Yesterday saw Decision Insight Information Group, formerly the Property Information Division of MDA Corporation, announce that they are to unite nine of its companies under a new global brand and identity.  All of the companies

Clear, who recently won the Best Conveyancing Technology Award at the Property Professional Show 2011, have launched a new software based product that they say will take conveyancing into the 21st century, citing that they

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders the scale between purchase and remortgage lending shifted towards remortgages at the beginning of 2011 with over a third of all lending in Q1 accounted for by remortgages.

Below are the summaries for the latest Property Law UK update: Easements Section 62 – user required: In order to establish that an easement has been created under s62 of the Law of Property Act

Last week at the Conveyancing Association Summer Reception Eddie Goldsmith introduced the Conveyancing Association as a collection of the “serious” conveyancers in the country that wanted to differentiate themselves from the rest by their quality

Having seen a significant rise in the number of land banks during the last 18 months LSL Property Services, who are anticipating a further increase in activity, are launching a new homes and land website.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has released a summary of performance measures and statistics to March 2011 showing an increased level of abandonment allegations having been received.  Abandonment of Practice reports are now at their highest

The latest Rightmove report, which captured the opinions of 26,240 consumers between 4th and 18th April 2011, shows a jump in the levels of intending first time buyers to 26.2 per cent, in Q1 the

According to Searchflow conveyancers are said to be risking ‘buyer fury’ if they do not fully appreciate the impact that High Speed 2 (HS2) will have on property values along its route, commenting: “Local authorities

The Law Society have confirmed that they have accredited their 100th firm under the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS), with hundreds more firms still awaiting assessment. Bournemouth firm, Coles Miller Solicitors LLP, have become the 100th

In the CML’s Annual Report 2010 it is stated that “Lenders and home buyers rely on conveyancers, but there have been mounting concerns about fraud and professional negligence”. The majority of conveyancers are honest and

Exactly one month on from the announcement in the budget of the Government’s First Buy scheme to help first-time buyers, research from Rightmove reveals what impact the scheme looks set to have on first-time buyer

The Law Society’s new home buyer quality mark, the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS), is receiving the backing of the Legal Ombudsman in their commitment to ‘drive up standards in the home buying market’. The Legal

In a move that may generate further competition in the searches market the Land Registry has confirmed that it is exploring the possibility of developing its range of information services to include searches of the

With the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) announcing their full endorsement of the CQS, stating that it sees the scheme as becoming a ‘prerequisite’ for membership to lenders’ panels, firms are keen to announce their

Some of the industry’s leading experts have put their weight behind ‘Moving with the Times’, the UK Conveyancing conference, which takes place on 7 September 2011. Harry Hill, ex-CEO of Countrywide Estate Agents and CPL,

Age Partnership, an equity release specialist, who are based in Leeds have appointed Goldsmith Williams as its exclusive legal services partner.  The move is to enable processes to be streamlined and to realise ‘considerable operational

Taylor Wimpey, the new home builder, have told the Stock Exchange that their order book for new homes has seen a 20 per cent increase since December. Is this a sign that the new homes

The latest research carried out by Connells Survey and Valuation has indicated that housing market activity has seen a slight increase – with 7 per cent more residential valuations being conducted compared to one year

The Legal Ombudsman (LO) is setting up a new stakeholder advisory panel just six months into looking at the service provided by solicitors.  The panel is being created in order that the LO can ask

Chartis, who hold the leading share of the primary England & Wales Solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance market have made a their disappointment with the new rules clear. A spokesperson for Chartis said they “believe that

The SRA have issued the following press release The draft Strategy builds on work conducted by the SRA over the past two years which has focused on the risks posed by a small number of

The Chairman of the Conveyancing Association, Eddie Goldsmith, is asking that firms of Solicitors and Licensed Conveyancers take “a more definitive role” when it comes to tackling mortgage fraud, claiming that “if conveyancers don’t take

Anthony Ruane of Optima has said, “Lenders are waking up to the idea that they need to take more control over their own destiny in appointing firms to act in the future” and that “Lenders

Rightmove have released their House Price Index for April 2011 showing that agents are holding unsold stock at around 74 properties per branch, up from 70.  It just goes to show that the increased number

The latest National Mortgage Index released by Mortgage Advice Bureau and Coreco Group has indicated that the bulk of new mortgage applicants are opting for a fixed rate mortgage.  Of the total mortgage applications for

Last week the SRA announced the outcome of its review into solicitors professional indemnity rules.   In summary main changes are in relation to the operation of the Assigned Risks Pool (ARP). They are: –

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has warned that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) proposals to reform the Professional Indemnity Insurance market ‘are inadequate and will increase fears for the future of the market. The

The Conveyancing Protocol is a 160 page softback text that sets out the Law Society’s “preferred practice” for conveyancing transactions for freehold and leasehold property. From the 1st April 2011 the new Conveyancing Protocol has

Barnetts Solicitors, a leading provider of volume conveyancing to lenders, has become the first volume conveyancer in England & Wales to achieve the Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation. Around 800 firms have so far made an

Mortgages for Business recently launched the MFB Complex Buy to Let Index which tracks buy to let loan size, property value, loan to value and yields with the results being published quarterly.  According to the

Having been lucky enough to attend the Legal Futures Conference yesterday in London it seems apparent, to me, that the legal market could eventually be turned on its head and that there is more potential