Law Society looking at client account alternatives
The Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson has said they are looking at whether solicitors still need to have client accounts and what other options could be available. Speaking at the Solicitors’ Association of Higher Court Advocates annual conference on Saturday he said: “We’ll have to look at whether solicitors need to have client accounts”. […]
Subsidence is a Growing Risk Which Substantially Affects a Property's Value and Saleability:
New Subsidence Risk Services Launched to Help Property Professionals Fulfil Due Diligence Requirements – 1 in 5 homes (6.5 million) in the UK are at risk of subsidence* – An estimated £200-£250m per annum is spent on subsidence claims* – Typically the same number of insurance claims are made annually for subsidence as for flood* […]
SRA issues warning over fraud using the “Gordons LLP” Brand
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) released a warning today about scam artists claiming to be from a bona fide firm of solicitors. The warning reads: “The SRA has been informed that a number of individuals have been sent emails purportedly from Andrew Todd of Gordons LLP alleging that the recipient may be entitled to claim […]
Lenders warn of latest risks
Speaking at the Bold Legal Group (BLG) conference, last week, Lloyds Banking Group and Santander warned BLG members of the current issues that are concerning lenders. Nick Larkins of Lloyds Banking Group, Sam Cherry of CLS, Chris Harris of Lawyer Checker, Rob Carling of Landmark and Tracey Carr of Santander all spoke at last Thursday’s […]
Hudson says Separate Representation “Jaw, Jaw not War, War”
Desmond Hudson, Law Society Chief Executive, set out the case for dual representation to a sceptical audience at the Law Society on Thursday. He was speaking at the first of a series of road shows where the Law Society will explain their rational for a pro dual representation policy. They road shows will give critics […]
SLC welcomes new CLC Chief Exec
Following the announcement this week that the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has appointed a new Chief Executive, the Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC) has welcomed Sheila Kumar into her new role. They have also expressed thanks to June Mulroy, who took on the interim post for the regulator back in April this year. […]
Rent increases calming
The latest buy-to-let index from LSL Property Services has shown that average rents have increased just 0.4% over the last month. This is the lowest rate of increase since May however is still double the rate of increase seen in the same period last year. Average rent now stands at £744 a month marking a […]
SRA launches ‘Red Tape' challenge
At the opening of their new office this evening at The Cube, in Birmingham city centre, the SRA announced they will be launching a “red tape” challenge. The SRA will be launching a consultation on the challenge in mid-December and will be seeking views from across the board. The Chair of the SRA board, Charles […]
Positive signs from RICS
The latest RICS Housing Market Survey shows that activity is picking up across the market whilst prices remain reasonably flat. The results have led them to reassess expectations for the next year with an expectation that, at least in the near term, the risks to activity and prices are very slowly shifting northwards. The Funding […]
New Chief Executive for CLC
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has announced today that it has appointed Sheila Kumar as its new Chief Executive. Sheila will take up her position in January 2013. Sheila is a lawyer with an extensive background in regulation, most recently as Group Director of Regulation at the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Having begun her […]
House price-reductions at two year low
A survey by property website Zoopla has shown that the proportion of properties on the market that have seen their asking price reduced from their original level is at a 2-year low. 32.8% of properties currently for sale have had their asking price reduced at least once, down from 36.9% three months ago and 40.4% […]
New SRA board members
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has announced the appointment of new Board members. Enid Rowlands, Bill Galvin and Peter Phippen (all lay members), and Paul Marsh, a solicitor member will all be joining the board in January 2013. An additional two members Julia Black (lay member) and Chris Randall (solicitor member) will join the board […]
SearchFlow enhances commercial offering with launch of Portfolio Monitor
Property search provider SearchFlow has launched the Portfolio Monitor, a major enhancement on the existing portfolio services aimed at its commercial clients. Available through the SearchFlow website via commercial lawyers’ existing accounts, Portfolio Monitor is a bespoke service, designed to help firms manage large portfolios, and free up in-house resources. Instead of preparing, ordering, and […]
Administration Charge for consent to sub-let deemed fair
In the case of Freehold Managers (Nominees) Ltd V Martina Piatti and Polo Piatti [2012] UKUT 241 (LC), the recent appeal against the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal for the London Rent Assessment Panel (the LVT) succeeded. The result of the appeal means that the Appellants’, Freehold Managers, administration charge of £165.00 plus VAT for provision of […]
Housing market picks up
The latest LSL index has shown the housing market returning to growth with transactions increasing by 24% and house prices rising by 0.1%. Richard Sexton, director of e.surv comments: “There were welcome signs of life in October’s housing market as house prices rose on a monthly basis for the first time since May and transactions […]
Buy-to-let lending increases
The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that the value of buy-to-let mortgages in the last quarter totalled £4.2 billion. This is an increase of 8% from £3.9 billion in the previous quarter. The total number of loans advanced totalled 34,400, up from 33,600 in the previous quarter. Stuart Law, Chief Executive […]
Lowest repossessions for five years
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has revealed 8,200 properties were taken into possession during the last quarter. This represents a fall from 8,500 in the previous quarter and 9,600 for the same period last year and the lowest figure for a single quarter since 2007. Commenting on the data, CML director general Paul Smee said: […]
Law Society warns on PI Insurance
The Law Society has warned that firms using unrated insurers are putting themselves at risk of regulatory sanctions if the insurer becomes insolvent. Unrated firms are those without a published credit and financial strength rating. They are increasingly being used by cash-strapped firms who are struggling to keep up with the steady cost of PII. […]
Fair Compensation: Financial misselling decision heard
The Administrative Court has recently made a decision in what is an important financial misselling case. The case of Charmaine Emptage v. Financial Services Compensation Scheme Ltd [2012] EWHC 2708 (Admin) relates to the remortgage of an English property so that the mortgagor could purchase an investment property in Spain. The English property was subject […]
SRA releases solicitor data
The SRA has released details that show 127,353 solicitors are currently practising (holding practising certificates) in England and Wales. This figure is up from 125,011 practising this time last year. They have recently carried out a practising certificate bulk termination exercise where solicitors who have not renewed their practicing certificates are removed. As well as […]
