A start-up conveyancing enquiries business has won “substantial backing” from investors and government to help fund the development of a solution designed to reduce the burden of enquiries for practitioners. Collaborative Conveyancing, set up by

The MyIdentity scheme is moving closer to enhancing identification (ID) and anti-money laundering (AML) checks in new home sales for all parties following the conclusion of a three-month consultation period, its founder has said. The

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has nearly halved the number of mortgage borrowers it expects to be at risk of defaulting on their mortgage payments by mid-2024. The regulator has suggested that, in addition to

New data from Halifax has revealed UK house prices climbed by 1.1% over February as the market began to stabilise following a period of successive drops in price growth. The average price of a property

Conveyancing firm AVRillo has launched a new “sell-ready” package to provide upfront information (UFI) to buyers at the point of viewing. This, says the firm, has the potential to “[slash] the time it takes to

National conveyancing firm Simply Conveyancing has announced the hiring of former Simplify boss Doug Crawford as their new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Crawford, who is well-known in the industry, is described by Simply Conveyancing as

Mortgage approvals in the UK fell for the fifth consecutive month in January 2023, new data from the Bank of England has revealed. Net approvals for house purchases, an indicator of future borrowing, decreased to

The capacity of ChatGPT to answer basic first-time buyer enquires regarding a property has been described as “very basic” and “factually incorrect” having been put to the test by one East Midlands-based conveyancing firm. Developed

East Anglia-based conveyancing firm Lambert Pugh LLP has placed a notification on its website that it will be closing on 23rd March 2023. As of today, there is a message on the answer-machine advising that

Mortgage intermediary platform Acre has announced a partnership with national conveyancing firm Simplify and the owners of Premier Property Lawyers (PPL). Acre said the partnership will give its brokers access to “immediate, transparent” conveyancing services

Workers across the country are set to be given greater rights and protections regarding several aspects of their employment as part of a new Bill supported by the government. Blackpool South MP Scott Benton’s Workers

New data released by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has revealed that although property transactions fell considerably during the usual December dip in activity, activity remains broadly in line with previous years. HMRC said the

Nearly a third of homesellers within the last six months have reported being gazundered by their buyer, new research from House Buyer Bureau has revealed. What’s more, for 33%, the gazundering – the practice of

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has demanded an improvement in the leadership of legal regulators after its latest assessment of their performance proved damning. The regulators are assessed against the same five standards: Regulatory Approach,

New research has revealed more than six in 10 first-time buyers (FTBs) are registering two or more names on the mortgage when purchasing a property. Specifically, FTBs – the numbers of whom remain higher than

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has announced its members working for HM Land Registry (HMLR) will begin five days of strike action later this month. More than 350 Land Registry workers in Birkenhead,

New research has revealed average conveyancing fees have increased by 8% since the beginning of last year. Specifically, the average freehold purchase fee increased to £1,184.21 from £1,092.89 over the period, an 8.02% rise. The

A new legal artificial intelligence (AI) platform has been described as “marking a new era for the legal industry” by one Magic Circle Senior Partner. The platform, known as Harvey, is built on the platform

New research has suggested that, while the North-South house price divide remains “considerable”, the chasm has started to narrow. According to eXp UK, this is largely driven by higher rates of house price growth seen

A useful flow chart has been published to help conveyancers navigate the notoriously complex Building Safety Act 2022. The informative tool comes as part of a wider information sheet on the Act. The sheet also

Certain five-year fixed-rate mortgage deals are now available at rates beneath 4% as several lenders have announced cuts to their rates. This comes despite the Bank of England increasing the base rate to 4% last

A conveyancing solicitor has been fined £15,000 and been ordered to pay £23,650 in costs following her arrangement of the sale of a property for an elderly woman who lacked capacity in 2017. Rana &

HM Land Registry (HMLR) is set to strike again on 15th March following the announcement of a further escalation of industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union. 100,000 members of the trade

The Law Commission of England Wales is set to review the laws surrounding compulsory purchase orders in an effort to make the law “simpler, consistent, and more accessible”. The Commission says compulsory purchase – the

The deadline for developers to complete the building of Help to Buy properties has been extended by over a month to 17th March. Housebuilders had previously been tasked with meeting a 31st December 2022 deadline,