A solicitor’s top tips for productivity
The legal sector is a highly pressurised environment. For many who work within it, the time constraints and stress can have an impact on focus and efficiency. One solicitor provided Today’s Conveyancer with their top tips to remain productive – here’s what they said. This is a collection of sources I have turned to in […]
How can conveyancers and estate agents help to prevent fall-throughs?
Buying and selling residential property may be what conveyancers and estate agents do on a daily basis, but your average homeowner only moves house once every 11 years. It’s a major life-changing decision and a long-term financial investment that will shape household budgets for decades to come. The stresses and uncertainties involved are matched by […]
Property expert condemns “irresponsible and unnecessary interest rate rises”
Property expert Lloyd Davies has welcomed the relaxation of stress tests for mortgage borrowers to “give a welcome boost to first time buyers” but has accused the Bank of England of “self-interested policy making” which could yet damage the “still buoyant” housing market. Davies, chairman of the not-for-profit Conveyancing Foundation, said measures like the stress […]
Update to the closure of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund
I have previously written about the SRA’s proposed closure of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund. The overwhelming response to the SRA’s consultation which ended in February 2022 was for the fund to remain open and as a result the fund was given a further year until September 2023. Since February 2022, the SRA have been consulting further. […]
Confessions of a cyber conveyancer
The other evening, I was settling down to watch the latest Ridley Scott blockbuster based loosely on reforming the Home Buying and Selling Process, (quite a niche Netflix channel I admit) when my phone pinged with an email. I tore myself away from the on-screen action and read a pretty vindictive message about us on […]
The weight of compliance has never been heavier
Organised criminals have long targeted the UK property market to launder their “dirty” money. Transparency International UK has even put a price on the size of the problem, calculating that £6.7 billion of suspicious funds has been invested in UK property since 2016. And the Government recategorised the sector as “high-risk” for money laundering purposes […]
Conveyancer-lender communication “limited in the extreme” – claim
You will hopefully have seen some of the results from our 2022 survey of conveyancing firms looking at their lender interactions, relationships, and communication channels. Each year, we ask conveyancers to give their assessment and rate how easy or otherwise it is to deal with lenders, specifically focusing on seven areas: the time they spend […]
Register of Overseas Entities – what does it mean for conveyancers?
The implementation of a Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) will help law firms tackle the opaque nature of foreign ownership and support efforts to tackle money laundering in the UK property market, says Mike Ward, Executive Chairman of Armalytix on the latest Today’s Conveyancer Podcast Effective today, 1st August, overseas entities are required to provide […]
Confessions of a cyber conveyancer
Ever felt that you can get a bit carried away with your own successes? Like when you close a new instruction without actually quoting the fee, and you start thinking, “heck, I’ll do this EVERY time”. Within a few days, you don’t even bother talking to prospects but send them paperwork automatically. Then the complaints […]
Law Commission publishes digital assets reform proposals
The Law Commission of England and Wales has published new proposals to reform the law relating to digital assets. Digital assets, which include crypto-tokens — sometimes referred to as cryptocurrencies — and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), play an increasingly important role in modern society. The emerging technologies are used for an increasing variety of purposes, including […]
Legaltech adoption sees “40% of firms” receive PII discount
During a legaltech panel discussion hosted by Women in Wills on Thursday, it was suggested that up to 40% of firms are receiving a discount on their professional indemnity insurance (PII) renewal due to their adoption of legaltech. The panel consisted of Rob Hosier, Sarah Keegan, Emma Baddaley and Pippa Shepherd, focusing on three key […]
Panels urged to increase fees
A sales progression and conveyancing network business has raised the fees for its firms and has called on the industry to support conveyancers in increasing their fees. Yorkshire-based Assured Sale and Progression Ltd (ASAP) have increased fees in an effort to give solicitors the financial backing required to consistently provide high-quality legal services to buyers […]
Joined-up ID checks provide a commercial opportunity for conveyancers
As I write this, I am about to be in the proud position that Credas – the company that I lead – is to be one of the first accredited with DIATF status. DIATF is the new Government approved framework that prescribes rules and standards in providing trustworthy digital identity solutions. Think of it as […]
Greater cooperation between estate agents and conveyancers essential, says new report
According to “Working Better Together”, a new report by Coadjute, both professions see real opportunity from building greater respect, trust, and openness in the relationship. Based on a survey of nearly 500 UK property professionals, the “Working Better Together” report provides insight into the complex and changing relationship between conveyancers and estate agents. The findings […]
Invest in time: the merits of saving minutes
No matter the side of the desk you are sat at – be it as a prospective purchaser or conveyancer – the legal processes associated with residential and commercial property transactions can feel torturously slow. Societal sympathy, however, tends to fall with the former, particularly in respect of would-be buyers whose excitement at the prospect […]
RICS: new buyer enquiries continue to fall
House prices continue to rise across the UK in June, according to the latest RICS Residential Market Survey, but the pace of growth is slowing amid fewer new buyer enquiries which is to impact sales. The new buyer interest net balance slipped for the third successive month, with -27% of respondents reporting a fall in […]
Final legal stages continue to delay property purchases
Data from property purchasing specialist, HBB Solutions, has revealed how the pandemic property market boom and the resulting market backlog is impacting the property transaction timeline, even for those utilising a quick sale method, with the average time to complete increasing by over three weeks so far in 2022 when compared to pre-pandemic market conditions. HBB […]
Conveyancing support group continues to grow in numbers
An online conveyancing support group is growing in prominence as conveyancers are beginning to speak more openly about the difficulties they are facing on a day-to-day basis. The group, “Conveyancers for Change”, was launched in May alongside a podcast of the same name. A note on the group’s page explaining their purpose says: “We are […]
Knights loses conveyancing practice as Scottish firm expands into England
Full-service Scottish law firm Gilson Gray has struck a deal with Knights to acquire Home Property Lawyers (HPL) Ltd, with the firm saying the move “signals the beginning of an expansion strategy outside Scotland”. HPL is a residential conveyancing firm with 65 staff, all of whom have been retained as part of the deal, including […]
Rising PII costs see conveyancing firms close their doors
Soaring professional indemnity insurance (PII) costs have recently seen two successful conveyancing firms absorbed by 360 Law Group. This will come as ominous news for some firms given the secure and long-standing nature of the firms, namely J Pearlman, which has operated in north west London since 1971, and Bradleys Property & Probate Lawyers, which […]