Mortgages In Arrears Decrease In 2018
Whilst the property market may be struggling at present, mortgage arrears and property possessions are now at an all time low figure. In the third quarter of 2018, there were 77,600 homeowner mortgages in arrears of 2.5% or more of the outstanding balance. This is 5% lower than a year ago. There were 24,090 homeowner […]
Government Consultation On Holiday Let Business Rates Relief
The Government have launched a consultation that could alter the way council tax and business rates are applied to people with second homes in the UK. The consultation process will research claims that some people with second homes are exploiting a ‘tax loophole’ that could be costing local councils millions of pounds in council tax. […]
LEAP Wins Two Awards At The British Legal Technology Awards 2018
LEAP, the leading provider of legal practice management software, is proud and honoured to have won awards for Innovation in Legal Services and Supplier of the Year – Small & Medium Enterprise at the recently held British Legal Technology Awards. The ‘Innovation in Legal Services’ award recognises how solution providers are driving the future of […]
Government Could Introduce Property Logbooks
Government representatives from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government have criticised the current conveyancing process due to completion times and seemingly poor levels of communication throughout the process. The home buying process currently takes, on average, 19 weeks from acceptance to completion. Additionally, the cost of failed transactions, in part due to a […]
Equity Release Continues To Rise
As older home owners look for innovative ways to help fund their later life and retirement, equity release continues to thrive. The Equity Release Market Monitor Report data found that the quarter three statistics had increased by 25% on the same results twelve months earlier. The total has now reached £933 million for this quarter. […]
Annual House Price Growth Lowest In Five Years
The most recent House Price Index continues to perpetuate the claim that the housing market has reached a house price affordability ceiling point as the figures suggest the slowest price increases in five years. According to the Halifax House Price Index for October, the average price of a UK home is £227,869 and a monthly […]
Problems With Leasehold Covenants
DUVAL v 11-13 RANDOLPH CRESCENT LIMITED [2018] EWCA Civ 2298 This recent case shows the difficulties that can arise with leasehold flats when the drafting of the lease terms has not been properly thought through. 11-13 Randolph Crescent in Maida Vale comprised two houses which had been converted into nine flats, each held under a […]
Law Society Admonishes SRA And LSB Approved Tiered Solicitor Proposal
As the Legal Services Board approve the SRA’s proposal to allow multiple tiers of solicitors, the Law Society have warned that it may slacken existing rules and reduce public protection. The rule change will permit sole solicitors to act outside the protections of a recognised sole practice and would not be subject to entity regulation. […]
Conveyancing Firm Fined For Conflict Of Interest Breach
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) had accused Manchester firm Sleigh Son & Booth of four separate offences that created a clear conflict of interest. Following a recent ruling by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), the firm have been fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs in the amount of £20,000, despite the SRA asking for […]
Government Fail To Meet 300,000 New Home Pledge
Despite insisting in the 2017 budget that the government intended to build 300,000 new homes a year to help ease the housing crisis in England, latest figures by the Office for Budget Responsibility have found that hosing stock in England is falling short of the 300,000 pledge by over 20%. At current levels, the OBR […]
Only One Quarter Of Young People Can Afford To Buy Their Home
A recent report by MoneySuperMarket has emphasised that changing landscape of home ownership in the UK over the past thirty years. In particular, the headline figure focused on the fact that there are now around a quarter of young people able to afford a home of their own in comparison to figures from 1991. This […]
NCA Report Highlights Increasing Threat From Organised Crime
Over 4,600 serious organised crime agencies cost the UK economy £37 billion per year; this is a 54% rise compared with the £24 billion worth of losses found during the last report five years ago. In particular, the National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime 2018 report carried out by the National Crime Agency […]
SRA Announce Price Transparency Date and Digital Badge
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have just released their official dates for price transparency and confirmation of the use of their new digital badge. Remaining consistent with the date agreed by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), the SRA will also enforce price and service transparency from December 6th. Additionally, firms will also need to […]
Future Climate Info And Terrafirma Raise The Bar For Environmental Reports
Two innovative environmental data experts join forces to create unique offering Future Climate Info (FCI) has teamed up with Terrafirma to deliver the most comprehensive package yet of environmental risk data, protection and support for homebuyers. Available now, the all-new Premium Plus CON29M combines Future Climate Info’s Premium residential environmental search, with Terrafirma’s new official […]
Councils Struggle To Meet Residential Land Search Deadlines
Around 15% of councils are struggling to meet property search expectations. In some lucky cases, a search can take as little as a day; however, there have been cases of a 95 day wait for a completed search. Researchers from Move IQ analysed the figures from the 326 English local authorities and found a huge […]
Wales Release Autumn Housing Budget
There has been much speculation regarding the Autumn Budget and how it will impact the housing market in recent weeks. The Welsh Government have offered details that suggest strong support for housing professionals. Although the initial announcement indicated a significant increase in NHS spending, local authorities were left considering how they can support their services […]
Conveyancers Will Welcome Banks Fight Against Transfer Fraud
In a proactive move to eliminate transfer fraud, lenders will begin to check that names on transfers match the account in a bid to stop fraudsters in their tracks. Current lender practices mean they only check the account number and sort code on bank transfers. This allows fraudsters to convince customers to transfer money by […]
Increasing Housing Supply For September
The majority of house reports in the past two months have been depressing reading for those in the housing sector. However, the NAEA Propertymark Housing Report for September, offers a mixed bag with suggestions of an improving market in the future. The supply of property available to buy rose by 15% in September and the […]
Rental Prices Show Shallow Growth In September
Private rental prices paid by tenants is beginning to slow according to the recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) ‘Index of Private Rental Prices, UK: Spetember 2018.’ Although the average UK rent has increased by an average of 0.9% in the last 12 months, this is also unchanged from August’s figures. This slowdown has been […]
Difficult Market Conditions Halt SME Construction Growth
Growth with small and medium sized construction firms has slowed considerably this year according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Although the third quarter workloads have increased, the growth was considerably slower than quarter two data. Revenue and profit are being scuppered by rising material prices; 86% of SME construction firms have reported increases, […]