Diary of a high street conveyancer; 28th March 2022
Being an old fashioned conveyancing solicitor, I have to admit that I am not a fan of simultaneous exchange and completion. In an ideal world, I would like at least a week between exchange and completion – yes, for me so that I can make sure mortgage monies are ordered and pre-completion searches are done […]
Stamp duty now up to 881% higher thanks to holiday
Research by GetAgent.co.uk reveals that since the pandemic-inspired SDLT holiday came to an end, the amount of stamp duty the average homebuyer in England is now required to pay is 84% higher than it was before the tax break was introduced – although some areas have seen this cost increase by as much as 881%. […]
The conveyancer’s view: “who could afford that?!”
The conveyancer’s view, 25th March 2022 March saw house prices reach another new record as the average price of property coming to market jumped by 1.7% (+£5,760) to £354,564, breaking through the £350,000 barrier for the first time. This average monthly rise is the largest seen at this time of year since March 2004, pushing the […]
Government’s intent to legislate on identity & legal sector response
The sad events in Ukraine have forced the government and the property industry to pay even more attention to where client money comes from and who their client is. This has had serious implications for the whole industry, not just for those exposed to foreign property transactions. Events in Ukraine forced the government to push […]
Today’s Conveyancer marks second anniversary of first national lockdown
Today marks the two year anniversary since lockdown measures were first introduced in England to help combat the spread of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Now that restrictions have lifted, with no further isolation requirements and many businesses returning to office environments, Covid-19 seems to have completely faded away from daily life. Although the world appears […]
Upcoming webinars with Groundsure in April
April marks the start of Groundsure’s new webinar series on Climate Change. 5th April 2022, 11:00am – 11:45am: “Flooding & Climate Change: A stormy relationship and its impacts on property” In the first webinar of Groundsure’s Climate Change series, Strategic Account Manager Iryna Minimurzina, will look at the definition of flooding and how it may […]
House prices to increase by 5.5% in next three months
The shortage of homes for sale and continued strong demand from buyers will drive house prices up by 5.5% over the next three months (March to May 2022) to a new all-time high of £352,984, according to the reallymoving House Price Forecast February 2022. The report follows recent news that average house prices reached a […]
More upfront information is needed now, to prevent devastating fall-throughs
A firm specialising in the provision of upfront information has said that, while the first changes to upfront information are happening, it is not until full material disclosure that we are likely to see any impact on lowering fall-throughs. Gazeal argues it is still many months away and, in the meantime, sales are continuing to […]
Rightmove: best spring sellers’ market as prices reach new record
Rightmove’s March House Price Index report reveals another new price record as the average price of property coming to market jumps by 1.7% (+£5,760) this month to £354,564, breaking through the £350,000 barrier for the first time. The average monthly rise is the largest seen at this time of year since March 2004, pushing the […]
Housing supply bounces back
Propertymark’s latest analysis of February’s market activity reveals a slightly rosier picture for the property pipeline as we move into the spring months. The report shows that the average number of properties listed per Propertymark member agent branch increased by 21%, whereas sales agreed are up from seven per branch in January to eight in […]
National Leasehold Campaign welcomes CMA success on onerous ground rents
The National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) welcomes the announcement from the CMA detailing that, as part of their ongoing work into leasehold mis-selling, they have reached agreement with 15 freeholders that bought leases with onerous ground rent terms from Countryside. NLC founder and spokeswoman Katie Kendrick, a children’s nurse from Ellesmere Port said: “Today’s announcement demonstrates […]
Russian Sanctions – what do conveyancers need to know?
In this latest Today’s Conveyancer podcast David Opie is joined by AML expert Amy Bell to discuss what conveyancers need to know about the rising response to the Russia/Ukraine crisis, particularly as more and more sanctions are placed on Russian individuals. Amy, who is a Director at Teal Legal and a member of The Law […]
Diary of a high street conveyancer; 21st March
No two house moves are the same; no two clients are the same. This is something we have to remember and this week, I was reminded that however well we think we are doing our job, it is the client who ultimately matters. I have a horrendous chain. The typical scenario where the sale by […]
Law Society welcomes royal assent of Economic Crime Act
News that the Economic Crime Act has received Royal Assent has been welcomed by the Law Society of England and Wales. In a recently issued press release the Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce commented: “The Economic Crime Act will help the government uncover potential criminal activity in the UK and we welcome the amendments […]
Join The British Conveyancing Awards live stream
The British Conveyancing Awards, sponsored by Dye & Durham, are just 36 hours away and you can join in the celebrations via the live stream. Tickets for the in-person ceremony, which is being held at Church House in London, are now sold out, but you can still join in and celebrate the cream of the […]
Russell Quirk… shooting from the lip
How do we solve the home-moving conundrum? Property industry veteran and co-founder of ProperPR Russell Quirk joins David Opie in discussion about the state of the home moving process. In typically robust fashion, Russell challenges the conversation about the current state of play, placing the consumer at the heart of his message. “(Through my involvement […]
RICS market survey: sales increase despite interest rate hike
The latest RICS Residential Market Survey reveals that sales of homes in the UK strengthened in February. The uptick is believed to be due to renewed interest from new buyers, despite the Bank of England’s decision to increase interest rates. The survey showed that 17% of respondents said they had seen a jump in new […]
LMS reports fall in remortgage instructions
LMS has published its latest round of remortgage analysis, revealing January trends and market activity, predicting that “collaboration and innovation will be key to progressing high levels of demand in 2022”. Although the LMS monthly remortgage snapshot for January reveals a slowing of instructions compared to December, year-on-year figures show a 60% increase. For those […]
Diary of a high street conveyancer; 14th March
It is somewhat surprising when we hear on the news that it was exactly two years ago when England and Wales went into the first lockdown. It feels as if it were only yesterday but life before was very different. Who would have thought that two years later, we would be writing about a continuing […]
BLG summer conference set to launch this June in London
Bold Legal Group (BLG), the membership organisation for the conveyancing community, has announced that it will launch its inaugural summer conference on Tuesday 28th June at Regent’s Conferences & Events, London. The event has been launched with a view to bringing the conveyancing community together to foster collaboration and share knowledge and ideas from sector […]