Expert Offers Insight Into New Freehold Scandal
Onerous ground rents, excessive permission fees and unfair contract terms are issues only plaguing leasehold ownership…right? Well, according to recent media coverage, freehold homeowners of new build property are also coming to terms with toxic conditions with restrictive covenants hidden within their ownership terms. In total, it is thought that more than 1 million freehold […]
Thames Water Property Searches: Dedicated To Training
My inbox is groaning with invitations to ‘free’ events. And like you, I have given up several mornings/days attending talks which, although mildly informative, do not compensate for the avalanche of work awaiting me when I return to my desk. The last Thames Water Property Searches Commercial Property Event, held in September, proved to be […]
Introducing Compare My Move’s Conveyancing Service
Following our successful removals and surveying services, Compare My Move has been working hard to introduce and expand our conveyancing service to help movers across the UK with their moving journey. Conveyancing is such a vital part of the moving process and so we aim to build and expand our network of professional conveyancers to […]
How To Make The Most Of A Conveyancing Lead Generation Service
Using a lead generation service for your conveyancing business is a great way to stay busy with more work, especially during those quiet periods. Compare My Move proudly provide UK conveyancers with high-quality, real-time conveyancing leads from customers who need a conveyancer right now. It’s important that you make the most out of a lead […]
Blockchain Used To Create End To End Home Buying Journey
One of the UK’s leading banks and lenders, Natwest, has teamed up with a network of experts in the property sector to further develop blockchain and distributed ledger technology to create a seamless mortgage to home buying experience. The blockchain offering will utilise Natwest’s mobile banking app and will create an end to end home […]
Housing Chains Increasingly Stifling Transaction Completions
Over half of all property transactions are now trapped in a chain. According to proptech company View My Chain, 55% of all transactions are struggling with the pressure of being involved in a chain. The research further found up to 20 separate stakeholders to be involved in some transactions with many of these key property […]
SearchFlow Launches Free AML Risk Assessment Best Practice guidance
SearchFlow – the UK’s leading provider of conveyancing search solutions and legal reports – has launched a free best practice guide and on-demand webinar for property lawyers and conveyancers, which focuses on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Risk Assessments. With the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) sending a strong message to property law professionals that failure to have […]
How Do We Score Your Mystery Shop?
Getting feedback is a great way for businesses to learn and improve on areas that they may be struggling in. Many sectors have mystery shoppers, and the conveyancing sector is no different. In a highly competitive market, it’s vital that your team is at the top of their game, when it comes to asking for […]
Public Demand Government Gazundering Regulations
The majority (80%) of all homeowners are looking for the Government to create legislation preventing gazumping and gazundering. Almost a third (31%) of respondents had experienced the inconvenience and heartache of a home sale falling through because of gazumping or gazundering in the last ten years, according to research from Market Financial Solutions. Respondents found […]
Conservative Housing Pledges: Non-Doms SDLT Rise, Lifetime Rental Deposits And Mortgages
The Conservative Party has announced a raft of plans to solve the housing crisis with non-domestic stamp duty hikes, lifetime rental deposits and lifetime mortgage solutions promised as appropriate measures appealing to a wide demographic. Where the Liberal Democrats pledged to help young renters to gain a foothold onto the rental market by offering a […]
CLC Provides Guidance On Using Third-Party Review Sites
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has issued guidance for legal websites using third-party review sites. The exponential growth of review sites in recent years has highlighted the increasing importance of customer testimonials in promoting a business and increasing profits. Tripadvisor in particular, is now a dominant force in influencing customers’ decisions when it comes to […]
SDLT Reform High On Property Organisations’ Mainifesto Wish List
Despite Brexit dominating the political landscape in recent history and set to bombard the election campaign, issues of housing affordability, stamp duty land tax (SDLT) reform, shared ownership changes, ownership legislative changes, supply issues and mortgage prisoner concerns are facets of the property market that require Governmental consideration. As the country gears up for the second […]
1 Million New Homes By 2024: Manifesto Mania Sweeps Westminster
Labour are set to release their manifesto in Birmingham later today, but leaked documents suggest that Jeremy Corbyn is set to pledge the construction of 100,000 council and housing association houses per year. The 2019 manifesto has clear Corbynian policies with the housing promises reflecting the ideas he promised as far back as 2015 during […]
NHBC launch new Standards for UK House Builders
The National House-Building Council (NHBC) has announced a number of technical standards set to be launched in 2020. From 1st January 2020, every home covered by an NHBC warranty will need to ensure that they comply with the new quality standards. The NHBC hope that changes will reduce construction defects, improve consumer satisfaction and decrease the amount of […]
Residential Transactions Take 120 Days To Complete
Property transactions are now taking in excess of 120 days from an offer being accepted and the property sold subject to contract and actually completing. Prop tech company View My Chain have tracked the average time it takes to complete each stage in the process in the hope of finding solutions to reduce inefficiencies and speed […]
CoPSO Claim Searches Are Not To Blame For Delays
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has criticised the media for lambasting the searches sector for slowing down the home buying and selling process. They acknowledge that some local authorities may be guilty of slow search return times but assured the sector that the majority are returned within the Government recommended time frame of […]
Fraudster Jailed After Stealing £75k Home
A con woman has been jailed for 20 months after changing her name by deed poll, and selling a £75,000 house, without the real owner knowing. Sarah Broadbelt took out a passport under her new identity of Marion Patterson – the legal owner of the property – and opened two bank accounts, conning the solicitors […]
Conveyancing Transactions Tumble 23% Since 2017
Conveyancing transactions have plummeted by over a fifth since 2017. According to Search Acumen’s conveyancing market tracker, the opening three quarters of 2019 completed 23% fewer transactions than in 2017 and a 4% reduction on 2018’s total up to September. Between January and September, conveyancers worked on 731,799 residential transactions which represented a 12% fall […]
RICS Overhaul Home Surveys To Improve Home Moving Process
This week the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) launched a new Home Survey Standard to protect buyers and sellers, while providing better clarity and transparency to consumers. The new mandatory standard followed an industry and consumer consultation that was commissioned earlier in 2019. With surveyors and consumers calling for more clarity surrounding home surveys, the new Home […]
HS2 – what is the future of the scheme?
Uncertainty, misinformation and political unrest are not a new phenomenon within the United Kingdom. However, we are currently passing through particularly turbulent and uncertain times and the future of HS2 is contributing to this. This project has been inherited by three conservative prime ministers and four different conservative/ coalition governments, after it was originally devised […]