The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned firms that have not declared their insurance position that they are breaching regulations and face enforcement action. Firms had until the 6th November to inform the SRA if
LFS has announced three more regional seminars for 2014 following on from a series of sold out seminars in 2013. So far they have arranged events in Bristol on 18th February, London on the 4th
Midlands-based QualitySolicitors Talbots has further strengthened its Business Services Team with the appointment of one of the region’s leading commercial property lawyers. Clare Tierney is a commercial property solicitor with close on twenty years experience
According to the latest figures from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) the average number of registered house hunters increased from 314 in September to 332 in October. This corresponds to an increase in
The latest RICS Residential Market Survey shows that the gap between supply and demand is at its highest imbalance since May 2009. This imbalance between supply and demand has led to a widespread improvement in
According to research from chartered accountants HW Fisher & Company SME legal firms are recovering well from the impacts of the recession. In an annual poll of 75 SME law firms in London and South
The latest CML data has shown that lending during the third quarter of 2013 was at its highest quarterly level since 2007. Gross UK mortgage lending was £16.2bn in September, despite a fall of 14%
According to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders the number of mortgages in arrears and the number of repossessions fell in the third quarter of the year. The total number of mortgages
The board of the Financial Ombudsman service has announced that Chief Ombudsman Natalie Cenney has stepped down after almost four years with the service. During her time in post the service expanded to deal with
In response to the Government declaring Help to Buy a success Which? Mortgage Advisers has urged first-time buyers to be aware of the full range of options available to them. Which? are keen to stress
Speaking at the BSA Annual lunch last Thursday, David Cutter, BSA Chairman and Group Chief Executive of the Skipton Building Society questioned whether the Help to Buy scheme was needed. He noted that so far
According to analysis of housing market figures by PricedOut, a campaign for affordable house prices, first-time buyers would be better off renting than buying a house under Help to Buy. They claim that interest rates
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has informed the Law Society that some lenders will be writing to panel firms this month to inform them of plans to move to a single supplier of panel
Introduction This case raised a very interesting issue as to whether there was an effective agreement to create a charge. It will be of interest to conveyancers and banking and finance litigators for the helpful
Speaking at the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ annual conference the CML Chairman stressed the importance of a planned exit strategy from the Help to Buy scheme. He said that the scheme needed to be time-limited
The Building Societies Association (BSA) has said that 43% of active first time buyers and other home movers are confused about the benefit the Government’s Help to Buy scheme will give them. Their research showed
In its five year forecast agent Savills has predicted average prices will grow 25% over the next five years with a 17% increase in the next three years alone. The analysis from Savills suggests that
The TaxPayers’ Alliance has launched their Stamp Out Stamp Duty campaign in a bid to ease the burden created by the tax in the 2014 Budget. The non-partisan pressure group hopes to use their influence
Housing Minister Kris Hopkins said last week that over 900 builders were planning to offer the Help to Buy equity loan scheme. He urged even more builders to get involved. Over 600 of those signed
Convey Law, one of the largest specialist residential conveyancing companies in the UK, has been awarded the Legal Eye Quality Standard. The award follows a six month review process with the legal consultancy during which
myhomemove, the UK’s leading supplier of mover conveyancing services, has been named as the Supplier of the Year: Technology at this year’s Negotiator Awards. The awards, held in London last night, saw prizes handed to
Simon Wilson, Peter Holder and Anne O’Keefe, Partners at Advisory and Restructuring specialists Zolfo Cooper, were appointed Joint Administrators over Harris Cartier Limited on the 11th October 2013. The Administrators were appointed as a result
Introduction Anis Waiz solicitor and head of Commercial litigation at Curtis Law Solicitors, continues his critical review of current case law. In this case the Court of Appeal considered two important points of law arising
The difference in housing repossessions has widened to the largest margin in six years with 33% more repossessions in the North than the South. According to the latest research from e.surv 72% of Northern towns
The Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC) has formally launched a ‘Dating Service’ to bring together law firms that are interested in acquisition (whether being acquired or acquiring) or mergers in respect of their conveyancing business.
Last Monday’s Channel 4’s Dispatches programme exposed unauthorised sales practices of staff working for major estate agencies including Countrywide, Connells and Spicer Haart. The programme featured several secretly filmed visits to estate agencies by an
The latest Nationwide House Price Index shows that UK house prices increased by 1% in October, house prices are now only around 7% below 2007 peak. The 5.8% increase from October 2012 shows year-on-year trends
September house prices rose 1.5% from August with the average house price in England and Wales reaching £167,063. The latest Land Registry House Price Index showed an annual house price increase of 3.4%. Unsurprising the
Lenders are launching a tough crackdown on “accidental landlords” who let out their own homes without telling their bank. It is thought that in order to avoid a higher interest rate or switch to more
The SRA has announced that a total of 153 solicitors firms have entered the second section of the new Extended Policy Period (EPP), having failed to secure new professional indemnity insurance cover. The EPP period
Conveyancers are not always the most twitter savvy, a problem I also share! A couple of tweets I have seen recently criticising conveyancers made me think about how best to respond to this type of
Titlesolv and London & European, two leading names in title insurance and the legal indemnity solutions sector, announced today that they are consolidating under the Titlesolv name. As the trading name of the legal indemnities