Autumn Statement sees home lending boost but first-time buyers yet to benefit
Autumn Statement accompanied by house purchase lending rise as November 2015 sees 70,511 house purchase approvals, up 1.3% from 69,630 in October On an annual basis, house purchase lending is up 19% from 59,262 in November 2014 Yet first-time buyers and other small-deposit borrowers not as well serviced as small deposit lending continues to stall […]
My way or the highway (Conveyancer Slater – Tweet of the Week)
The conveyancing protocol and CQS is supposed to make things easier. Yet every solicitor does everything their own way. So annoying. — Bethy (@KulaBeth) December 11, 2015
Conveyancing Association inaugural conference a major success
Conference brings together all the leading figures in conveyancing world Last Thursday over 250 of the most senior property industry professionals gathered in London for the Conveyancing Association (CA)’s inaugural Conveyancing Conference. The event was organised and held in partnership with Modern Law. The conference had a number of high profile speakers including keynote speaker […]
Commercial Property searches without the headache
When dealing with large scale or even small scale commercial properties, it’s imperative that you run all of the usual searches before a transaction goes ahead. Accordingly, you place your order with your search provider on their online ordering platform and are given a set price to carry out this work. So, why do you […]
Rate of house sales falls year on year
The number of completed house sales sold this year is 3.4% lower than at the same point last year according to new figures for England and Wales released by LSL Property Services. The number of house sales in November fell 15% compared to October. However house prices have reached record levels with a further 0.6% […]
Drop in housing stock driving prices higher as housebuilding target set to missed
A significant reduction in housing stock is continuing to drive increases in property prices according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) November Residential Market Survey. To make matters worse, according to Doug Crawford of My Home Move, just half of the promised 80,000 homes targeted for completion in 2016 will be built. The report […]
Housing stock shortage colours My Home Move's 2016 predictions
The housing shortage facing the UK is set to be the driving force behind market changes in 2016 according to Doug Crawford, CEO at My Home Move. Doug believes government targets on affordable housing could well miss the mark both on volume and on price, and Doug also predicts stamp duty reforms could well lead […]
A golden year for Howells Solicitors
It’s been a record breaking year for Howells Solicitors. The law firm is celebrating winning the Gold Award in The Best Large Conveyancing company category of the prestigious Sunday Times/The Times Estate Agency of the Year 2015 Award last Friday held at the Lancaster Hotel London by announcing significant expansion plans that includes taking an […]
Searches before contract
In the 40 years since the writer qualified as a solicitor, conveyancing has changed dramatically and no more so than in making searches. This is now often a much more demanding task than that of investigation of title. So just what searches should we be making? And what should we be telling clients about the […]
Homebuyers should be cautious of flood risks but conveyancing sector is better positioned than ever to protect them
Today, Greenpeace reveals that up to 9,000 new homes are scheduled for development by local councils on land the Environment Agency says is at either “serious” or “significant” risk of flooding. Maud Rousseau, group marketing and communications director of SearchFlow, conveyancing search provider, responds: “It is alarming that such a high number of homes are […]
Still in the pink
One year on and STL are still in the pink. The support from InfoTrack has allowed them to surpass all expectations both financially and operationally. Innovation Over the course of the last 12 months STL has exceeded their reputation as the innovative force in the industry. Developments include a raft of new products, a significantly […]
Coodes Solicitors establish new conveyancing team in Falmouth
Coodes Solicitors have established a new Residential Property team in Falmouth, with two staff moving in following their recent merger with Preston Goldburn. Conveyancing Executives Lisa Brewer and Laura Rowe have both moved from other Coodes offices with the firm saying they both have experience of working across Cornwall. Speaking about the move, Lisa Brewer […]
easyProperty aim to bring sealed bidding into the digital age
Online estate agents easyProperty have become the first online estate agency in the UK to sign up with online purchasing portal Clicktopurchase. Clicktopurchase are currently the only provider of online bidding for property and even offers users the choice of making legally binding offers on properties via their mobile phones. Clicktopurchase is currently available in […]
Value of loans for house purchase up £8 billion in Q3
The value of mortgages issued for house purchase grew to £43.5 billion according to statistics released by the Bank of England. The percentage of loans for house purchase also increased, up from 67.6% in Q2 to 70.1% in Q3, with a comparable 26.2% to 24.1% fall in the percentage of loans issued as remortgages. The […]
Over 60,000 homes bought with Help-to-Buy
More than 60,000 homes have been bought with a Help-to-Buy scheme in the last two and a half years according to statistics released by the Department for Communities and Local Government. In total, 62,569 people have bought homes using the equity loan scheme. The value of the loans totals £2.71 billion. 81% of those using […]
UK's £166m knotweed problem could be tip of the iceberg
Knotweed is losing the UK “hundreds of millions of pounds” each year and far outstripping Government estimates of £166 million according to experts. Will Sillar is part of the team who founded the National Knotweed Survey to catalogue the effect of the invasive and destructive plant and believes there is a huge problem with those […]
House prices up 9% year on year
House prices have risen 9% for the three months to November compared to the same three months last year, according to the latest figures from Halifax. Prices have also risen 1.4% in the last three months compared to the three months before. However prices have fallen slightly month to month, with prices in November down […]
Build-to-Rent investment predicted to triple by 2020
The size of the Build-to-Rent market is predicted to treble in size in the next five years, according to research by Knight Frank. Currently Build-to-Rent makes up 2% of all private rented housing stock by value. But researchers believe that will increase to 5% by 2020. Its total value is forecast to be £50 billion, […]
Unwanted Christmas present
In just over a fortnight’s time it will be Christmas Day. We will be sat with a mimosa, surrounded by 6ft high piles of wrapping paper, cardboard boxes, children demanding our attention and more than likely an unwanted Christmas present or two. Some of us will have attended midnight mass and others will be getting […]
Beaumont Legal acquired by LegalZoom
US-based legal services firm are to acquire Yorkshire-based Beaumont Legal, subject to regulatory approval. Wakefield’s Beaumont Legal are one of the UK’s leading conveyancing firms. Managing Partner at Beaumont, Nick Masheder has stated they hope to create one of the best places to work in law in the UK. The move comes as the US-based […]