The BBC has reported that five people have been convicted of mortgage fraud worth £20m. The convictions follow a five-month trial in which the jury had to consider 50,000 items of evidence. The case related
On 23 May 2013, the High Court handed down its decision in the latest case in which a lender has sued solicitors for breach of trust. The decision in Santander v R. A. Legal Solicitors,
Housing Minister Mark Prisk has announced that major schemes at 14 sites could receive government investment, allowing 38,000 new homes to be built. If they pass due diligence the sites will each receive a share
Swindon based firm Hoffman Male have announced a new partner will head up their new Bristol Office. Yvette Morcombe, a conveyancing solicitor with over 20 years’ experience, will run their recently opened Almondsbury office. Ms
Kitsons has acquired Exeter-based Armitage & Co and appointed the principal Simon Armitage as a Partner with effect of 1st June 2013. Kitsons is headquartered in Torquay, Devon with offices in Exeter and Plymouth. Armitage
The Law Society has announced that they are currently developing a concept for an e-conveyancing portal. They are currently in the process of selecting an IT partner to build and host the platform. Views are
According to the Home Builders Federation (HBF) around 4000 people have reserved a new home using the Equity Loan part of the Government’s Help to Buy scheme. More than 400 builders have registered for the
Scotland’s residential conveyancing practice is to be developed and enhanced by a working group set up by The Law Society of Scotland. The development was agreed on Friday 31st May with the intention of meeting
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned delegates at a conference about how good times for legal services are related to higher standards of compliance. The “Compliance and the role of COLP and COFA- six months
April saw a 15% increase in the number of first-time buyer transactions since March according to reports from LSL Property Services. In April 22,000 first-time buyer transactions were recorded, up by 2,900 when compared to
On Tuesday 4th June, the SRA held an event in Birmingham that was aimed specifically at prospective firms seeking to gain authorisation from the SRA. The event ‘Getting authorised by the SRA: a step-by-step guide’
Sara Wakefield a conveyancer and trainee solicitor from the Cheshire based law firm Rowlinsons has been elected as the new Mayor of Frodsham. After joining Rowlinsons in 2009 as a paralegal, Sara was promoted to
The Building Societies Association have announced the appointment of Robin Fieth as their new Chief Executive. Mr Fieth is currently the Executive Director, Members and Operations at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and
One of the largest new entrants to the conveyancing market in recent years has scaled back its operations and been sold back to its original owner. We reported earlier in the week that Indeed Online
GroundSure have today launched a new product which looks at which areas of the country may be affected by fracking, windfarms and other energy resource exploration. The “GroundSure Energy” report will identify sites of interest
In the largest outright purchase deal to date the BGL Group, the owner of a number of businesses including price-comparison site Compare the Market, has bought personal injury specialist Minster Law. The BGL Group has
Year-on-year figures show that new home registrations are 26% higher for the period January to April compared to the same period last year, 43,223 in 2013 compared to 34,236 in 2012. According to the latest
Saturday’s Money Box looked at the issue of fraudsters cloning the websites of financial advisors in order to encourage consumers to make fake investments and then make off with the money. The programme reported that
The latest Land Registry’s House Price Index showed that annual prices increased by 0.7 per cent. The April Index showed increases taking the average property value in England and Wales to £161,458. The monthly change
The number of mortgages approved by building societies and other mutual lenders has increased by 30% this April. This April saw a total of 30,651 approvals, a significant increase compared to the 23,617 approvals in
From today, 30 May 2013, Land Registry’s data tables based on over 17 million cash and mortgage sales, are being made available as open data. The aggregated House Price Index (HPI) tables dating back to
The new role will bring together Finance, Management Information (MI), Commercial Activity and Compliance. John will develop these key areas of the business, giving myhomemove the momentum to continue with its significant growth plans. John joined
Energetic members of the UK’s largest conveyancing company myhomemove, participated in the 10 Peaks Challenge last weekend (18th May 2013) to raise money for their 3 adopted charities. 20 people from the Leicester-based firm took
The online conveyancer Indeed Online has announced they will be making significant reductions in the salaries and fees of their Directors. Following disappointing second half results for their conveyancing business, Runnett & Co. the business
New capacity will be added to the Solicitors’ Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) market as Howden Windsor, the specialist Professional Indemnity division of Lloyd’s broker Howden Insurance Brokers Limited, announces it is to team up with
From today Nationwide Building Society will accept applications from borrowers wanting to participate in the Government’s Help to Buy scheme. The decision of the UK’s largest building society to enter the scheme could potentially benefit
The average stamp duty paid on buying a home has increased from £532 in 1995/6 to £5957 in 2011/12. According to the new report by the HomeOwners Alliance “Stamping on Aspiration: the real cost of
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced a number of new rights to protect residents from unscrupulous site owners. The Department for Communities and Local Government said that some dishonest park home operators abuse their position,
Thursfields Solicitors have appointed a new Conveyancing Executive to help manage growth in its property department. Nicky Curtis had joined the firm from Painters solicitors in Kidderminster. The firm is also recruiting staff for their
The typical time for an unsold property to spend on the market has fallen by 80% since May 2009. The typical time for an unsold property to sell in May 2009 was 184 days. That
Reports from CML say that remortgaging is at its lowest level for 15 years, whilst other organisations are interpreting the statistics positively. LMS in particular are reporting that remortgage lending is the highest proportion of
The new flood risk guidance released by The Law Society of England and Wales is designed to provide solicitors with information that will help clients understand the flood risk that may be associated with owning