Ambitious, punchy, and headline-grabbing – The Chancellor’s first speech
It is ambitious, it is punchy, and it is headline-grabbing; 1.5 million new homes during the parliamentary term and it’s lacking the devil details. The UK has not built 300,000 new homes a year since 1977 and that was a combination of private enterprise, housing associations, and local authorities. The two areas for me in […]
Digital Conveyancing: Elevating Trust and Efficiency through Digitisation
In the evolving landscape of property, digital conveyancing represents a pivotal shift, focusing on digitisation rather than automation. This approach aims to enhance the conveyancing experience by providing robust tools that integrate information seamlessly, ensuring reliability and fostering trust. At its core, digital conveyancing is about the digitisation of processes that traditionally relied on paper-based […]
The Law Society’s TA6 Form delay sparks industry debate: Embracing digital solutions and material information requirements Amidst criticism
The TA6 property information form continues to generate a headline-writing life of its own at the moment, with the news The Law Society has now delayed the mandated use of the updated form until January 2025. No doubt this follows some of the ongoing criticism placed at the door of The Law Society that it […]
The Diary of A High Street Conveyancer: 8th July 2024
For as long as I can remember (and that is a long time!), it has been standard to charge less on the sale of a property. But why? Even now a review of other firms’ websites to see their costs, it is always cheaper on a sale than a purchase. I can only assume that […]
UK General Election 2024: How the party manifestos could impact first time buyers?
Research has shown predictions of how different party manifestos could impact first time buyers in the UK after the General Election. As the nation heads to the polls today, the main political parties are doing everything they can to entice the British public to vote for their policies and elect them into the next parliament. […]
Leadership Changes as Groundsure starts an Exciting New Chapter
Groundsure, an environmental and climate insights provider, has announced that Malcolm Smith, currently Chief Operating Officer, is to become the CEO with effect from 15th July. The change comes as Dan Montagnani leaves the business to pursue other projects, after 19 years that has seen the business achieve a market leading position and record growth […]
SRA business plan continues focus on diversity, technology and AML says Law Society
The Law Society of England and Wales has responded to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) 2024-2025 business plan and budget consultation. The SRA have said that their business aim is ‘is driving confidence and trust in legal services’. The business plan, which came into effect in 2023 and will span until 2026, outlines a list […]
The Diary of A High Street Conveyancer: 1st July 2024
On Thursday, I received an email from a client, headed ‘ONE WEEK TO GO’. The client was quite pushy – you know the sort – wants everything done yesterday and gets frustrated when he can’t see anything happening even though we explain that a lot goes on behind the scenes. He is buying a leasehold […]
Diary of a Cyber Conveyancer: Why is legaltech so important to conveyancing?
Having spent years building a conveyancing business based on the principle that great lawyers are even better when supported by great technology, I don’t need convincing of the benefits that technology can bring. However, judging by some of the comments I read online, clearly, not everyone agrees with me. Which is strange, given that almost […]
Leaseholders may have to wait years for new law to come into effect say property lawyer
New rules on renewing leases may have become law but homeowners ‘could still have to wait years until the laws come into effect’, a property lawyer has warned. The Leasehold Reform Act became law before parliament was dissolved in May ahead of the General Election next month. But despite the law being rushed through parliament […]
Human vs machine: An AI collaboration in practice
A collaboration between conveyancing firm Simply Conveyancing and property technology business Orbital Witness is the topic of discussion in the latest Today’s Conveyancer podcast Host David Opie is joined by Sue Bence, Chief Operating Officer at Simply Conveyancing, and Ed Boulle, co-founder of Orbital Witness to discuss the introduction of Orbital’s title checking software, which […]
Opinion| The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act: measures of success
There has been comment from the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) on the Leasehold and Reform Bill. Mark Wilson Director of Myleasehold, gives his take on what should happen next and what these changes mean for the industry. The 4.9 million residential leases in England and Wales now face significant change following the enactment […]
Could Rightmove become the next Blockbuster?
Rightmove has been the dominant force in property portals for almost two decades. But the question on everyone’s lips is how much longer this will be the case. Disruptors have been seeking to dethrone Rightmove for several years now with suggestions ranging from class actions or boycotts by estate agents to outspending Rightmove in marketing […]
Opinion| The impact of the Leasehold and Freehold Act on local authorities
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill has now been enacted, and its impact on local authorities is likely to be substantial when it comes into force. The legislation would impact on local authorities’ finances in at least three ways: changes to the length of residential property leases will reduce their value to local authorities as […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer: 24th June 2024
I am acting in the purchase of a house – the buyer has not trusted the seller throughout; you know the case where the seller says he will move into temporary accommodation but then finds somewhere to buy and decides he will tie up the transactions. It happens all of the time and I always […]
Do conveyancers get the credit they deserve?
Do conveyancers get the credit they perhaps deserve for the progress they have made in adopting technology and new processes? Do they come under pressure to adopt change and technology and how can we improve the way we introduce process and change management in our businesses and bring people along with us on that journey? […]
The Role of the Conveyancer is Dead
The Covid pandemic highlighted our urgent need for improved technology to support various transactions, including residential property dealings. The lack of relevant and effective technology exposed significant gaps in our systems. Since 2020, the deployment of new technologies has surged, driven by the world’s response to digital transformation. However, delays in residential property transactions have […]
Call for urgent reforms as ‘gazumping’ surges to 37%
37% of buyers are being gazumped and this figure has grown by 6% in the last two years, according to new data. The HomeOwners Alliance is calling for an end to the practice of gazumping and recommends that buyers take out Home Buyers Protection Insurance to mitigate the financial loss. Recent research from MFS group […]
Improving Property Payments: Why are we Waiting?
The SRA consumer protection review notwithstanding, the future of property transactions may be that conveyancing firms no longer hold client money. As momentum continues to build around the concept of synchronisation, the Conveyancing Association has published a discussion paper that considers the impact for conveyancers of no longer moving property related payments through Client Account. […]
Answering legal exam/assignment questions
Legal exams and assessments can be stressful. Few people love taking them, and even if you know the answer to the question, formulating it in the correct way to ensure the best exam or assignment results can be a challenge. But don’t worry, there is a knack to it that you can learn. Legal questions […]