The Socialist website has published a piece speculating on the likelihood of the Land Registry being privatised. They said that: “The Land Registry’s public sector status is already under scrutiny with up to 1,000 of
About 13,500 customers have been affected by the Bank of Ireland doubling their mortgage rates. The mortgages concerned are tracker mortgages taken out prior to 31 October 2004; the borrowers concerned believed they were on
The Law Society of England and Wales have introduced new property forms which aim to make property transactions easier for both sellers and buyer. Following consultation with the profession, the Property Information Form (TA6) and
We recently reported that the Land Registry had published a comprehensive list of the electronic datasets they hold. They have now announced the release of a number of free datasets as part of their commitment
The SRA has announced that Chief Executive, Antony Townsend, will be stepping down later in the year. He has led the SRA through a period of significant change for the organisation. From its initial inception
19 Law firms attended the first LFS regional seminars held in Leeds last Wednesday. The seminars are an extension of the main LFS Conference & Awards held in September. There has been glowing feedback from
First Time Buyer readers voted Wakefield based law firm, Beaumont Legal, the UK’s best conveyancing law firm. Beaumont Legal saw off competition from four other UK law firms who were shortlisted by a panel of
According to research from property website Zoopla.co.uk, UK homeowners are expecting house prices to rise by 4.5% over the next six months. This marks the biggest predicted house rise in the UK during the last
LMS have announced that Nationwide will continue to supply its mortgage and transactional conveyancing services. The new contract lasts until July 2016 and will take the relationship to 17 years so far. Andy Knee, managing
Newport based Convey Law are the latest conveyancing specialist to have joined the Conveyancing Association. The Association, which is a not for profit organisation, counts several of the country’s leading conveyancers amongst its members. Convey
North East based Gordon Brown Law Firm continue their expansion by adding two new recruits, Nicola Carroll and Leanne Scott, to their residential conveyancing team. Nicola Carroll, previously from Hindle Campbell in North Shields
Legal 500 practice, MJP Solicitors of Norwich, say they are joining many of the leading lawyers throughout the country and incorporating their business as a Limited Company following a successful growth period. From 1st May,
With the rising cost of intervening in failed firms the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have been looking at ways in which those costs can be accommodated. One suggestion had been a “one-off levy” on Solicitors
Sheila Kumar, Chief Executive of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, says: “I have now been working full time as Chief Executive of the CLC for a little over three weeks. One of the top issues
From December 2012 to March 2013 the CLC consulted on their referral arrangement provisions. The majority of the 65 stakeholders who responded to the consultation felt that the CLC should continue to permit referral arrangements.
The number of conveyancers and panel managers attending the CML lunch on Friday showed the importance of good relationships with lenders. I was kindly invited to attend the CML lunch by Fastrac solicitors. Over the
Landnet 35, the April issue of Land Registry’s customer magazine, is available to read and download now from Land Registry website and includes a printable PDF version. In this issue you’ll find all the latest
The myhomemove conference, held at the Heritage Motor Centre in Warwickshire, last week, has raised £7,000.00 for homeless charities supported by the Estate Agency Foundation. The 200 conference delegates heard predictions about the future of
Homeowners who have taken part in schemes to avoid paying Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) may have recently found the HMRC requesting money from them. As part of their approach in tackling unpaid tax, the
On Wednesday the Co-operative Group announced that it has withdrawn from discussions relating to the purchase of 632 Lloyds Banking Group branches. The boards of the Co-operative Group and Co-operative Bank plc decided that it
The ongoing debate over the Government’s proposals to unleash a free-for-all on house extensions might be a political embarrassment, however the very real danger of increases in breaches of restrictive covenants claims has been largely
Consumers welcome the dominance of the big six lenders being broken and new lenders such as Tesco, Virgin Money and M&S providing more creative approaches to mortgage lending. According to new research from housing investment
The Law Society has released key data on the state of the solicitor’s profession in 2012. The statistics reveal that there were 10,102 firms registered in 2012, down very slightly from 10,202 in 2011. Whilst
The SIPPclub is seeking opinions on whether the conversion of unused space in commercial properties in high streets and town centres to residential use could be allowed within pension schemes. The SIPP information service is
Landmark Information Group, the supplier of digital mapping, property and environmental risk information, has announced the appointment of seven new team members who are joining its Environment Land & Property Division. They will provide a
In an exclusive article for Today’s Conveyancer the Solicitors Regulation Authority sets out their concerns about mortgage fraud. "How to prevent getting caught up in mortgage fraud" In the past three years, the Solicitors Regulation
The Land Registry has published a comprehensive list of the electronic datasets they hold. The dataset inventory allows developers, companies and charities to identify datasets that can be released, which may present an opportunity to
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) website now contains comprehensive advice and support to help firms maintain financial stability. They have created a special section of the site to support solicitors’ in maintaining good financial management.
The lead topic on Saturday 20th April’s edition of Money Box was the threat posed by fraudsters setting up bogus law firms. Click here to go to the BBC’s site to listen. Money Box’s
How do new entrants view the legal market? How are your competitors winning business? Is paying for work the way forward? Covering competition and innovation in the legal market following the arrival of ABSs and
The SRA held a COLPs and COFAs conference last week where they identified key areas of risk for compliance officers to focus on. SRA Executive Director Samantha Barrass highlighted financial instability as a key risk,
The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders estimate that total gross mortgage lending increased to £11.6 billion in March. This is an increase of 9% from February but 8% lower than £12.6 billion