New Conveyancing Firm Launched in Leeds
Adele Baker, Emma Newby and Gary McAuley, three experienced conveyancers with over 50 years’ experience have partnered together to create the new Leed’s based conveyancing firm, Lets Move Conveyancing. The trio have worked together for the last 12 years but decided to create their own firm, concentrating primarily on residential sales, purchase and remortgaging work. […]
Searches UK Honoured In 2019 Modern Law Conveyancing Awards
Searches UK has been highly commended in the Search Provider of the Year category at the prestigious Eclipse Proclaim Modern Law Conveyancing Awards. Now in their fourth year, the awards celebrate success in the UK conveyancing market by recognising talent, achievement and innovation. The awards ceremony took place on 18th July at The Rum Warehouse […]
Local Authority Downgrades Summer Search Suspension To Delayed Service
Surrey Heath Council has announced that the summer postponement of all local authority searches has now been downgraded to a delay to service. The Council claimed that the upgrades to their database software, which provides information on local land charges, building controls and planning issues, would prevent them from being able to accept requests during […]
Transactions Decrease In 2019 But Sector Set To Grow 6% By 2022
The UK conveyancing sector is contracting at a faster pace than the previous two years of decline. According to the ‘UK Conveyancing Market 2019: Market Trends‘ Report, UK residential transactions decreased by 6.6% in the opening half of 2019 and is set to fall further in the second half of the year. This figure has […]
Construction Industry Output And Confidence Falls Again
The construction industry continued contracting for the fifth month out of the last six as political uncertainty and weakened economy erode investor confidence. According to data from the IHT Markit/CIPS UK Construction index, July’s construction figures of 45.3 slipped below the no change standard of 50 for the fifth time in six months. Although July’s […]
Shaving 36% Off SDLT Could Improve Transactions By 40%
Following Boris Johnson’s campaign pledge involving a revaluation of stamp duty land tax (SDLT), a buying agency expert has estimated that changes to the current system could produce a tax benefit worth over £9 billion per year According to buying agency, Ludgrove, this could be achieved via a 36% reduction in stamp duty land tax […]
Future Gazing – Industry Experts Debate What’s Next In PropTech
We recently held a series of stimulating round tables to reflect on the PropTech landscape and the potential of future innovations. We invited representatives from HM Land Registry (HMLR), Leverton, an Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning technology company, International Property Network (IPN), a blockchain property technology firm, research-led Artificial Intelligence company, Eigen Technologies, and also […]
Storm Clouds Gathering Over The Construction Sector
There are a number of worrying signs for the construction industry with Brexit uncertainty being blamed for a nervous property market. According to the Federation of Master Builder’s (FMB) ‘State of Trade’ survey for the second quarter or 2019, the UK average suggests that the construction industry grew in the second quarter of the year […]
Industry Experts To Discuss Cyber Crime And Technology
Today’s Conveyancer’s latest round table event is less than a week away. As the nation adjusts to a new Prime Minister and prepares for a final Brexit outcome, the property market has experienced an ever-changing landscape. Despite shifting regulations and a hot seat of key political figures shaping the sector, the only real constants have […]
Only A Quarter Of Younger Generation Will Own Property By 2026
The majority of people who do not currently own their own home believe that the dream is now permanently beyond their reach. According to a recent survey from lender, Santander, 70% of respondents feel they will never own their own home without significant support and the younger generations will only struggle further in the future […]
Livingbridge Announces Investment In Simply Conveyancing Property Lawyers
Simply Conveyancing Property Lawyers have strengthened their position as a tech-enabled market leader after Livingbridge, a leader in mid-market private equity investment, has announced their investment in the firm. Livingbridge’s Enterprise 2 fund will benefit Simply’s clients, agents and end users as the investment is looking to bolster and improve technology and staff development. Despite […]
New Build Registrations Reach Highest Levels Since 2007
Builders and developers registered their highest number of new homes in more than a decade in the second quarter of 2019. According to the three-month data, provided by the National House Building Council, over 43,000 new homes were registered between April 2019 and June 2019. Overall, the 43,438 homes registered marks a 12% increase on […]
Local Authority Suspends Searches For Entire Summer Period
A local authority has failed to implement a contingency plan allowing a facility to provide local searches for a period of six-weeks. Surrey Heath Council has claimed that it is upgrading and adapting the database software it uses. Unfortunately, this software provides information on local land charges, building controls and planning issues. The announcement also […]
SRA Figures Suggest AML Is On The Rise
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) revealed that there was a 43% increase in money laundering reports in the opening nine months of 2018. In 2017, 152 reports of money laundering allegations were made against SRA regulated law firms. Unfortunately, this increased to 218 between January and September last year. The findings were released as part […]
Instructions and Enquiries Dip Marginally In June
Confidence in the property market has deteriorated slightly in June as the number of active buyers and sellers declines. Despite the significant increase in the number of registered house hunters per estate agency in May to 307, June’s house hunters have fallen marginally to 305. The number of house hunters in June have also decreased […]
19% Of Home Moves Scuppered By Avoidable Delays
Almost a fifth (19%) of home moves in the past two years were disrupted by severe moving delays, affecting more than 115,000 transactions. According to research conducted by You Gov on behalf of the HomeOwners Alliance and Shieldpay, the delays piled up following issues pertaining to the release of funds and sellers failing to vacate […]
Primark Request Rent Reductions As Commercial Property Sector Falters
Retail juggernauts Primark have followed a number of struggling businesses like House of Fraser, Monsoon and Topshop, by requesting their rents be reduced by a third. The high street has long been in a state of decline as the pressure from online retailers has taken a huge toll on bricks and mortar traders. In order […]
Fraudsters Increasingly Using Email To Target Law Firms And Their Clients
In recent weeks, the legal sector has been reminded of the persistent threats bombarding law firms and their clients confidently using legal services. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has issued eight email scam reports in July alone as cyber criminals target the rich and sensitive information held by legal service providers. Worryingly, email impersonation fraud […]
Time For Consistency? 3 Housing Secretaries in 2 Years And 9 Housing Ministers In 9 Years
The housing sector welcomed its third Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government in two years and ninth Minister of Housing in nine years earlier this week following Boris Johnson’s immediate cabinet reshuffle. Robert Jenrick MP, who succeeds James Brokenshire as the housing secretary, may be an unknown to many since he burst […]
GP Forced To Share Home With Previous Owner’s Ex-Wife Following Property Fraud
A GP has been forced to share 50% of his home with the wife of the previous owner after the property was sold without her consent. Dr Babar Akbar, 31, bought the Dunfermline based house off Donald Booth in December 2016 with the intention of housing himself, his wife and his parents. All was well […]