Busiest day of the year for moving
Friday 30th August is set to be the busiest moving day of the year with over 20,000 home moves expected. Analysis of 650,000 removal quotes from 201-2023 found August has been the most popular month to move home for the last 12 years. The research has been conducted by HomeOwners Alliance and reallymoving who found that […]
Postcode lottery of local searches highlighted in latest research
The speed of turnaround of local authority searches is a postcode lottery with some councils turning search requests round in 24 hours, while the worst offenders are taking nearly 2 months. The average turnaround time for a local authority search in England and Wales is 11.5 days according to recent research by quick-buy firm Spring. […]
Land Registry Delays – Conveyancers hit back
Delays at HM Land Registry is costing the property profession thousands of pounds in lost administrative time and effort… and potentially consumers looking to take advantage of falling interest rates. Clients looking to remortgage now, with mortgage rates reducing again, will be less than pleased at not being able to process their transactions due to […]
Ex-Conveyancer launches onboarding platform having secured £500,000 funding
A conveyancing prop-tech has officially launched after securing £500,000 in seed funding, supported by an Innovate UK grant. ProConvey’s digital onboarding solution aims to “transform traditional conveyancing” reduce manual errors, and improve client satisfaction through its platform. It has been developed by ex-conveyancer Chris Scantlebury who began work on the project in January 2023. Having […]
UK the slowest home moving nation
Home moving in England and Wales takes an average of 179 days from listing to completion; the slowest home moving completion timescales in 12 home moving nations. Across the 12, the average transaction takes 110 days with the US leading the way on 53 days from listing to ‘closing’. The research has been undertaken by […]
The client money debate: is the SRA on the right lines?
There’s no escaping the fact that conveyancing firms face a whole host of different issues when it comes to completing any transaction. From dealing with huge peaks and troughs in demand to combatting the risk of fraud and cybercrime, rekeying errors and ongoing client liaison, the challenges are numerous. Treatment of interest gained on client […]
Over 1200 conveyancers sign up to TA6 consultation
The Law Society of England and Wales have confirmed over 1200 conveyancers have registered to take part in the upcoming Property Information Form TA6 consultation launched in response to the backlash from the profession following its introduction in March of this year. The deadline for registration passed on Friday 16th August. The conveyancing profession hit […]
Are conveyancers prepared for Labour’s home building programme?
Conveyancers must be prepared to manage the additional workload brought by the Labour government’s house building targets as new figures show a continued decrease in the number of firms undertaking conveyancing work in England and Wales. The warning comes from from property data company Search Acumen whose latest Conveyancing Market Tracker shows a 3% reduction […]
New homes ombudsman forces developers to “sharpen their focus”
The introduction of the New Homes Ombudsman (NHO) and New Homes Quality Code has already forced developers to “sharpen their focus on customer care and to ensure that the experience of the customer from the point of initial contact through to move in and thereafter is as positive as it should be” according to its […]
Deadline to have your say on TA6 – Friday 16th August
The deadline for conveyancers to register to be involved in the TA6 consultation is on Friday 16th August. The Law Society of England and Wales says it has had over 1,000 conveyancing professionals register to take part. The consultation was launched on 10th July with solicitors, licensed conveyancers or other professionals working in conveyancing being encouraged […]
Search tie up for home moving platform to “do more in one place”
Home moving and sales progression platform adoor has announced it will be able to provide conveyancing searches directly from its portal through a partnership with search provider Elan. Local Authority, Drainage and Water and Environment reports will be accessible without having to leave the adoor system, updating the relevant field within the workflow automatically. It […]
Barratt and Redrow merger hits Shropshire snag
The deal to merge two of the largest housebuilders in the UK may go ahead if the two organisations can resolve a “high combined share of land” in an area in Shropshire say the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA stepped in to the proposed £2.5bn merger in March citing concerns about whether the […]
New podcast takes a light-hearted look at conveyancing
A new podcast from two well-known conveyancing professionals aims to shed a light on the daily trials, tribulations and enjoyment of running two separate property departments. “Bricks and Banter” has been launched by Tom Parkinson and Laura Cartwright and is described as taking a light-hearted look at the challenges they face as Directors of their […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer: Fall-through Friday
I am acting for a lovely young couple. They are buying their first home together and are very excited about it. This is the second house that they are trying to buy – the first house had a loft conversion with no consents; the usual issues had arisen around the Particulars of Sale indicating the […]
Finding common ground on how to move the industry forward: The Estate Agent’s perspective
When we carried out our cross-market research last year, one thing was abundantly clear: times are tough for property professionals. Estate agents are no exception. A staggering 88% said their role has been impacted by recent legislative changes, while 53% admit to struggling to progress transactions at an optimal pace. They’re not alone. Across the […]
‘Strategic rebrand’ for home moving app
A home moving app which aims to automate property compliance and simplify home moving has announced it will rebrand as part of a ‘significant evolution’ in its mission. MoveGenius will rebrand to Snappily, a name they say ‘reflects our vision of making the home moving process faster, simpler, and more efficient, encapsulating the essence of […]
Firms who generate most complaints should pay more – CLC
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has launched a consultation on proposals to change how its contribution towards the Legal Ombudsman is paid, so that those firms who generate more complaints contribute more to the levy. The proposals are designed to “provide a stronger incentive for the small number of firms that generate disproportionate levels […]
Breaking down barriers: Can a conveyancers find common ground with an estate agent and a mortgage lender?
There’s no doubt about it. Residential property transactions are taking longer. As our latest market research reveals, the average time it takes from instruction to completion is 19 weeks. That’s a 64% increase compared with 2007. It’s perhaps no surprise then that 72% of the conveyancers we spoke to said protracted timescales were impacting chain […]
Reservation agreement tested in court as buyer told to pay £35,000
A buyer has been told to pay £35,000 in a case relating to the enforcement of a reservation agreement after a judgement found they were considered to have pulled out of the transaction unreasonably. The case was brought by reservation agreement guarantee service Gazeal, who secured the compensation laid out in their reservation agreement after […]
‘Mixed-Use’ definition sees successful £225,000 SDLT appeal
HMRC has lost its appeal against a £225,000 Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) claim. A first tier tribunal (FTT) heard the case which centred around Durford House, a 6 bedroom property set amongst 16.6 acres of land and 12 acres of mature woodland. The claim was made by Cornerstone Tax, who claimed the property was […]