Savills predict 25% increase in average prices
In its five year forecast agent Savills has predicted average prices will grow 25% over the next five years with a 17% increase in the next three years alone. The analysis from Savills suggests that the South and East of England will overtake London as the top performing regions. They believe that as confidence improves, […]
Stamp Out Stamp Duty campaign launch
The TaxPayers’ Alliance has launched their Stamp Out Stamp Duty campaign in a bid to ease the burden created by the tax in the 2014 Budget. The non-partisan pressure group hopes to use their influence to force the Chancellor to reduce the burden imposed by Stamp Duty at the 2014 Budget. Their website provides more […]
900 developers for Help to Buy
Housing Minister Kris Hopkins said last week that over 900 builders were planning to offer the Help to Buy equity loan scheme. He urged even more builders to get involved. Over 600 of those signed up are smaller builders, building less than 40 homes. There have been over 15,000 reservations for new build homes since […]
Convey Law gains Legal Eye Quality Standard
Convey Law, one of the largest specialist residential conveyancing companies in the UK, has been awarded the Legal Eye Quality Standard. The award follows a six month review process with the legal consultancy during which Convey Law developed and demonstrated excellent risk management policies and registers. The Legal Eye process subjects companies to a full […]
24 hour demand by law firms sees night calls increase ten fold
In the 12 months since extending its service to 24 hours, telephone answering specialist Moneypenny has seen a ten-fold increase in the numbers of calls received between 8pm and 8am with legal firms accounting for more than 75% of the total volume. Launched in September 2012 initially in response to the growing demands of its […]
Negotiator Awards win for myhomemove
myhomemove, the UK’s leading supplier of mover conveyancing services, has been named as the Supplier of the Year: Technology at this year’s Negotiator Awards. The awards, held in London last night, saw prizes handed to estate agencies, property management companies, legal services firms and mortgage brokers among others, in celebration of best practice and excellence […]
Harris Cartier Limited: firm in administration
Simon Wilson, Peter Holder and Anne O’Keefe, Partners at Advisory and Restructuring specialists Zolfo Cooper, were appointed Joint Administrators over Harris Cartier Limited on the 11th October 2013. The Administrators were appointed as a result of the Company experiencing severe cash flow problems. Following the appointment, the Joint Administrators immediately arranged the sale of certain […]
Eaton Mansions (Westminster) Ltd v Stinger Compania De Inversion S.A. [2013] EWCA Civ 1308 (30 October 2013)
Introduction Anis Waiz solicitor and head of Commercial litigation at Curtis Law Solicitors, continues his critical review of current case law. In this case the Court of Appeal considered two important points of law arising from a landlord and tenant dispute. 1. The assessment of damages for trespass to parts of the landlord’s premises on […]
Huge repossession gap between North and South
The difference in housing repossessions has widened to the largest margin in six years with 33% more repossessions in the North than the South. According to the latest research from e.surv 72% of Northern towns have more repossessions than the UK average. The research involved analysis of court-ordered repossessions in the year to Q2 2013, […]
SLC helps firms find their perfect match
The Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC) has formally launched a ‘Dating Service’ to bring together law firms that are interested in acquisition (whether being acquired or acquiring) or mergers in respect of their conveyancing business. The society explained that a number of their member practices are well-established firms that are interested in either the opportunities […]
Channel 4 programme exposes in-house agency deals
Last Monday’s Channel 4’s Dispatches programme exposed unauthorised sales practices of staff working for major estate agencies including Countrywide, Connells and Spicer Haart. The programme featured several secretly filmed visits to estate agencies by an undercover reporter posing as a homebuyer. These exposed various ways firms attempted to encourage buyers to use their in-house financial […]
House prices up 5.8% from October 2012
The latest Nationwide House Price Index shows that UK house prices increased by 1% in October, house prices are now only around 7% below 2007 peak. The 5.8% increase from October 2012 shows year-on-year trends are also increasing with September having seen a 5% year-on-year increase. Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, […]
Average house prices continue to rise
September house prices rose 1.5% from August with the average house price in England and Wales reaching £167,063. The latest Land Registry House Price Index showed an annual house price increase of 3.4%. Unsurprising the region that has experienced the greatest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months is London where […]
Mortgage lenders cracking down on “accidental landlords”
Lenders are launching a tough crackdown on “accidental landlords” who let out their own homes without telling their bank. It is thought that in order to avoid a higher interest rate or switch to more expensive buy-to-let loan that large numbers of borrowers are keeping quiet about their arrangements. Borrowers have a contractual obligation to […]
Time to invest in the future?
It is budget time again and most of us have our noses in next years’ financial plans. This time last year we at Legal Eye were planning for 2013 and beyond which was reflected in our budgeting process. We recognised that to meet our future plans and targets we needed to invest time and money […]
153 firms enter Cessation Period
The SRA has announced that a total of 153 solicitors firms have entered the second section of the new Extended Policy Period (EPP), having failed to secure new professional indemnity insurance cover. The EPP period is split into two parts with the first 30 days called the Extended Indemnity Period (EIP) where firms can carry […]
Conveyancing and Twitter: How to handle criticism
Conveyancers are not always the most twitter savvy, a problem I also share! A couple of tweets I have seen recently criticising conveyancers made me think about how best to respond to this type of criticism. A couple of weeks ago at the Law Society Property Section conference I managed to be late for one […]
Titlesolv and London & European announce consolidation
Titlesolv and London & European, two leading names in title insurance and the legal indemnity solutions sector, announced today that they are consolidating under the Titlesolv name. As the trading name of the legal indemnities arm of London & European, Titlesolv delivers products and services that help to manage and mitigate risk for increasingly complex […]
The Perfect Storm
At 6:30am last Monday morning, at the peak of the St Jude Storm, I was strapped into a seat on a plane taxiing into an 80 mph headwind. With no fuss whatsoever it accelerated down the runway and took off. After a couple of mildly anxious minutes we were above the storm and enjoying […]
Legal Eye team welcomes Helen Glaze
Legal Eye is pleased to announce a further addition to its team. Helen Glaze, based in the North West, joins the Legal Eye team today. Helen, who is a qualified solicitor, has worked in the legal sector since 1995 and, whilst in practice, dealt predominantly with personal injury cases arising out of road traffic accidents, […]