Land Value Capture Reform Could Cause Housing Slowdown
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has written a report advising a range of reforms to Land Capture. Amidst other changes, removing hope value on land was near the top of the agenda. However, many people fear that removing the potential value of land through the ‘hope value’ will actually discourage landowners from bringing […]
What happens when the Help to Buy Scheme funding stops?
Rumours have been rife in the news recently suggesting the Help to Buy scheme may be scrapped, following a review by the Government. Although, it has been stated that current Help to Buy funding is due to run out in 2021 after the Government has already promised £8.9 billion to the scheme with a further […]
Regulators Meeting Offers Mixed Feelings Towards December’s Price Transparency Deadline
Despite the December deadline of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recommendations into price transparency rapidly approaching, many regulators are still uncertain as to how they will implement the changes. The SRA came to the Remedies Programme Implementation Group buoyant with their unpublished findings that small businesses are less price sensitive than was initially reported. […]
Are you ready for the new SRA Accounts Rules 2018?
The long awaited and in part controversial Draft SRA Accounts Rules will not come into force before Autumn 2018 – but are you and your firm ready? June 2017 saw the publication of the Rules, however, prior to printing, the SRA apparently backtracked on some of the more contentious elements during a period of feedback. […]
Single Income Public Sector Workers Cannot Afford To Own Property
The union UNISON has claimed, through a recent report, that public sector workers face a near impossible task of owning their own property on their single public sector salary. The ‘Priced Out’ report is based on speculation that first-time buyers will be able to save £100 of their wages every month until they have saved […]
Comparison Website now Ranking Solicitors
In the age of price transparency, the future of legal services has been uncovered with the increased services to website ReviewSolicitors. The site has grown from strength to strength since its creation in 2015. They have now linked with Google to allow users of the premium service the option of merging their reviews. The ranking […]
Residents reeling over estate that is not fully approved
Residents of 95 property estate in Framlingham, Suffolk have been left feeling anxious and angry after being told that their brand-new homes do not have full and appropriate planning permissions. Initially, the 95-home plot at Mount Pleasant, Framlingham, was approved in January of 2016. Following this approval, work started a year later. As with many […]
The 4 Most Common Culprits
I recently spoke with Andrew Robertson, Head of Customer Policy & Service Performance and Mike Green Head of Account Management at HM Land Registry to discuss the ongoing issues in relation to requisitions. In summary the conversation highlighted the fact that there are still four main common requisitions raised, namely: Restriction related requisitions Delays in […]
New Legal TV chat show set to air pilot
Have you ever started talking through the conveyancing process with a client, only to see their faces glaze over in panicked confusion? Well, all of this could be set to change with the imminent release of a new TV chat show discussing the legal sector. The programme, LawCatz, aims to make legal matters easier to […]
Lawyer Checker will be attending the LFS conference
The conveyancing event of the year is swiftly approaching with the LFS Conference on Wednesday, 19th September. Lawyer Checker will be proudly setting up camp at stand 12 and are committed to helping many conveyancing firms avoid fraudulent activity. Legal firms are a prime target for cyber criminals because of the sensitive client data they […]
The Bank of Mum and Dad Search for Financial Guidance
The age of the millennial has been technologically enlightening, improving the ease in which we can access information. However, when the bank of mum and dad is on the rise, a recent survey has found that people are concerned with a lack of information on gifting money to their younger relatives. Rising inflation, property prices […]
Ombudsman Plea for clarity on new build redress
Following the shocking NAEA report that highlighted the mis-selling and disguising of leasehold property as freehold, the Property Ombudsman is pleading with the Government to bring new build property under the umbrella of consumer redress. Currently, new build property is not covered by The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme. The implication for people […]
A Few More Thoughts on Misrepresentation
When you get to my time of life, it is not unusual to be asked as to how conveyancing has changed since I started in practice. And yes, there have been changes – some not for the better! But a recent case set me thinking about one thing that has not changed; the importance of pre-contract enquiries. For […]
Conveyancing Association shortlisted for second annual ESTAS Conveyancing Awards
The ESTAS Group – which highlights the best firms for customer service involved in the home-moving process – has today (5th September 2018) revealed its shortlist for the 2nd annual Conveyancer Awards, which is supported by the Conveyancing Association (CA), the leading trade body for the conveyancing industry. The results for the Awards are based […]
Intense consumer dissatisfaction with leasehold property
Customers sign the final paperwork, receive the keys and drive up to their shiny, untouched new build with a naive optimism and pride that they own their own forever home, only to discover that they are trapped in a mis-sold leasehold nightmare. This is the unfortunate truth that has been overwhelmingly revealed in NAEA Propertymark […]
Facebook enter the buy-to-let sector
Facebook are set to launch into property by placing rental property listings to their Marketplace function. Initially, the listings will be supplied by Zoopla and OnTheMarket, but it is assumed that many portal-based agents will be sure to follow as the social media juggernaut will exponentially increase the visibility of their properties. Many have speculated […]
Friends of the Earth challenge the revised NPPF
The environmental organisation ‘Friends of the Earth’ is seeking High Court Action in the hope of forcing the Government to carry out adequate Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) of the policies embedded with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The main concerns raised were that the new NPPF seems to be in favour of fracking, open […]
Report suggests conveyancers are to blame for property transaction delays
30% of people recently surveyed, by When You Move, claim that their property completions were delayed by an average of 6.4 weeks because their conveyancers were out of the office. Whilst there are many reasons why the conveyancing process is moving as fast as it can, many have been left reeling at the unforeseen, preventable […]
Bank of Mum and Dad facing crisis
A recent report, carried out by Legal and General and Centre for Economic Business Research (Cebr), has found that parents are struggling to help their children acquire property and it is making them feel financially vulnerable. Astonishingly, The Bank of Mum and Dad are loaning an average £18,000 of their hard-earned savings to their children, […]
Average House Prices Continue to drop in August
Not since 2012 have monthly house prices fallen so dramatically, with prices decreasing by 0.5% month-on-month. It seems as though all recent reports into the housing and conveyancing market deliver apocalypticesque conclusions and a new report by Nationwide perpetuates the summer slowdown stereotype. The average house price in August was £214,745; in comparison the same […]