Decision Insight Information Group (Europe) is acquired by dmg information (dmgi)
Decision Insight Information Group (Europe) (“DIIG(E)”), the UK and Ireland’s leading property searches group, has announced that its entire share capital has been acquired by Daily Mail Group Information (“dmgi”) from Decision Insight Information Group (“DIIG”), a portfolio company of the US private equity firm TPG Capital. DIIG(E) primarily delivers residential and commercial property search […]
LSB reviews impact of Legal Services Act
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has published its latest report evaluating the impacts of the Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA) on the legal services sector. The focus of the report is on the promoting competition in the provision of services in the legal sector. ABS was a one major focus of the report with figures […]
Law Society to introduce conveyancing portal
The Law Society is currently developing an online conveyancing portal in order to improve communication between solicitors, conveyancers, clients and stakeholders including the Land Registry and HMRC. The portal is expected to go live in 2014 and is intended to allow all parties in a transaction to view up-to-date information on the process online in […]
Breaking news on chancel repair liability
CLS reported on Friday that Land Registry has made a statement clarifying its position in relation to Chancel Repair Liability both before and after the recent changes made on 13 October 2013. They said that if the OS1 search and UN1 were lodged prior to the 13th October and the protected transfer or lease for […]
Help to Buy having impact on rents
With purchasing becoming more affordable due to the Help to Buy scheme, rents across the country have started to stabilise. According to the latest Move with Us rental index, average advertised rents even started to decrease in Q3 2013. The average advertised rent in Britain reached £965 per month at the end of Q3, having […]
Law Society Excellence Award presented
Frodsham law firm Rowlinsons Solicitors took home a prestigious award at the Law Society Excellence Awards on Tuesday evening. Rowlinsons Solicitors won the Lexcel Award for Excellence in Practice Management. The judges remarked that the firm has used Lexcel to further their strong commitment to client care focusing on providing services that are relevant to […]
Retirement village won back for residents
A ground breaking transaction has seen the residents of a retirement village purchase their village from administrators. The property team at Charles Russell LLP has successfully advised the retired residents of Crystal Fountain Village in the deal which saw the owners of 54 properties purchase their village, neighbouring land and a derelict pub from the […]
Property guru challenges government
TV property expert George Clarke has challenged the government to look at the fact there are 240,000 long term empty homes in the UK. Speaking at the 18th Property Forum Dinner in Central London he spoke about the slow pace, poor quality and lack of imagination used by house builders on developments around the country. […]
Remortgaging up 20% from last year
In September remortgaging was up 10.4% from August at £3.9bn, up 20.8% from September 2012. According to the latest figures from LMS, remortgaging now accounts for 24% of the market. Overall gross mortgage lending fell slightly in September to £16.2bn. This is up 10.4% on August’s £3.5bn reported by the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) […]
Conveyancer of the Year Awards
Tickets are now on sale for the Conveyancer of the Year Awards part of the Estate Agency of the Year Awards. These awards ceremony will take place in the Nine Kings Suite at The Lancaster London Hotel on 6th December. The awards follow a range of inspiring and informative talks to the audience, and for […]
Searches UK welcome and introduce two new members of its rapidly expanding team!
Searches UK, one of the leading providers of searches to UK conveyancing practitioners, is pleased to welcome two new members to its team — Stephanie Prior and Maddie Tullett. Stephanie, who will be assisting Sales & Marketing Director Lisa Summerton, has recently completed a three year degree which she passed with honors and brings with […]
Average rent in London continues to grow
London’s average rents have increased 7% annually to £1,456; leaving them considerably higher than the national average of £781. According to the latest figures from Sequence’s London and National Housing index tenant demand in London has increased to five applicants per property. Stephen Nation, Head of Lettings, Sequence Group, said: “As the sales market ignites […]
Bellway sells 8.2% more homes
Housebuilders Bellway PLC have announced that for the year ended 31 July 2013 they sold 5,652 homes, up 8.2% from 5,226 in 2012. The average selling price for these also increased with a 3.4% increase taking the average price to £193,025. Bellway chairman, John Watson, said: "I am pleased to report, in my first year […]
London sees 12 buyers for every property
London has seen a 50% annual increase in the number of buyer registrations leaving almost 12 buyers for every new instruction. According to Sequences National Housing Index an imbalance of supply and demand continues to play a big part in the capital. New instructions rose just 17% annually — at less than a third of […]
Raft of proposals to save tenants
The government has revealed a package of proposals designed to target rogue landlords in a new drive to stop people being ripped off when they rent a flat or house. A new code of practice will be published setting standards for the management of property in the private rented sector, with a view to making […]
Which? focuses on customer satisfaction
Building societies fared well in the latest Which? report on the best and worst financial brands. The report looked at customer service with three building societies and two mutual making it into the top ten financial brands. These results mirror independent research commissioned by the BSA that showed that mutually owned providers tend to score […]
Gross mortgage lending holds steady
According to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders gross mortgage lending held steady in September at £16.2 billion. Whilst this was only a minor change from £16.4 billion in August it was up 41% from September last year when the total was £11.5 billion. Mark Abrahams, director of West One Loans, said: […]
Over 10% of firms opt for unrated insurer
Insurance Age has reported that more than 10% of law firms opt to take out professional indemnity (PI) insurance with an unrated insurer. They cite research from law firm advisors O’Connors who found that 13% of nearly 500 firms surveyed opted for unrated insurers despite high-profile controversies involving insurers like Lemma, Balva and Beliner over […]
SRA update: Balva claim enquiries
The SRA has issued an update advising that they have been contacted to say that Clear Claims Solutions is no longer handling claims on behalf of Balva. With immediate effect, any Balva claims enquiries and notifications should be made direct to Balva, using the following contact details: Address: Balva, E.Birznieka UpiÅ¡a iela 12, LV-1050, Riga, […]
SRA update on referral fee ban
Following the first six months of the ban on referral fees, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has issued a warning note based on their experiences so far. Whilst focussed on personal injury the key points could just as easily apply to conveyancers, for instance failure to advise clients properly about the costs and how their […]