SearchFlow makes two senior appointments to spearhead market expansion
Conveyancing search provider, SearchFlow has appointed Stefanie van den Haak as Commercial Director and Maud Rousseau as Group Marketing and Communications Director. SearchFlow, which is part of DMGT, will be expanding its product and service offering next year. Stefanie and Maud have been tasked to rebuild the brand and its commercial face to reflect SearchFlow’s […]
Law firm merger creates 250-strong practice with an ambition for success
This October will see Ramsdens and Baxster Caulfield joining firms across the UK who are choosing to merge. Will consolidation continue to be the future of the conveyancing profession? Ramsdens Solicitors, who have their principal office based in Edgerton, with nine further branch offices, announced they are to merge their current 220 employees with fellow […]
SRA launches 2015 practising certificate renewals
The SRA has opened the application process for this year’s practising certificate renewals. The window remains open until 31st October 2015. To help those completing applications, the SRA has put in place a range of support measures including: detailed guidance and user guides videos frequently asked questions – raised by mySRA users All of these […]
St Albans’ sinkhole reason ‘Unearthed’?
Following last week’s news story about the large sinkhole that opened in a residential estate in St Albans, our Research team at Groundsure have done some investigative work and found that this area was formerly used as pits for the extraction of clay for the London Brick Company. This analysis was undertaken using historical Ordnance […]
Landmark urges conveyancers to assess ground stability risk for homebuyers, following appearance of sinkhole in St Albans
With news in this week regarding the appearance of a huge sinkhole in a residential cul-de-sac in St Albans, Landmark Information Group, the UK’s leading supplier of digital mapping, property and environmental risk information, is reminding conveyancing solicitors of the importance of running relevant ground stability checks as part of the due diligence process. A […]
More means more (Conveyancer Slater – Tweet of the Week)
Do you think this week’s tweet is true – when mistakes happen, are conveyancers urged to charge more for their services? Is this something you have done, and are the errors or mishaps out of your control? Please share your thoughts on this Tweet of the Week in the comments section below. Looking for […]
Legal indemnity insurance: bespoke and by phone
Need to speak to an expert about a bespoke insurance policy? That isn’t a problem if you order your legal indemnity insurance through STL. Our support team at CLS will consider any request by carefully examining the triggers that could potentially bring about a claim. How could they be defended? For example, in the case […]
Moneypenny celebrates as time flies
Telephone answering specialist Moneypenny is celebrating three years of handling `night-time’ calls, the majority legal, from the other side of the world. In 2012, the company took the unusual decision to open an office in New Zealand to meet the increasing demand at the time for a 24/7 telephone answering service – driven by the […]
The importance of ordering a planning search
2014 saw over 1,100,000 residential property transaction completions – over 200,000 more than the previous year – and the 7 months up to 31st July of 2015 has seen 399,394 transactions (1). The average UK house price was recorded as £183,861 in July 2015, a 4.6% increase on the previous year. This follows the moderate […]
Matterhorn Challenge – Geraint completes third Training Mountain and needs your help!
Conveyancer and mountaineer, Geraint Aubrey, completed his third training mountain in the Swiss Alps this week. He conquered the Weissmies Mountain which is 4,017 metres above sea level. This climb included snow covered ridges and saw Geraint climb a peak that is a member of the exclusive 4000 metre mountain club. Charity fundraising has hit […]
Help save children’s lives in Sussex
During October, November & December Searches UK will donate 20% of their profit to the Rockinghorse Children’s Charity for every Charity Search Pack ordered. Clients who order a Charity Search Pack, which includes a Personal Local Authority Search, Official Drainage & Water Search, a Groundsure Homescreen, Chancel Check and Groundsure Planning Search, will help us […]
The Society of Licensed Conveyancers comments on the property industry announcement on new and improved LPE1 form
The LPE1 Working Group – which includes representatives from the Society of Licensed Conveyancers, the Law Society, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) experts has today announced that a second edition of the Leasehold Property Enquiries Form (LPE1) is due to be published this month. Simon Law, Chairman of the Society of Licensed Conveyancers […]
Three in ten remortgagors now fear interest rate rise
Two in three remortgaging to take advantage of lower interest rates Almost a third increasing the size of their loan to pay off debts and make home improvements Almost three in ten remortgagors now believe interest rates are going up, according to findings from LMS. A customer survey reveals that the number of remortgagors who […]
Mortgage approvals reach highest levels of the year
The Bank of England Money & Credit report for August 2015 has been published this week and the data as shown: The number of loan approvals for house purchase was 71,030 in August, compared to the average of 65,594 over the previous six months, and up from 69,010 in July The number of approvals for […]
Solicitors: national campaign launched on questions of trust
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is today (Wednesday 30th September) launching a national ‘A Question of Trust’ campaign to give everyone a chance to have their say about action taken against those solicitors who fall short of the expected standards. Members of the public, charities and consumer representatives have been invited to the campaign’s launch event […]
Nuclear Reaction
The announcement was made while the Chancellor was on a trade visit to China, who are investing in the project. The French energy company EDF admitted earlier this month that the Hinkley project would be delayed, pushing back the start date of 2023. The plant was expected to cost £10billion but it is now projected […]
New Chief Executive heading Veyo project
The partnership company behind the Veyo conveyancing portal, Legal Practice Technologies (LPT), has this week appointed a new Chief Executive to head this widely publicised venture. Simon Drane, who is also currently the Executive Director of Business Development for The Law Society reportedly began his role as of 28th September 2015. Chairman of LPT, Ian […]
Take immediate action
With the newly enhanced efforts criminals go to in order to get their hands on valuable assets, it’s integral for any conveyancer to remain adept in how to protect yourself as well as your firm. The important thing to note when assessing risks is considering what firms are liable. The answer is…any firm. With modern […]
Conveyancing Association All-Members Meeting drives improvements to the leasehold process
The Conveyancing Association (CA) will this week host its third All-Members Meeting of 2015, bringing together government and industry leaders to discuss what can be done to improve leasehold transactions and give those purchasing leasehold properties greater rights. The roundtable event, which is due to take place in London on Thursday 1st October, will aim […]
Searches UK support the Yorkshire Legal Awards
This year marks the 15th birthday of the Yorkshire Legal Awards which celebrates and rewards excellence in the legal industry. Searches UK will attend the prestigious event, being held on Thursday 22nd October 2015 at the New Dock Hall in Leeds, and is proud to sponsor The Enterprise Award. The award will praise a firm or […]