Upto 400,00 transactions affected by lender down valuations
The impact of rising house prices has seen nearly 400,000 transactions down valued in the lat year by surveyors working on behalf of mortgage lenders, who believe the price agreed by both buyer and seller was too high. The latest analysis by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has identified that across the […]
Getting Lawyers Back To The Office… An Easy Matter?
The Government set out a step-by-step plan in February to ease restrictions in England during the Covid-19 pandemic. Step 4 of this roadmap plan began on 19th July, by highlighting the need to continue being cautious as we managed the ongoing risks of the virus. It was later stated on the Government’s website, updated on […]
How can conveyancers build resilience and avoid burn-out?
Although it seems that the level of transactions has calmed down somewhat post June 30 and the end of the first stamp duty holiday, it has not perhaps been the “cliff-edge” that some predicted. As we work towards the next of the SDLT deadlines at the end of September, house prices have only dipped very […]
Tools for measuring your marketing success
Content marketing is one of the most effective tools there is in communicating with your target audience. Content can be easily tailored and maintained to achieve the results you are looking for. Legal articles that serve as pieces of content to populate websites, blogs, social channels, e-newsletters and more continue to be a great source of information when communicating with prospects to inform and create awareness, […]
Levels of lending “unlikely to be sustained in the medium to long term”
UK Finance figures show the scale of the stimulus provided by the SDLT holiday as home movers sought to take advantage of the savings on offer but warned that the current levels of lending would not be sustainable in the medium to long term. The latest Household Finance Review which covers Q2 2021 points to […]
How TIM WOODS can improve productivity in your conveyancing firm
In the conveyancing world, fixed fees are paid for purchase transactions or completed sales, therefore time spent on activities that add no value to these transactions will eat into the profit a company earns. In the world of Lean, we call this non-value adding time “waste”, and Tim Woods is to blame. (Tim Woods isn’t […]
SDLT holiday may not be responsible for property market surge
Influential think tank the Resolution Foundation has suggested that the temporary stamp-duty was not the “overwhelming driver” behind the surge in property market activity and that underlying factors instead responsible for driving house prices up, indicating that the stamp-duty holiday may have been a waste of taxpayers money. Data from the Resolution Foundation’s quarterly Housing […]
Mortgage borrowing soars as half of remortgagers increase their loan
Homeowners across the UK are now borrowing more money from mortgage lenders than ever before according to new figures released this week. According to mortgage broker Mojo Mortgages, the average amount of money being applied for by existing homeowners has increased by just over £13,000 (up 25%) over the course of the pandemic – rising […]
7 ways to create high performing legal teams
Your business can offer the best service in the world, but if your team and organisation isn’t up to scratch, you won’t be able to deliver on your promise. If you struggle to attract good people, have high attrition rates, or are constantly dealing with under performance, you need to make some changes. 1. Understand […]
July transactions down 61% on June 2021
Transaction figures released today (24th August) by HMRC show a 61% decrease in home moving activity in July compared to June following the end of the first stage of the SDLT holiday tapering process. From 1st July to 30th September only properties in England up to £250,000 are eligible for the nil rate band; the […]
Forget the detached house price boom, this is the property type to have performed best in the last decade
The latest research by Birmingham estate and lettings agent, Barrows and Forrester, reveals that terraced houses are the best property investment in the UK after experiencing stronger price growth than any other type of home over the past decade. The UK housing market has boomed. Surging demand has been met by dwindling supply to push […]
ONS Figures highlight impact of SDLT holiday
ONS figures have shown average house prices have reached a record £266,000, £1,000 higher than the same time last year. UK average house prices increased by 13.2% over the year to June 2021, up from 9.8% in May 2021, the highest annual growth rate the UK has seen since November 2004. The figures come against […]
Buyer enquiries slow but Autumn bounce predicted
The RICS July 2021 Residential Survey results reveal a slightly softer month for new activity across the housing market. Although a decline in activity is to be expected following the end of the stamp duty holiday in June, the survey also shows that house prices continue to rise due to lack of available stock, with […]
How unexplained wealth orders help in the international fight against money laundering
Unexplained wealth orders were introduced four years ago to help tackle the problem of money laundering by high net worth individuals, often with foreign and political connections. Here, Ellen Sanchenko, Criminal Litigation and Regulatory specialist solicitor at Ronald Fletcher Baker LLP, explains how they work – and whether they are operating as intended. The concept […]
Active conveyancing firms recover to pre-pandemic levels
The number of property transactions registered in England and Wales climbed 20% over the last quarter, rising to 290,248 in Q2 2021, up from 241,916 in Q1 2021, according to the latest edition of the Conveyancing Market Tracker from Search Acumen, the property data insight and technology provider. This is the highest number of quarterly […]
Onesearch Risk Series: Coal Mining
This guest post has been written for the OneSearch Risk Series by Philip Huddleston MRICS, Director of PinPoint Coal Ltd. With changed economic and political influences, coal mining has now virtually ceased in the UK. Although there are a few proposals for underground mines in the pipeline (such as the proposal to mine Coking coal […]
Quietest home moving spots in the UK identified
The quietest home moving spots in the UK have been identified following research by homebuying platform, YesHomebuyers, Based on the average number of annual transactions over the last 5 years areas such as Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Cornwall have seen in excess of 10,000 homes sold per year on average, but not everywhere across […]
Climate change concerns for coastal properties in landslide prone areas
A major 40 m landslide occurred at Nefyn Bay in North Wales earlier this year sparking concern for nearby residents and business owners. The area is prone to regular small-scale cliff collapses due to the superficial deposits of clays and silts making up Nefyn Bay which are easily eroded by the sea. More concerning, however, […]
Government will fail to reach housing target until 2028
The latest research by Birmingham and Newcastle-based property developer, StripeHomes, reveals that, at the current rate of progress, the UK government will not achieve its pledge of delivering 300,000 new homes a year until 2028. The UK’s housing crisis is long-lasting and well-reported, perpetuated mainly by a stark lack of housing supply. For decades, ruling […]
SDLT and the unknown unknowns…De-risk your practice
The end of the SDLT holiday was a relief for Julie, a hardworking conveyancer in a market town, relentless pressure from thankless clients, working weekends and evenings for months. Then of course, the SDLT returns and Land Registrations had to be dealt with- it didn’t end with the end of the holiday. Six months later, […]
