According to research from specialist mortgage broker Mortgages for Business, 55% of landlords are planning to expand their property portfolios over the next six months. Only 6% of landlords said they are planning to trim
In light of the Money Laundering (Amendment) Regulations 2012 your firm may need to change its reliance procedures. The range of people and businesses you can now rely upon for Client Due Diligence (CDD) has
I very recently read an article in the magazine for the Chartered Institute of legal executives where three or four recruitment consultants were discussing the current market and positioning of locums in the current climate.
According to research from property website Zoopla.co.uk, increased demand for high-end properties meant 47,024 more British property millionaires were created in 2012. This represents an increase of 19% from this time last year and takes
In 2012 advertised rental prices in Great Britain increased by an average of 1.9%, or £37 per month. The increase was pronounced in London where a rise of 3% was seen across the year. Rents
Homeless charity Shelter has warned that almost one million people took out a payday loan over the last 12 months to help them cover their mortgage or rent. The charity warned that around 7.8million Britons
The Legal Ombudsman has announced a change to their fees structure which will see an end to free cases for firms. Whilst previously firms were allowed two free cases per year they will now be
The Law Society has clarified its position on solicitors referring clients to non-independent advisors. Back in November we reported controversy between the Society and the Solicitors Regulation Authority, after the SRA passed new rules that
The latest figures from the Bank of England show that lending secured on dwellings fell by £0.2 billion in November to £11.6 billion. This was compared to the previous six-month average increase of £0.3 billion
A new year always brings with it both challenges and opportunities. We thought you might be interested in what our editor Chris is watching this year. 2012 was described as the “perfect storm” for conveyancers
Last week the Land Registry issued account holder transaction statistics for November. The figures showed that small conveyancers are continuing in business and not vanishing as has often been predicted. Of the 4562 Land Registry
Building societies and other mutuals accounted for 21% of gross mortgage lending, or £2.7 billion of loans, in the UK in November 2012. Between January and November 2012 mutuals lent £28.3 billion of mortgages (gross),
After severe tenant arrears rose by an average of 10.8% per quarter for the first three quarters of 2012, the final quarter of the year saw a fall of 15.6%. According to the latest Tenant
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall famously launched a campaign to raise consumer awareness about the welfare of chickens. Chicken Out! ran on his River Cottage TV show and it highlighted the unacceptable conditions in which most table birds
A survey of 400 mortgage brokers carried out by peer-to-peer bridging lender West One Loans, forecasts the bridging industry will grow by 36% over the next year. The data showed that gross mortgage lending will
According to the latest LMS Remortgage Report monthly gross remortgaging fell 23.4% in November. The fall of £949m in November to £3.1bn marks a big change for the previously strong remortgage market. The wider market
Hopefully you’ve already done all your exchanges and completions, or any stragglers are certain for today. How was 2012 for you? As we pack up for Christmas we thought that we should quickly remind ourselves
At last week’s Conveyancer Summit a new scheme was unveiled that will enable consumers to purchase properties where the legal work has already been completed. Ed Powell, director, B E Consultancy, explained more about the
The Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC) will be introducing a new Associate Membership category from January 2013. Those working within the conveyancing profession but not employed as Licensed Conveyancers will be eligible to join on
The SRA have issued a warning relating to contact details being used by fraudsters that are not those of a legitimate firm of the same name. Aplins-Stockton-Fairfax is a genuine firm which is authorised and
PSG have issued the following press statement this afternoon: "PSG Franchising obtains High Court Injunction to prevent former Milton Keynes franchisee from competing Industry-leading supplier of regulated property searches, PSG Franchising Limited, has, yesterday 20th
We reported earlier in the week that the SRA would soon be starting a “proportionate response” for firms without COLPs and COFAs in place. This proportionate response will include revoking licences to practice. Whilst more
The SRA have confirmed that they will deliver a campaign of “proportionate enforcement action” against firms that fail to meet the deadline for appointing COLPs and COFAs, as required under the outcomes-focused regulatory regime. If
The SRA have announced the deadline has now passed for those wishing to renew their Practising Certificate for 2012/13. The window for renewals opened on 1 November and closed on 14 December. Individuals and firms
The Law Society accreditation scheme, the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) is currently advertising for a lay panel member. The CQS assessment panel plays a key role in assisting the accreditation with assessing the suitability of
Under the Land Charges (Amendment) Rules 2012 Land Registry telephone service centres will close and the organisation will introduce more types of electronic Land Charges applications. The amendments to the Land Charges Rules 1974 came
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has issued a warning involving con artists claiming to be from Swift Properties and involving a firm called Tams & Co Solicitors. The SRA has been told that members of
The Land Registry has hailed the success of the RQ pilot measure in better protecting thousands of properties against fraud. The pilot measure that was launched in February 2012 will now be continued. An owner
The Legal Services Board has issued its thematic review relating to the regulation of conveyancing in England and Wales. The report issued on Friday looked at a number of issues relating to conveyancing risk and
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) yesterday announced its future priorities, and published a model for assessing risks to its regulatory objectives. The announcements took place at the free ‘Driving forward regulatory change: the next three
The November 2012 RICS Housing Market Survey shows prices remain broadly flat while transaction levels continue to slowly increase. Looking forward the three and twelve month indicators suggest this trend will continue over the next
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has taken action against three former directors of Black and White Group Limited (which is now in liquidation), for numerous failings in relation to the sale of mortgages and payment