Martin is a Senior Content Writer for Today’s Conveyancer, Today’s Wills and Probate, Today’s Legal Cyber Risk and Today’s Family Lawyer
Having qualified as a teacher, Martin previously worked as a Secondary English Teacher that responsible for Head of Communications.
After recently returning to the North West from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, Martin has left teaching to start a career in writing and pursue his lifelong passion with the written word.
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) is set to reduce its regulatory fees and practice fee rates by 30%. The consultation on the 2020 practice fee rates in May indicated that fees could be reduced
New homes registered to be built in the UK during July have fallen by 9% when compared with the figures from 2018. In July, 14,262 new homes were registered. However, 15,719 homes were registered during
Electronic signatures are legal binding, including in situations where there is a statutory requirement for a signature. According to the Law Commission, electronic signatures can be used in most cases, including where there is a
56% of properties in the UK are now considered as affordable to first-time buyers (FTB) who are looking to acquire their first property. According to Post Office Money, the combination of stagnant house prices and
Whilst the Government’s silence in regards to property sector changes has created a lethargic property market, Labour’s plans to force landlords to sell their homes to tenants in an updated Right to Buy scheme is
Leaving the EU without a viable and agreed Brexit deal at the end of October could cause house prices to fall by more than 5%. A no-deal scenario could trigger prices to decrease between 5.4%
The second largest global insurance broker, Aon, announced their partial withdrawal from the Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) market this summer leading many to speculate on the future of the insurance market for solicitors. Aon’s Maven
Swathes of the population are calling for the Government to offer more incentives which would entice older homeowners to move and ultimately free up vast quantities of family homes. 44% of respondents believe that more
The Bank of Mum and Dad (BoMaD) are now the 11th largest mortgage lender in the UK, eclipsing the Help to Buy schemes in helping younger buyers gain a foothold on the property ladder. In
The Housing Secretary has announced plans to stimulate home ownership amongst lower income households through a number of reformed measures. The Government has pledged to reform the shared ownership model, allowing for buyers to step
A major UK house builder was put under the microscope this weekend, accused of mis-selling leasehold property to their customers. Persimmon reached an out of court settlement with their customers in a Cardiff development after
Whilst many areas of the UK property market flatten, Scotland’s market is flourishing with transactions reaching an 11-year high. Despite the impending Brexit deadline of 31 October, research, conducted by Aberdein Considine’s quarterly property monitor,
£600 million has been promised to support the building of 50,000 new homes and the infrastructure to support them by the Chancellor, Sajid Javid. The money will help fund five new projects in London, Bedfordshire
Conveyancing departments need to prepare for their most chaotic week with tomorrow set to become the busiest communication day for inbound enquiries to law firms. Call volumes will increase by 10% on the day following
Multiple legal regulators have warned that impersonation fraud and spoofing using highly detailed and sophisticated social engineering techniques is rife in the legal sector at the moment. In the past week both the Council for
Law firms and abandoned solicitors have been left reeling after their Personal Indemnity Insurance (PII) provider made the decision to leave the PII sector six weeks before many pending policy renewals trigger. Aon notified their
Retail to residential conversions in England have reduced by 17% in the past year. According to newly obtained figures by Bootle Hatfield, the number of retail and office units/properties approved for residential conversion has fallen
The future of conveyancing looks bright with a host of digital innovations leading to greater collaboration and holistic shared working, but the present is fraught with fragmentation and ill-considered technological innovation according to experts. The
HM Land Registry (HMLR) has acknowledged serious problems leading to backlogs in service by employing 1,000 new staff over the past eighteen months. Following the financial crisis and subsequent housing crash in 2008, HMLR inevitably
An owner of a property company has been banned for operating a business for five years after encouraging his company to make over 110,000 illegal cold calls. Jonathan De Sousa set up Xternal Property Renovations
In a potential cultural shift, over half of homeowners are tempted to secure permanent accommodation in unconventional properties. A possible reflection of the intense difficulties associated with the modern-day rat race, 61% of people aged
Sentiment in the housing market and wider economy continued to deteriorate with older home owners. According to new research, conducted by Just Group, almost half (46%) of people over 50-years-old are confident that the property
The usual summer slowdown could be turning into a bustling marketplace as buyers look to beat the Brexit deadline. According to data from Rightmove, the number of agreed sales is 6.1% higher than August 2018,
Significant tax reform is on the horizon but will not involve reversing the liability of stamp duty land tax, according to the Chancellor, Sajid Javid. An article in Saturday’s The Times speculated that Mr Javid
Concerns over the UK’s housing quality increased substantially over the past five years. According to the HomeOwners Alliance’s ‘The Home Owner’s Survey 7th Annual Report’, 63% of UK adults believe housing quality is declining and
The second unexplained wealth order (UWO) has been issued in July to prevent the proliferation of criminals using property to secrete and launder their ill gotten gains. Since the National Crime Agency (NCA) were given
Despite the more positive outlook posted in June, inroads were eroded slightly in July concerning positive near term growth in the property market. Although buyer demand remained in positive territory in July with a net
Women are one of the main victims of the housing crisis as the gender pay gap and soaring prices have had considerable effects on housing affordability. Women on a median UK salary fall over 50%
Surrey Heath Council has announced that the summer postponement of all local authority searches has now been downgraded to a delay to service. The Council claimed that the upgrades to their database software, which provides
Interest-only mortgage borrowers looking to take out a retirement interest-only (RIO) loan are struggling to acquire this preferred loan choice because they have not paid enough into their pension to help fund the repayments in
The UK conveyancing sector is contracting at a faster pace than the previous two years of decline. According to the ‘UK Conveyancing Market 2019: Market Trends‘ Report, UK residential transactions decreased by 6.6% in the
The construction industry continued contracting for the fifth month out of the last six as political uncertainty and weakened economy erode investor confidence. According to data from the IHT Markit/CIPS UK Construction index, July’s construction