An Insight Into The PII Market With Edward Donne
Time is nearly upon us for firms to begin their professional indemnity insurance (PII) renewals, with the usual ‘renewal season’ spanning the next three months. However, with the unprecedented times that we’ve experience in 2020, providing our readers with some information on the PII market at the moment seemed fitting. Edward Donne from Howdens Insurance […]
Government U-Turn Sees Eviction Ban Extended
In a dramatic last minute U-turn the Government has announced today (Friday 21st August) an extension of the Eviction Ban for a further 4 weeks. With the ban due to expire on Monday in England and Wales, the Government received warnings that if the ban was not extended there was a huge possibility of people […]
Search Acumen Comments On HMRC Property Transactions For July 2020
UK property transactions jump 14% over the last month, rising to 70,710 in July 2020, up from 61,780 in June 20201. Andy Sommerville, Director of Search Acumen, comments: “July’s transaction data exposes the stimulus that raising the Stamp Duty threshold has injected into the property market. “The recovery in transaction levels may be partly driven […]
Women In Residential Property Network Grows To 300 Members
Women in Residential Property (WIRP) which aims to encourage collaboration between those involved in residential property transactions and improve networking opportunities for women has grown to over 300 members since lockdown began. Commenting on the growth, Emma Vigus, Chair of WIRP: “Growth in our membership highlights the value of good quality, informed dialogue between those […]
Index Property Information To Present Interactive Masterclass Series
Leading property search provider Index Property Information have teamed up with conveyancing experts to provide a brand new interactive digital masterclass series for property professionals. Due to Covid-19 social distancing restrictions, Index Property Information have taken their previously planned events and cleverly transformed them into an interactive masterclass series. The aim is to offer the […]
Law Society Survey Results Revealed In Application To Legal Services Board
In an application to the Legal Services Board (LSB) that has the Law Society asking for the Practising Certificate (PC) fee to remain the same, the results from a recent survey, regarding the fee, have been revealed. The survey, undertaken between the 8 June and 10 July, asked solicitors whether they felt the current fees […]
Mortgage Market Has Felt No Immediate Impact After Stamp Duty Holiday
Despite the stamp duty holiday, the mortgage market has felt no immediate impact, online mortgage broker Trussle has reported. With lenders reducing the number of products with high LTV rates during the pandemic, many struggled to raise the higher deposits needed to purchase a property. Despite lenders now beginning to return products with up to […]
New Precedent For Estate Agent Finance Solicitors’ Undertakings
The largest local Law Societies in the UK have issued a new standard form for real estate finance solicitors’ undertakings. The City of London Law Society (CLLS) published the new precedent document which covers all common actions conveyancing solicitors carry out, such as land registry, stamp duty, tax returns, deeds and notices, and will provide […]
Calls For Stamp Duty Holiday To Become Permanent
One of the UK’s leading independent real estate consultancy has stated that the stamp duty holiday, which has raised the threshold in which stamp duty becomes payable, should be made permanent. The stamp duty holiday, announced by Rishi Sunak in July, can save buyers up to £14,999 due to increasing the current threshold of £125,000 […]
RICS Warn Property Boom Could Lead To Negative Market Economy
A up-to-date influential market report echoes a stark warning to the conveyancing sector confirming the upsurge in the residential property sales will not continue once support from the Government is removed. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) published their latest market report which comprised of a sentiment survey measuring the opinions of responding surveyors. […]
Online Agent Yopa Six Months Ahead Of Schedule On Profitability
Online estate agency Yopa has released a statement saying the company it has reached profitability six months ahead of schedule and now holds “a substantial amount” of cash on its balance sheets. July showed massive jumps in the number of listings on property portal Rightmove, showing a 76% increase on the number of listings the […]
National Firm Closed Down By SRA
A national firm, with offices across the United Kingdom, has been closed down by the SRA after they failed to comply with terms of its licence. An SRA spokesperson stated: “An intervention means the SRA has closed a firm with immediate effect. It will stop the firm from operating, take possession of all documents and […]
Buying A Home More Important Than A Summer Holiday
In what Rightmove is describing as the “rulebook being rewritten”, the mini boom the housing industry is currently going through is accelerating rather than decreasing. Usually the summer holidays are a time of relief for those in the industry, as buyers indulge in summer holidays and time spent off with family, rather than opting for […]
Industry Response To Increase In Conveyancing Vacancies
Following Today’s Conveyancer’s report on the increase in demand for conveyancers, reflected by the increase of vacancies on job site Indeed, we discuss reactions from those in the industry. New data this week has shown that the UK employment has suffered the biggest drop in more than a decade during the last quarter. Reports from […]
Compliance Measures Must Be Seen To Be Fair To Be Adopted
Our ‘Technical Corner’ brings you information that will help you to continue to grow and develop in your career. This month’s technical corner article comes from Amy Bell, Director at Teal Compliance If you have any questions for our panel of experts, please submit them using the contact form below. We will publish the questions […]
Did Property Expert’s prophecies Come True?
Two months on from his previous article, Today’s Conveyancer pick ups again with Karl Knipe, Director at Kings Group Estate Agents, to see how things are going. In his previous article Karl was bullish about the prospects for the property market; a bold prediction at the time but one that seems to be coming true […]
Law Firm Experiences Surge In Boundary Disputes During Lockdown Due To Warring Neighbours
Litigation lawyer and dispute resolution expert Guy Barr says his law firm has experienced a surge in boundary disputes during lockdown due to warring neighbours. Guy, who is Head of Dispute Resolution at Gordon Brown Law Firm LLP (GBLF), has received a threefold increase in calls involving neighbour and boundary disputes since the lockdown was […]
Attempt To Cover Up Mistake Leads To Paralegal Ban
Paralegal, Amy Hannah Whiting, has been banned from working in law firms after attempting to cover up a mistake in not sending an updated plan to the buyer’s solicitor. In January 2019, following the client providing a plan of a new-build property that included a garage, a paralegal working for a Leeds based firm, Ms […]
Backlogs In Issuing Of ID Documents Creating Surge In Electronic ID Verification
Anti-money-laundering specialist SmartSearch, has stated that backlogs in issuing official ID documents has created a surge of interest in remote, document-free electronic ID verification. The Passport Office and DVLA issued warnings of significant delays in issuing new ID or for those looking to renew their documents, due to reduced staffing which has resulted in a […]
HM Land Registry Enhances Users’ Portal Experiences
HM Land Registry has confirmed that customers are now able to manage all applications through the Land Registry Portal as well as all correspondence in one place. Following the announcement that Land Registry was to allow electronic signatures for transfers of ownership, leases, mortgages and other property dealings, the confirmation that all applications can now […]