buying and selling process announced in last week’s Autumn Statement. It is hoped the investment in innovative technologies and data
Windsor-based Charles Coleman has acquired acquires local firm Seakens Solicitors and expanded it’s operations into Virginia Water. The combined business will operate under the Charles Coleman LLP Solicitors name with the Virginia Water office being
A survey of professional services firms has identified a fall in the number of regulated firms who “always” check new customers again sanctions or Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) lists. From 84% of firms committed to
The number of conveyancing professionals currently undertaking transactions has fallen by 13% since 2021 and transaction volumes may not recover until 2025 with the first nine months of 2023 down by 22% compared to the
The “Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill” is set to be introduced to Parliament today (27th November), just two weeks after the Kings Speech. The Bill could see new leasehold homes banned in England and Wales
A cyber incident, which was first reported on Wednesday 22nd November, has brought many conveyancing firms, and transactions, to a standstill. Legal sector specialist infrastructure service provider CTS confirmed last week it had been the
With a Competition and Markets Authority investigation hanging over them until recently, and with new ownership which has brought about changes in the management team, it’s fair to say conveyancing search and technology provider tmgroup