Avoid The Extreme Weather By Making A Warming First Impression
The extreme weather has only just begun but the cold snap has already outstayed its welcome for many of us in the opening month of 2019. As I was scraping the layers of ice from my car windscreen this morning, I remembered a conversation I had with a local estate agent, new to the area, […]
NAEA Data Suggests FTB Sales Declined In 2018
The number of properties sold to First-time buyers using estate agents has decreased significantly from the same figures obtained in December 2017. According to December’s NAEA Propertymark report, 24% of estate agent sales were made to FTBs. Although this was up by 1% on November’s figures, it marks a decrease of 8% from December 2017. […]
Land Registry Adopting Blockchain Technology To Create Safer And Faster System
HM Land Registry (HMLR) have said that they intend to continue working with industry partners in a bid to ensure they remain ahead of the curve in terms of digitisation and the implementation of new technology. In particular, HM Land Registry are committed to improving its data and the way this data is stored and […]
Aviva Bid To Increase Legal Indemnity Usage Through InfoTrack
Aviva and InfoTrack have announced a partnership that will see Legal Indemnities Online made available through InfoTrack’s innovative conveyancing services platform. It is the first time Aviva’s Legal Indemnity products have been made available for conveyancers to access through a third-party channel and will include residential, commercial and bespoke policies, making InfoTrack the first conveyancing […]
Annual Mortgage Lending Figures Increase By 3.8%
UK Finance data has revealed that gross residential mortgage lending increased by 4.7% in December when compared with the figures from a year earlier. The overall lending In December grew from £20.1 billion to £21.1 billion. Whilst the annual mortgage lending figure of £267.5 billion was up 3.8% on 2017’s figures, the £23.8 billion of […]
Modern Methods Of Construction And Implications For Conveyancers
Within the next five years 400,000 skilled and expert construction workers are set to retire, this equates to around 25% of the workforce according to Homes England, Strategic Plan. Despite the government’s widely publicised target of 300,000 homes per year by 2020, construction output in recent years has fallen significantly below this figure. Even with […]
Radon: Removing a Killer from the House
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can affect properties across the UK, not just in the South West like many imagine. We take a look at what it is, the risks and impacts on buildings and how even if it is discovered, that the property transaction can be stay on track. What is […]
Estate Agents Must Operate Transparently To Consumers Regarding Referral Fees
Heather Wheeler, Minister for Housing and Homelessness, outlined the government’s position on referral fees and new housing reforms at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers annual conference. Whilst delivering a talk at the CLC conference, Mrs Wheeler told delegates that she is “concerned with the lack of transparency” around referral fees. Following the National Trading Standards Estate […]
Holistically Shared Data Sources Will Solve Housing Problems
Improved data and technology have been identified as the key ingredients to improve consumer confidence in the housing market, reduce fraud and ensure the efficient and timely turn around on housing completions. Whilst on the Home Buying Panel at the Council of Licensed Conveyancers’ annual conference, Mike Harlow, acting chief executive of HM Land Registry […]
Lawyer Checker And Legal Ombudsman Joins Forces To Help Reduce Cybercrime
Lawyer Checker are collaborating with Legal Ombudsman to help protect law firms through an interactive webinar about how best to protect themselves from cybercrime and what to do if you are a victim to a cyberattack. The Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP) predicted the cost of probate fraud at £150 million – stating […]
CLC Conference Round Up – Referral Fees, Reservation Agreements And Modern Methods Of Construction
The Council Of Licensed Conveyancers Annual Conference 2019 seemed to have found the perfect location to reflect the political uncertainty, with the choppy, murky and unsettled river Thames below providing a perfect opaque reflection of the year ahead. Despite the political turmoil bubbling across the river, the beautiful ETC Venues building was packed full of […]
Significant Decreases In December’s Property Transactions
The Office for National Statistics has found that the property market suffered a significant decrease in property transactions in December. The provisional seasonally adjusted UK property transaction count for December was 102,330 residential properties and 11,230 non-residential properties. In terms of seasonally adjusted data, this marks a 0.1% decrease on the month before. However, when […]
Welsh House Prices Peaked At The End of 2018
In December 2018, house prices in Wales surpassed themselves and reached an all-time peak by taking the average price across the UK to £186,699 according to the latest quarterly index. Looking at the fourth quarter of the year, Principality Building Society confirmed the new peak is £2,000 higher than the previous highest average in September […]
Digital Solutions Continue To Reduce Conveyancing Timescales
With the average conveyancing transaction taking 14 weeks to complete in 2018, many firms have been looking at innovative ways of creating a more efficient and inclusive process for the consumer. One way to achieve this has been through using a range of technological solutions to create a more fluent digital process. In recent weeks, […]
Potential Shift Away From Leasehold Property And Improved Conditions For Leaseholders
Sometimes in this industry you feel like you’re at the start of a journey towards change, however most of the time the end point and goal appears to be a long way in the future. It’s rare however for that change to be within touching distance however when it comes to the leasehold reform I […]
Brexit Cast A Shadow Over The UK Property Market, Leaving The Market Flattened
Search Acumen comments on HMRC’s Monthly Property Transactions for December Andy Sommerville, Director of Search Acumen, comments: “Brexit clearly cast a shadow over the UK property market in the run-up to Christmas, leaving the market flattened as a result. It’s likely the same shadow will extend into January once the first 2019 indicators emerge. “Uncertainty […]
Introducer Spotlight – The Moving Hub And Move Home Group
Every month we are intending to interview one major introducer of work to conveyancers to understand their business, what they want from conveyancers and what frustrates them. This is the first in the series. If you introduce work to conveyancers and want to be interviewed, we’d be keen to talk. The last calendar year ended […]
The Daily Deceit In The Home Buying And Selling Process
We only have to watch the news for a short amount of time to understand that the world is full of lies and deceit. This is not always a bad thing; I will always wax lyrical about my wife’s outfit choice for the day, even if her jumper resembles Harry Potter’s favourite house elf’s smock. […]
Lawyer Fined For Failing To Identify Panama Paper Clients’ PEP Status
A London lawyer, whose clients were linked to the Panama Paper scandal, has been fined by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT). Khalid Mohammed Sharif, partner at Westminster private client firm, Child & Child, was fined £45,000 for failing to carry out adequate due diligence on wealthy foreign clients that were politically exposed persons (PEPs). Additionally, […]
SureMove Increase Social Media And Digital Presence
SureMove is embracing the future and bravely venturing into the digital world of social media. When such a large section of the population utilise digital platforms every day, we found it necessary to improve our customer experience by providing communication platforms we all increasingly demand. With that in mind, we would like to unveil our […]