Landmark makes key appointments
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 combination of business development, account management and sales roles. Carole Oliver joins Landmark as Group Business Development Manager. In addition, […]
Land Registry publish dataset inventory
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 create value through reuse and interpretation. Some datasets are chargeable whilst others are available at no cost. Malcolm Dawson, Chief […]
Exclusive report by the SRA for Today's Conveyancer
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 Authority (SRA) has taken significant steps to prevent mortgage fraud: catching out criminals intent on cloning legitimate law firms’ identities, […]
How a Japanese Knotweed Trade Body has Developed Best Practice and Collaboration in a Previously Unregulated Industry
The effect on property of Japanese knotweed has been widely reported in the press over the past few years, due, in part to the problems many home buyers were experiencing when trying to secure mortgages on properties affected by knotweed. Because lenders could not obtain consistent, reliable advice on how to survey, assess and treat […]
SRA make it easier to get their advice
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 move comes in the wake of a handful of recent high-profile failures at large firms. The web pages support […]
The Lex Factor: Who will be the winners in the ABS world?
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 new entrants, high-profile speakers from across the industry include: the chief executives of the Law Society and SRA, plus Rocket […]
Money Box investigates conveyancing fraud
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 Paul Lewis talked to Nick, a home buyer who was defrauded of £735,000 by a bogus solicitors firm. The recent […]
Average rent hits £735
The latest Buy-to-Let Index from LSL Property Services plc. has revealed a 0.5% increase in average rent in March, taking UK rent to an average of £735. This increase followed a four-month downward trend and bought average rent to 4.2% higher than a year ago. As usual the strongest growth was seen in London where […]
SRA highlights issues for compliance officers
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, saying that whilst some firms were taking a responsible and diligent approach to managing their finances, others were recklessly putting […]
Gross mortgage lending increases
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 in March 2012; however the first-time buyer stamp duty holiday expiration makes meaningful comparison difficult. Gross lending for the first […]
House of Commons answer on Help to Buy scheme
William Bain MP tabled a question in the House of Commons relating to the number of people who could potentially benefit from the Help to Buy scheme in the UK and individual regions. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was asked to estimate the number of people likely to benefit from the proposed Help to Buy […]
ETSOS partner with Lawyer Checker
Conveyancing search supermarket ETSOS has announced that it is now partnering with Lawyer Checker, an online service developed to reduce uncertainty in identifying the legitimacy of the vendor conveyancer. Lawyer Checker has been integrated into the ETSOS ordering platform, enabling users to gather information on the conveyancer to whom they are sending money and so […]
Don't be Conservative about your conveyancing move
With the recent death of Maggie Thatcher and George Osbourne’s budgets being released just 3 weeks ago, it’s unsurprising that politics is at the forefront of everybody’s mind. Whilst the Iron Lady was arguably one of the most controversial Prime Minsters to have been elected, it is a known fact that she shaped the property […]
DevAssist Development Risk
It’s just over a year since we went national with the aim of helping the legal profession forewarn their property-buying clients about nearby development risks that could impact – negative or positive – on what, for most people, is their biggest asset. Since then we have also launched DevEstate for probate practitioners. We’re delighted with […]
OFT launches study into quick house sales
Quick house sale providers offer to buy a house or find a third party buyer very quickly, usually at a discount from the full market value. The OFT yesterday (18th May) launched a study into the market calling for people who have used, or considered using, these businesses to contact the OFT about their experiences. […]
New Chief Exec for Land Registry
The Business Minister Michael Fallon announced today the appointment of Ed Lester as the new Chief Executive of the Land Registry. He succeeds Malcolm Dawson OBE who has been in post since March 2011. Mr Lester has previously served as; Chief Executive of the Student Loan Company (June 2010 to January 2013), Chief Executive at […]
Legal services customer satisfaction falls
A new report shows that the percentage of dissatisfied users of legal services has increased in the last three years. According to the YouGov SixthSense report, the percentage of consumers during that period has remained constant. Conveyancing accounted for one of the most utilised services accounting for 25% of contacts, only lower than probate at […]
New Deputy Vice President elect for Law Society
The Law Society has announced the appointment of property law expert Jonathan Smithers as their next Deputy Vice President. Mr Smithers, partner at Tunbridge Wells-based firm CooperBurnett, will take up the role of Deputy Vice President in July 2013. He is expected to become President of the Law Society in 2015. He is no stranger […]
Are estate agents the best option?
In the last few days both the FT and BBC News have raised questions about the way in which estate agents operate. Sell it yourself? The BBC asked whether, in the face of high estate agency fees, the best option for selling your house is to sell it yourself. They pointed to the fact that […]
Lending to first time buyers increases
According to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders the number of first-time buyers increased by 3% in February. 16,400 first time buyer loans were advanced in February, marking a 17% increase on the same time last year and the strongest start to a year since 2008. First-time buyers accounted for 43% of […]
