Law Society launches PII cover offering
The Law Society has unveiled Chancery Pii, a joint venture between the Society and Miller Insurance Services LLP, which will provide PII cover for firms with between one and four partners. Chancery Pii will provide direct access to insurers with at least A- (Standard & Poor’s) or equivalent financial security rating. The Law Society believes […]
First-time buyers strengthen London market
11,200 loans for house purchase were granted to first-time buyers in London in the second quarter of 2013, the largest quarterly figure since the end of 2007. According to new data from the CML, these figures helped to further strengthen a positive quarter for the London housing market. The 11,200 loans marked an increase of […]
Government simplify planning guidance
The government has launched a new online resource which will house all national planning practice guidance. Planning Minister Nick Boles announced yesterday that the new system would add simplicity and clarity to the planning process. At the moment technical guidance is catalogued in 230 separate documents across 7,000 pages. The new tool is now open […]
SLC announce conference details
The Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC) has announced their annual conveyancing conference will take place on the 20th November at the Riverside Centre in Derby. It is the third year the conference has run, offering members of the conveyancing profession a day of topical presentations and discussions. The conference will run between 9:30 am and […]
Would you like to stand out from your competition?
The quest to find the best conveyancers in the UK starts here… Are you looking to increase your profit margin? Would you like to work closer with Estate Agents and increase the level of referrals? Would you like to win new clients and reassure them with a third party endorsement giving new credibility to your […]
Decision Insight Information Group announces the appointment of Perran Moon as Marketing Director
Decision Insight Information Group, the UK’s leading information and data provider for the property transaction market, is delighted to announce the appointment of Perran Moon as Group Marketing Director across its group of businesses in the UK and Ireland, which include SearchFlow, xit2, Millar and Bryce and Rochford Brady Group. Perran takes charge of the […]
Remortgaging lending up nearly 13%
In July remortgage lending rose 12.7% from £3.7bn to £4.2bn, the highest gross lending figure for this time of year since 2008. Remortgaging now accounts for 25% of the total market according to the latest figures from LMS. Consumers who are remortgaging now take out an average of £20,425 in extra equity. The figures showed […]
CML respond to Scottish Sep Rep consultation
The Law Society of Scotland (LSS) released the results from their separate representation consultation last week. The consultation generated 279 responses with 49% in favour and 51% against the proposed rule change. The results clearly showed opinion was divided on whether there should be a change to the rules in Scotland making separate legal representation […]
Gross mortgage lending hits £16.6 billion
Total gross mortgage lending in July increased to £16.6 billion, up 12% from £14.8 billion in June. The figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed an increase of 29% from the total of £12.9 billion at the same time last year. The figure is the highest monthly estimate for gross lending since October 2008 […]
Right to Buy uptake increases five fold
The latest figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government show that 2,149 properties were sold between April and June this year. Compared to the 443 sold during the same period in 2012. The total number of council homes sold under the reinvigorated Right to Buy scheme is now over 8,000. The sales have […]
Norman Lamont concerned about buy-to-let
Former chancellor Lord Lamont has warned ministers to be wary of the growth in the buy-to-let market. Speaking to The Observer he expressed concern that the bubble of buy-to-let could collapse causing widespread problems. His concern is around the impact that an inevitable rise in interest rates will have on lenders and buyers. Lord Lamont, […]
Move with Us produce property hotspot map
A new buy-to-let property hotspot heat-map will give investors insight into which areas in England and Wales offer the best rental yields. The Move with Us produced map shows that whilst prices continue to grow in London, large areas of Greater London currently return an average yield of less than 4%. The Olympics seems to […]
New strategic partnership for Legal Eye
David Thorpe, Director at Financial Eye commented “We have developed a new product to assist COFAs deal with the burden of regulatory requirements. COFA plus incorporates all of the recording and reporting elements of the SRA Handbook (Accounts Rules), and a lot more. Given the expertise Legal Eye already has in this area it was […]
Searches UK achieves Legal Eye Quality Standard for 2nd year on the bounce!
Searches UK, one of the leading providers of searches to UK conveyancing practitioners, knew that its business deserved recognition for its commitment towards its risk and compliance obligations, which is why in 2011 they approached Legal Eye Limited, respected industry leaders specialising in best practice, risk management and compliance services to the legal services market, […]
Countrywide backers sell large stakes
Five months after floating on the stock exchange Countrywide’s shares have taken a nose dive as two backers sold off large numbers of shares in the company. Buyout firms Oaktree and Apollo sold 35 million shares between them at a value of almost £200million, equivalent to about 16% of the business. The shares were initially […]
Market confidence increases
According to the latest National Housing Market Monitor from haart confidence has returned. However, the housing market is constrained by a shortage in supply. Whilst total new buyers have increased by 27.9% annually, new properties for sale have decreased 4.4%, constraining actual sales to a 3.5% annual increase. A large percentage of these were first time […]
Conveyancing Association launches regional workshops
On Friday the Conveyancing Association (CA) held the first of a series of regional technical workshops in Manchester. Conveyancers from Northern England met, at the offices of CA member Countrywide Conveyancing Services, to discuss how money laundering and the government’s Green Deal will affect the house-buying process. Following the launch of their consumer-focused ‘Pledges’ last […]
Landmark Information Group and Environment Agency in five year deal
Landmark Information Group has signed a new five year deal with the Environment Agency to continue to use the government agency’s data for its suite of environmental risk reports. The two organisations have been working together since 1996 with Landmark’s products alerting homeowners, legal and financial professionals, developers and environmental consultants to potential land and […]
CLC launches thematic reviews
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has announced two thematic reviews to assess standards of practice in the management of conflicts of interest. The reviews will begin immediately and include targeted surveys of selected regulated entities based on information they provided as part of their Annual Regulatory Return and information provided by the Legal Ombudsman. After […]
SRA issues sanctions for failure to nominate compliance officers
The Law Society Gazette has reported that the Solicitors Regulation Authority has issued its first two sanctions for failing to properly nominate compliance officers. 992 firms have been investigated in relation to problems relating to nominations for compliance officers for legal practice and finance and administration (COLPs and COFAs). Last week, written rebukes were handed […]