Move with Us urges Government to take action over interest rate hold
As the Bank of England holds interest rates again the director of Move with Us, the residential property specialist urges the Government to take swift action, to provide a jolt for the property market. Robin King, director of Move with Us comments: “The property market desperately needs a major jolt and swift action from the […]
Mortgage market suffering slowest growth in two years
The mortgage market, according to Connells Survey & Valuation, is growing at the “slowest annual rate in two years”. Is the double-dip recession taking its toll? June saw a rise in the total number of residential valuations, up 16 per cent, representing just 2 per cent on an annual basis. Difficult conditions for potential buyers […]
Brethertons awarded Conveyancing Association membership
Brethertons LLP has been awarded membership of the Conveyancing Association. The firm, which is based in Banbury, Rugby and London, has become one of only 50 firms nationwide to have been awarded membership. The Conveyancing Association was established to guide its members though the challenges and changes facing the conveyancing sector. It also aims to […]
SRA announces its approach to diversity data collection
The SRA has announced how it will approach the Legal Service Board’s requirement for regulators to gather a more comprehensive evidence base about the diversity characteristics of those working in the legal profession. The Legal Services Act 2007 also includes a specific regulatory objective to “encourage a strong, independent, diverse and effective legal profession”. […]
Law Society of Northern Ireland releases guidance to firms over Ulster Bank difficulties
The Law Society of Northern Ireland has sent communications to its members containing guidance for those firms completing conveyancing transactions where the lender is Ulster Bank. The technical issues which were also experienced by NatWest and RBS are still causing difficulties at Ulster Bank. The computer system problems arose on 19th June and it […]
Client Case Study – Jackson, Barrett & Gass
Introduction Jackson Barrett & Gass is a long-established Cheshire law firm specialising in private client work. Lexcel and CQS-accredited, as well as a Law Society Excellence Award winner, it is acknowledged as one of the region’s foremost providers of residential conveyancing. It is somewhat atypical of High Street firms in that it has ridden the […]
SRA fees calculator helps firms to budget plan
Solicitors and firms can now get help with planning budgets for the next year by accessing the fees calculator on the SRA website. Although the practising fees are yet to be ratified through the Law Society Council and the Legal Services Board, the calculator can still be used in order to give the regulated community […]
New Partner for Jacksons Law Firm
Jacksons Law Firm has appointed Terry Saffin as partner with effect from 30 March 2012. The appointment is the second time that Jacksons Law Firm has appointed a Legal Executive as a partner since the relaxation of the law on non-solicitor appointments in 2009. Terry joined the firm in 2002 as head of the […]
Housing Equity Withdrawal falls in first quarter of 2012
Bank of England figures released this week show that in the first quarter of 2012 the measure of housing equity withdrawal was -£8.8 billion. This is £0.3 billion lower than in quarter 4 of 2011. Housing Equity Withdrawal as a percentage of post-tax income was -3.3% in Q1 2012, compared with -3.2% for Q4 […]
Landlords and estate agents targeted by fraudsters
In their blog, Mayo Wynne Baxter report that they “are aware of a scam aimed at estate agents and their clients who are absent landlords”. According to the law firm the fraudsters send a fax to the estate agents purporting to be from HM Revenue & Customs. This fax requests that agents complete a form […]
First time buyers at 6 month low
Myintroducer.com have today reported on the latest NAEA Market Report, showing a dip in overall sales, during May, to first time buyers of 7 per cent. April’s report showed overall sales to first time buyers stood at 24 per cent but May’s figure dipped to just 17 per cent. The last time such a decrease […]
Countrywide crowned “conveyancing business leader” at British Mortgage Awards
The British Mortgage Awards saw industry leaders crown Sue Spurgeon, Countrywide Conveyancing Services’ Chief Operating Officer, “Conveyancing Business Leader 2012” at a ceremony yesterday, according to 4-traders. Sue’s award is recognition for her “instrumental role” in implementing and developing new systems, team motivation and a reorganisation of processes, all of which have enabled Countrywide to […]
Law Society responds to LeO complaints proposals
The Law Society has responded to the Legal Ombudsman consultation on its scheme rules and case fee structure. The Society voices concern over the proposal to extend the jurisdiction of LeO to include third parties and prospective clients. In its response to the consultation, the Law Society argues that the prospective client can report […]
Affordable housing provides a gateway into the housing market for many first-time buyers
Halifax has reviewed the low cost home ownership (LCHO) sector and affordable housing schemes, looking at shared ownerships, shared equity, resale price covenants and other LCHO arrangements. As Government sponsored schemes aim to help potential buyers to access the housing market by reducing the costs of buying the property, Halifax has looked at the typical […]
Fantastic response to Estate Agents Conveyancer of the Year Award
Entries have now closed for the Estate Agents Conveyancing Firm of the Year Award. Richard Mathias of LFS was delighted with the response “ we were taken aback by the volume of votes. We had over 250 entries with more than 50 different firms being nominated. There are clearly lots of good conveyancers that come […]
Handbook Changes
Today the CML will publish a new Part 3 of the Handbook for England and Wales, which provides instructions where there is separate representation of the lender and the borrower. The CML will be considering similar changes for the other versions of the Handbook in due course. We have been informed by Conveycentric, the creators […]
New SDLT guidance notes come into effect today
From today (2nd July 2012), a new version of the Land Transaction Return guidance notes (SDLT6) will come into effect. The new guidance notes have been streamlined and will only be available online. It can be accessed on the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website in PDF format. The guidance notes will be maintained […]
TM Group appoints new board member
TM Group is pleased to welcome Ben Harris as Sales & Marketing Director to help oversee the planned growth of the company as it continues to develop new and innovative online solutions for the property industry. Previously Sales Director at Property Academy and Estate Agency Events and editor of the popular housingdabble website, Ben is […]
New website to speed up search process for conveyancers
Conveyancing searches are set to get faster following the launch of SearchFlow’s new website. The new site has gone live today (2nd July). The completely overhauled state of the art B2B interface has been developed with usability as the guiding principle. It also offers greater flexibility for different categories of searches and for the first […]
House Price growth falters across most UK regions in Quarter 2
The Nationwide House Price Index has been released for Quarter 2 for 2012, and it shows price falls for much of the country. Nine out of the thirteen UK regions saw annual price falls for Q2. The average UK house price for the quarter was £164,955. Prices have fallen by 1% compared to Q1. […]