UK house prices edge up by 0.3% in May say Nationwide
The Nationwide House Price Index has been released today. It shows that the price of a typical house rose by 0.3% in May, with the average house price now £166,022. Prices are 0.7% lower than the same time last year. Robert Gardner, Nationwide Chief Economist commented: “The Nationwide House Price Index has reached […]
20% increase in 20 to 34 year olds living at home since 1997
Research by the Office of National Statistics reveals that the number of people aged 20 to 34 years living with a parent or parents rose to nearly three million in 2011. This is an increase of half a million since 1997, and represents a 20% rise. The number of people in this age group has […]
Lending to Individuals increases by £1.4 billion in April, say Bank of England
Mortgage lending has remained static over the last six months, according to figures released by the Bank of England today. The Lending to Individuals statistical release shows that total lending to individuals increased in April 2012 by £1.4 billion. Lending secured on dwellings rose by £1.1 billion, which is in line with the six month […]
BSA sees mortgage lending by building societies and mutuals rise 23%
Gross mortgage lending by building societies and mutual lenders increased by 23% in April 2012 compared with the same month last year, figures released by the Building Societies Association today. In the first four months of 2012 lending rose by 36% compared to the first four months of 2011. Mortgage approvals by mutuals were […]
Oyez launches the most comprehensive information security research survey for law firms
Oyez launches the most comprehensive information security research survey for law firms As the security of confidential information moves to the fore and compliance with regulation becomes more complex, it’s important for the profession to know that it is doing all it can to comply. Oyez is currently conducting a comprehensive survey, the first of […]
Winzest Consulting launches to provide extra support to legal firms to deliver better outcomes to consumers
Winzest Consulting has today announced the launch of its regulatory compliance consulting services to legal service providers. It will be led by Victor Olowe who was formerly Chief Executive of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC). Victor Olowe explains the thinking behind Winzest Consulting: “The launch of Winzest consulting is informed by the experiences […]
A decade of the CON29 Drainage and Water Enquiry: clearly essential
The CON29DW is an essential part of the conveyancing process, as the official drainage and water search and 2012 marks its 10th anniversary. The search provides potentially deal-breaking information on water and sewerage infrastructure for prospective property purchasers, protecting them and their advisors from unnecessary risk with a clear trail of responsibility back to the […]
New Property law firm hopes to win ‘Young Business of the Year’
Thomas Legal Group, a niche property firm in the Cotswolds and central London has entered the ‘Young Business of the Year’ category for the Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo 2012 Business Awards. The firm has grown over recent years and works in a market which is primarily business to business. They have worked extremely hard to […]
Davis Gregory becomes latest firm to join CQS
Cheltenham law firm Davis Gregory has become the latest firm to be accredited with Quality Conveyancing Scheme (CQS) membership by the Law Society. CQS is a mark of excellence, and provides a recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing practices. Davis Gregory has become the 1458th firm to join the scheme, with 875 branches. A total […]
Land Registry figures show house prices fell 0.3% in April
Figures released by the Land Registry today show that house prices fell by 0.3% in April, as the average house in England and Wales costs £160,417. This represents an annual fall of 1.0%. When looking at the regions, London is the area with the biggest increase in prices. House prices here rose by 5.1% […]
SRA Board decides on Financial Protection Policy
The Board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has decided to make a number of changes to its Financial Protection Policy, as part of its annual review process. The Board met on Wednesday 16 May, when it agreed to make changes to the Qualifying Insurer’s Agreement and to the rules within the Client Protection section […]
15 Solicitors sanctioned for failing to pay insurance premiums
Fifteen solicitors have had sanctions imposed by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for failing to pay insurance premiums while their firms were in the assigned risks pool, reports Legal Futures. Five principals have been suspended indefinitely by the SDT. The Tribunal recommended that the suspensions should not be lifted until full payment of the outstanding premiums […]
FSA approves first regulated residential property fund
Hearthstone Investments, the specialist residential fund manager, has received FSA approval to launch the UK’s first regulated residential property fund. The TM Hearthstone UK Residential Property Fund is due to soft launch this summer. A full roll-out is planned for September 2012. This will give investors for the first time access to a £4trn […]
Plainlaw becomes sixth ABS to be licensed by SRA
A property law firm based in Oxfordshire has become the sixth alternative business structure to be licensed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Plainlaw is a firm which specialises in the areas of property, housing and construction law. There are three partners, Philip Horn, Michael Horn and a corporate entity, Plainlaw.biz Ltd. The senior partner is […]
Law Society call for post six-year run-off extension is partially heard
Calls by the Law Society for the SRA to extend the scheme that provides solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance post six-year run-off cover have been heard. The SRA Board approved the proposals made by the Law Society to introduce rules to extend the scheme, but didn’t follow the suggestion of putting a cap of £10 […]
The inevitable development of IT hosting within the Legal Sector
The latest smartlegal whitepaper explores the cloud computing revolution within legal services. It is available here. The paper is written by Bill Kirby, director of Professional Choice Consultancy, and looks at the issues surrounding cloud computing and what it means for law firms. Important things to consider when looking at cloud computing include: […]
Head of fraud and security at Lloyds charged with £2.5 million fraud
A former head of fraud and security for digital banking at Lloyds Banking Group has been charged in connection with a £2.5 million fraud. Andrew Penhale, from the Crown Prosecution Services’ central fraud group, commented: “The charge relates to an allegation that between 1 September 2008 and 21 December 2011, Jessica Harper dishonestly and […]
London market pushes house prices up by 0.2%
The Hometrack monthly national house price survey has been released today, and shows a national price rise of 0.2% over the last month. This increase has been pushed up by the performance of London. London saw house prices rise by 0.6% over the last month. In the South East and East Anglia there were increases […]
Legal Ombudsman discusses complaint volumes
The Chief Ombudsman Adam Sampson has used his blog to look at the volume of complaints seen by the Legal Ombudsman. He looked in particular at two statistics which he says are on the face of things contradictory. The first statistic is the Ombudsman is waiving more case fees than anticipated. The Ombudsman will waive […]
UK annual flooding losses set to reach £1 billion
Research by property search firm Searchflow shows that the annual cost of flooding in England and Wales has reached £1 billion as a result of underinvestment in defences and climate change. The cost of individual major flooding events is rising. The Environment Agency states that a major coastal flooding event in the Humber estuary could […]