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.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers have continued the fight against money laundering in the UK by visiting over 50 agencies suspected of trading without officially registering with HMRC; a clear breach under anti-money laundering
The number of registered buy-to-let investors have plummeted in the past year. According to research from the largest independent estate agents, Haart, the number of landlords registering to buy rental property in the UK decreased
Despite a slight increase in the number of properties registered with HM Land Registry in January, there is a clear indication that the property market is slowing down. There were 99,372 sales received for registration
A recent report has insinuated that house builders feel it is unlikely they will be able to achieve the Government’s target of 300,000 new homes per year, despite consistently improved building figures over recent months.
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers have revealed that in the past two weeks, three law firms have been targeted by cyber criminals using a very similar phishing strategy. Hackers, had obtained access to an individual’s
Fresh guidance from the National Trading Standards Estate Agency team has issued new guidance that will make fees involved in property sales more transparent. In particular, the guidance addresses making referral fees more transparent in
72% of the population believe that new homes should be built so that they are accessible for all ages and abilities. Basic requirements for older home owners should be considered by construction companies, especially as
A recent report has highlighted that first-time buyers (FTBs) have made up the majority of the property market for the first time in over two decades. The Halifax First-Time Buyer Review found that the 372,000
Brexit uncertainty is creating a ‘wait and see’ approach to home buying in the current climate according to many market commentators with a variety of property figures corroborating these sentiments. The Nationwide House Price Index
Today’s Conveyancer’s latest round table event enabled the attendees to discuss the pertinent issues affecting conveyancers in 2019. It was unsurprising that the main challenges and concern for the year ahead involved considerations around Brexit,
50,302 residential property purchases were made using the Help to Buy: Equity loan scheme in England last year. This equates to almost 1,000 property completions using this scheme per week and represents an increase of
Following the news that Housing Secretary James Brokenshire is considering removing the Government’s coveted Help to Buy scheme from Persimmon PLC, shares in the company fell by almost 5% on Monday. The company’s share value
Since GDPR came into force eight months ago over, official regulators have been notified that over 59,000 GDPR data breaches have taken place across the EU. It has been six months since General Data Protection
Derelict, uninhabitable properties have never looked so appealing for property investors as a recent ruling means that additional property bought in terrible conditions could bypass the current excess stamp duty land tax surcharge (SDLT) of
The wealth locked within the homes of retired home owners has reached record high levels of £1.118 trillion. According to the pensioner property index by Key, equity release specialists, property wealth in homes owned by
Home building juggernauts, Persimmon, are being placed under the governmental microscope and could lose their right to sell Help to Buy homes when their current contract expires in 2021. Concerned by a myriad of recent
UK property transactions have been shrinking at their most alarming rate in over five years according to recent research. The study into UK residential property transactions, carried out by estate agent software platform, Reapit, has
Whilst many people (20%) over 55-years-old fear that they are worse off than they had anticipated they would be at their particular stage in life, the majority (62%) have no interest in downsizing. According to
Latest industry figures, from UK Finance, have indicated that 370,000 home owners acquired a mortgage for the first time in 2018. This figure is the highest number of first-time buyers entering the market since 2006,
The housing market has been privy to a 39% increase in the number of buy-to-rent (BTR) properties being built in the UK between Quarter 4 of 2017 and Quarter 4 of 2018. According to latest
Running a law firm is hard enough, but the working environment for all legal service professionals has changed rapidly over the past year and is only going to continue changing as we approach the Brexit
According to a recent report, carried out by the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL), short-term lenders are able to feel a certain level of optimism for the UK’s long-term economic future. 20% more respondents
On Friday, last week, The Law Society published the latest version of the Code for Completion that will come into force on 1 May 2019. The amendments to the Code for Completion have been made
Despite the anxieties regarding a slowing market and Brexit implications on the economy, repossessions fell to their lowest levels in thirty years according to recent statistics by UK Finance. You would need to go back
A significant row has developed between the USA’s Treasury Department and The European Union following the implementation of stricter anti-money laundering (AML) processes that has seen a number of US overseas territories blacklisted by the
House prices have plummeted to their lowest levels since 2013, according to the most recent ONS House Price Index for December. Overall, house prices increased by 2.5% in the year to December, this is a
Following the government’s vague promise to increase Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) with a surcharge placed on properties bought by foreign investors during the Conservative Party Conference in October last year, the changes are about
The Ministry of Justice is planning to put lawyers to work in doctors’ surgeries in an attempt to deal with legal problems early. The suggestion has been made as part of an official review of
Hinckley & Rugby Building Society have launched a new online digital mortgage platform designed to speed up mortgage applications. The lender worked with Danish fintech company Festina Finance to develop the system which is capable
The National Audit Office has released a report stating that the government’s planning system is under performing and cannot demonstrate that it is meeting housing demand effectively. Several housebuilders have added their voices to the
The National Association of Licensed Paralegals has announced the first National Paralegal Day. The Association wants to recognise the vital work that paralegals carry out and the contribution they make to the legal system. There
In just over two weeks time, conveyancers will have just half the amount of time that they currently have to file a Stamp Duty Land Tax Return and pay the tax. From 1st March, the