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.
Official wording for reservation agreements has been drawn up by a sub-group of property experts and approved by the Government. The Home Buying and Selling Group (HBSG) was established in 2017 following the Government’s call
Brexit and the General Election are considered as the greatest risks to the UK housing market. According to The Building Societies Association’s (BSA) ‘Property Tracker Index’ for the final quarter of 2019, 43% of recipients
The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) along with local authorities have been handed a number of proposals to improve the planning sector. The British Property Federation (BPF) published its Accelerated Planning Manifesto,
400,000 ‘lifetime homes’ are desperately needed to provide the elderly with accessible and appropriate accommodation. Lord Best, Chair of the Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People, has suggested that a current lack
Even though most legal service workers are looking forward to a festive break, conveyancers should prepare themselves for an onslaught of additional work in the opening months of 2020. According to new research from Rightmove,
Mortgages dropped below the six-month average in October as political uncertainty continued to stifle market activity. According to the Bank of England’s data, UK lending for October fell by 1.8% month on month to 64,602
When it comes to new builds and conversions, the role of the conveyancer acting on behalf of the purchaser is increasingly difficult if the building or refurbishment work is either yet to commence or is
Onerous ground rents, excessive permission fees and unfair contract terms are issues only plaguing leasehold ownership…right? Well, according to recent media coverage, freehold homeowners of new build property are also coming to terms with toxic
One of the UK’s leading banks and lenders, Natwest, has teamed up with a network of experts in the property sector to further develop blockchain and distributed ledger technology to create a seamless mortgage to
Over half of all property transactions are now trapped in a chain. According to proptech company View My Chain, 55% of all transactions are struggling with the pressure of being involved in a chain. The
Year on year, active buyers and housing stock decreased in October. The number of registered house hunters per branch fell by 12% in October to 341 from 487 recorded in September, according to NAEA Propertymark’s
Online Portal solutions, artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, blockchain technology and a raft of other innovative digital offerings are being lauded as potential solutions to improve efficiency, reduce the time it takes to complete
Despite the fact the construction sector has been contracting in 2019, UK construction has increased investment into research and development (R&D) by almost 10%. According to the Office of National Statistics data, analysed by Catex,
Privately rental tenants, who make up over a fifth of the property market, have been targeted as a key demographic in this political campaign with all parties pledging appealing improvements and protections for tenants. The
The detail needed in the sellers’ questionnaire has been thrown into the spotlight the week as a couple in Oxfordshire pulled out of a sale, despite already making a £108,000 deposit, because the property information
The majority (80%) of all homeowners are looking for the Government to create legislation preventing gazumping and gazundering. Almost a third (31%) of respondents had experienced the inconvenience and heartache of a home sale falling
The Conservative Party has announced a raft of plans to solve the housing crisis with non-domestic stamp duty hikes, lifetime rental deposits and lifetime mortgage solutions promised as appropriate measures appealing to a wide demographic.
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has issued guidance for legal websites using third-party review sites. The exponential growth of review sites in recent years has highlighted the increasing importance of customer testimonials in promoting a
Despite Brexit dominating the political landscape in recent history and set to bombard the election campaign, issues of housing affordability, stamp duty land tax (SDLT) reform, shared ownership changes, ownership legislative changes, supply issues and
Labour are set to release their manifesto in Birmingham later today, but leaked documents suggest that Jeremy Corbyn is set to pledge the construction of 100,000 council and housing association houses per year. The 2019
The National House-Building Council (NHBC) has announced a number of technical standards set to be launched in 2020. From 1st January 2020, every home covered by an NHBC warranty will need to ensure that they
Property transactions are now taking in excess of 120 days from an offer being accepted and the property sold subject to contract and actually completing. Prop tech company View My Chain have tracked the average
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has criticised the media for lambasting the searches sector for slowing down the home buying and selling process. They acknowledge that some local authorities may be guilty of
Conveyancing transactions have plummeted by over a fifth since 2017. According to Search Acumen’s conveyancing market tracker, the opening three quarters of 2019 completed 23% fewer transactions than in 2017 and a 4% reduction on
Despite long term sentiment proving increasingly positive, the next three months will see buyer enquiries, residential housing stock, newly agreed sales and property prices all decline further. According to the RICS Residential Survey report for
Almost a third of all housing sales fall through each year. Between July 2018 and July 2019, a recent survey, conducted by Reallymoving found that 29% of all home sales collapsed before reaching completion. Of
A third of local authorities are struggling to return local searches within the Government imposed guideline of 10 working days. At the start of 2019, the then Housing Minister, Heather Wheeler, indicated that 80% of
Housing stock has plummeted in recent months as sellers retreat from the market whilst the political situation remains uncertain. According to the latest figures released in the Rightmove House Price Index, there are 14.9% fewer
The home buying and selling process has started to struggle as the weight of political uncertainty begins to take its toll on buyers and sellers. As transactions reduce, all stakeholders in the property process look
The England and Wales Court of Appeal (EWCA) has upheld an appeal into a landmark case involving when a home owner is entitled to principal private residence (PPR) relief. Desmond Higgins, the owner of a
The number of foreign investors opting to purchase UK rental property increased for the first time since 2010. Are foreign investors prepared for the imminent tax changes set to be enforced from April 2020? According
The winter months are set to become increasingly frosty as experts predict house prices are set to decline by 1.3% over the next three months. The data further speculated that some regions will fare considerably