Lenders will sue brokers claims Mortgage Business Expo
Brokers were warned yesterday at the Manchester Mortgage Business Expo that there is a risk that lenders will sue for losses caused by fraud, reports Mortgage Introducer. John Malone, executive chairman of PMS said: “They’re suing solicitors and surveyors already for mortgage fraud so I don’t see why they [lenders] wouldn’t sue the broker […]
Bridging Loans are a fraud hotspot claim brokers
Brokers were warned at the Mortgage Business Expo at Manchester of bridging loan fraud, which was described as a fraud hotpsot by John Malone, executive chairman of PMS. Mortgage Introducer reports that brokers are accused of pushing surveyors to overvalue properties to get a bigger bridging loan. John Malone comments: “More potentially fraudulent activity […]
Solicitor struck off for referring clients to a tied adviser
A solicitor has been struck off for failing to refer clients to an independent financial advisor, reports Money Marketing. The case against Andrew Field was brought by the SRA to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. The case had three alleged breaches of the Solicitors Code of Conduct 2007. Andrew Field worked at Field & Co, based […]
Trade Body launches new group to tackle Knotweed problem
UK trade body the Property Care Association (PCA) has launched a new group dedicated to the removal and control of Japanese Knotweed. The PCA has been working with RICS, the CML and the Building Societies Association, together with Japanese Knotweed control companies that currently operate in the UK to develop the Invasive Weed Control Group. […]
HS2 – New voluntary purchase scheme may evolve to help property owners
A new Voluntary Purchase Scheme is being proposed for properties will on the route of the high speed rail line between Birmingham and London. If the scheme is adopted it will mean that properties can be sold directly to HS2 Ltd. Knight Frank has suggested that the proposal is one of the reasons why there […]
Estate Agents flock to vote for the favourite Conveyancing Firm
Voting remains open for this award until the end of June so there is plenty of time left. Smaller law firms that offer a high level of service have as much chance as some of the larger conveyancing outfits with a weighting being applied to level the playing field. The early front runners include (in […]
Estate Agents flock to vote for the favourite Conveyancing Firm
Voting remains open for this award until the end of June so there is plenty of time left. Smaller law firms that offer a high level of service have as much chance as some of the larger conveyancing outfits with a weighting being applied to level the playing field. The early front runners include (in […]
SRA issue warning over website
The SRA has today issued a warning about the website www.preston-hubbard.co.uk. The website purports to relate to a law firm in London, but the SRA records show that no such firm is regulated by the SRA. The warning is set out below: ‘The SRA has received information in relation to the website www.preston-hubbard.co.uk. The […]
The Co-operative announces plans for 3000 jobs in Legal Services
The Co-operative today announced plans for the creation of 3,000 jobs in its legal services business, as it continues to expand. The announcement will make the Co-operative, which already has interests in professional services, the largest consumer law business in the UK. In March the Co-operative became the first major consumer brand to be granted […]
Nationwide reports gross mortgage lending rise of 44%
Nationwide has announced that it has increased its gross mortgage lending by 44% in the year to 4th April 2012. Gross mortgage lending over the year was £18.4 billion, a rise from £12.8 billion in the previous year. This compares with a market increase of 5%. Over 24,000 first time buyers were approved for […]
Renting cheaper than NewBuy scheme
Research by Hometrack examining the trends in new private housing supply suggests that the Government is not meeting its priority of increasing the volume of new housing. The study can be found here. The number of private new build properties starts has increased by 75% since 2009. However, this is still less than half the […]
Santander UK credit rating downgraded by Moody’s
Last week the ratings agency Moody’s downgraded the credit rating of 16 Spanish banks. This included Santander. The UK arm of Santander was downgraded to A2. This is one level higher than the Spanish parent bank. The reasons given by Moody’s for the cut include adverse operating conditions, and the Spanish government’s reduced ability […]
Nationwide cut mortgage rates
From 18th May, Nationwide has reduced its two and five year fixed rates by 0.10%. This includes the NewBuy five year fixed rate loan which is now at 5.99%. Tracie Pearce, Head of Group Mortgages, Product & Pricing at Nationwide commented: "At a time when many lenders are increasing their rates, we’re pleased to […]
House prices show no change in May
The Rightmove House Price Index for May was released this week and shows a stabilisation of prices, with no monthly change. This is the first time that there has not been a price rise since the Index was started. The Index reflects an annual price increase of 2.0% with the average property asking price at […]
Home Builders Federation show early success of NewBuy
The Home Builders Federation has released figures showing that 400 new homes have been reserved through the NewBuy scheme since its launch nine weeks ago in March. This figure comes as statistics show a 15% fall in the number of housing starts in the first quarter of 2012, compared with 2011. Over the first […]
Peppermint Platform delivers COFA and COLP toolset
Peppermint Technology has unveiled its COFA and COLP toolset which delivers continuous risk management and reporting tools as part of the Peppermint Platform. As firms are getting ready to nominate their compliance officers as part of the new outcomes focused regulation approach from the SRA, they should also look at the tools around to help […]
House Building falls during first 3 months of 2012
Data released by the ONS shows that during the first quarter of 2012 the number of house building starts was 24,140. This is a fall of 11% compared to quarter four of 2011 when there were 27,240 starts. This is 50% lower than the peak in quarter four of 2005. The greatest fall in new […]
Minimum salary for trainee solicitors scrapped by SRA
From 1st August 2014, firms will no longer be obliged to pay trainee solicitors a minimum salary above the national minimum wage, it has been announced by the SRA Board. The change will mean that trainees could be paid as little as the national minimum wage, which is currently £6.08 an hour. This would […]
Grant Shapps launches £30m fund following surge in self-build market
Housing Minister Grant Shapps has announced that Kevin McCloud has been appointed self-build industry champion by the National Self Build Association. His main roles will be to raise public awareness of the benefits of self-building a home and helping the self-build industry to promote the services available for first time self-builders. Kevin McCloud is […]
Building Societies Association publishes toolkit for self-build market
The BSA has published a toolkit to provide information to encourage more lenders to offer mortgage finance to self-build projects. It claims that one in 10 new homes built in the UK are self-build projects, which generates £3 billion every year for the UK economy. It estimates that self-build properties accounted for two out […]