What did Budget mean for Conveyancers?
Rishi Sunak’s latest budget spoke positively about the way in which the UK is responding to the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. And while we’re not out of the woods yet, the latest budget launched a with a stirring defence of current policy. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has revised growth forecasts up […]
New Research Reveals the UK Regions with the Most Restrictive Covenants
Pure Property Finance has dived into HM Land Registry data to find out which regions in the UK have the most restrictive covenants. The research looked at the number of convents in each region compared to the population, to estimate the percentage of buildings in the region that have a restrictive covenant attached to them. […]
Could Budget solve the Cladding scandal? And reaction to housing investment…
The property industry has responded to Rishi Sunak’s Budget, applauding the level of intended investment while maintain some cautious optimism around efforts to support those affected by the cladding scandal. Housing is a central tenet of the government’s “levelling up” agenda, with £millions pledged in an effort to increase home ownership amongst many who simply […]
Development Risk Webinar Confirmed
poweredbypie has confirmed a free development risk webinar to be run by Paul Addison, Managing Director of DevAssist for 11am on 3 November 2021. Paul Addison, Managing Director of DevAssist confirms: “With nearly one-third of our reports identifying properties as having a high risk of development within 75m, conveyancers need to be able to offer […]
Sunak delivers Budget for “new age of optimism”
Rishi Sunak launched his latest budget with a stirring defence of current policy, claiming that jobs growth, economic recovery and wage rises pointed to the success of the investment the government in making as part of its “Levelling Up” programme. “Today’s budget provides a stronger economy for the British people. Growth up, jobs up, debt […]
SRA sets out plans for 2021/22
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has published its 2021-22 business plan, outlining its key areas of work for the coming year. Publication follows a consultation exercise earlier this year which saw more than 8,000 people have their say on the proposals through a range of virtual events, written submissions and online polls. In addition to […]
30,000 new homes completed in Q3 2021
In the “race for space” detached living is preferred to apartment living according to the latest stats from the National House Building Council (NHBC). Detached houses now make up the largest proportion of new home registrations in the UK. In Q3 2021, 36% of new homes registered to be built were detached, vs. 28% in […]
Government to benefit from SDLT holiday boom
The Stamp Duty holiday contributed to the highest recorded revenues from Stamp Duty Land Tax over the Summer as receipts from property purchases hit £1.309 billion in July, the highest month on record and higher than the £1.196 billion taken in March. But it, while it could have been so much higher, the government could […]
FREE leasehold training for conveyancers
Index Property Information has teamed up with Ian Quayle, Chief Executive of IQ Legal Training who brings his 18 years’ experience of training legal professionals to deliver a series of ten, hour-long free webinars to cover residential and commercial leasehold transactions. We caught up with Ian to find out why both new conveyancers and experienced […]
Law Society release home buying fraud warning for consumers
Home buyers are being warned about a spike in scams which have seen victims defrauded out of hundreds of thousands of pounds. The Law Society of England and Wales has joined forces with the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), which is housed within the National Crime Agency, and Action Fraud to issue flyers warning of […]
5 providers sign up to “ID Trust Scheme” pilot
Five identity service providers have committed to the new MyIdentity trust scheme to make home buying and selling in the UK a safe digital process. The five identity service providers are: Digidentity, Nuggets, OBiD, Thirdfort, and Yoti. Their involvement assures consumers will have fully inclusive choices to prove their identity. The hub service provider is […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer; 25th October 2021
Friends mentioned to me that they had taken their son to an open day at university and that one of the longest queues was at the desk where a law lecturer and student sat – all those young, optimistic students thinking about doing a law degree and dreaming of the life they would have It […]
HMLR Practice Guide updates
HM Land Registry (HMLR) has published details of the latest changes to its Practice Guides. Charging orders (PG76) This guide gives advice on the points to take into account when considering making an application for entry of an agreed or unilateral notice or a Form K restriction in respect of a charging order made under […]
Transaction volumes hit annualised 1.5m for first time since 2008
September property transaction figures showed the anticipated spike in volume as the SDLT holiday came to close, but did not reach the peaks seen earlier in the year in March and June according to HMRC figures. The figures show the highest number of transactions registered in September since record began in 2005 with non-seasonally adjusted […]
Conveyancing Association announces new affiliate member
The Conveyancing Association (CA), the leading trade body for the conveyancing industry, has announced the appointment of SDLT Compass as a new Affiliate member. SDLT Compass is a bespoke software solution which produces up-to-date Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) calculations for conveyancing firms and mitigates against errors being made. Built in conjunction with tax advisers […]
inCase Webinar – A ‘No Sales’ App Tour
Join inCase for just 30 minutes to see how the app works on Thursday 4th November from 3:00pm – 3:30pm, and for everyone who attends you can enjoy a free Costa coffee on them!* You’ll be able to see how inCase can: Reduce timelines by up to 42% Increase your capacity by up to 50% […]
Regulatory & Compliance Update
SRA thematic reviews During our recent Access All Areas legal panel session the Solicitors Regulation Authority was asked what thematic reviews it was planning to carry out over the next 12-18 months, and although it said these had not yet been fixed in stone they could cover: Law firm culture Immigration work Powers of attorney/deputyship […]
Challenging start to 2022 predicted as listings slow
Conveyancers may face a challenging start to 2022 as the number of properties coming to market has dropped below pre-pandemic figures, down by an average of 9% compared to July, August and September 2019. The analysis has come from data spanning property listings, sold subject to contract, legal conveyancing and completions in the latest edition […]
The Importance of Up-Front Information
With the stamp duty holiday now over, conveyancers and estate agents are looking forward to a more stable market with a little less pressure to meet artificial deadlines. This has meant a return to focus on some of the key issues that affect the home buying and selling process. There is widespread agreement that things […]
X-Press Legal Services welcomes new owner for Central region
X-Press Legal Services has announced the arrival of new owner David Mermod for one of the largest franchise regions. Central region, which covers Nuneaton, Bedford, Telford, Shropshire, North West Leicestershire, Powys, Hereford, Coventry and Rugby will now come under the stewardship of David Mermod. David comes with a wealth of experience in the sector, having completed […]