Government move towards privatisation of Land Registry
Since 1862 the Land Registry has recorded the ownership of land and property in England and Wales and produces data on house prices and transactions that are used by the government to make policy decisions. The government is taking the first steps to lead towards a sell off or part privatisation of the Land Registry. […]
Today's Conveyancer speaks to myhomemove CEO, Doug Crawford
Doug Crawford, CEO of myhomemove, spoke exclusively to Today’s Conveyancer as the company expands and opens a new Manchester office. You joined myhomemove in April 2012. What makes conveyancing an interesting sector for you? Conveyancing, for me, is at a crossroads. When I joined myhomemove a couple of years ago after 16 years in financial […]
House Lending is Soaring Upwards
"In 2013, there has been a resurgence in the mortgage market with year-on-year growth for all types of borrower. First-time buyers were an especially important factor in driving the market forward in 2013 as improved economic conditions, as well as the introduction of government schemes like Help to Buy, have given the opportunity for them to enter the […]
Blankley v Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust [2014] EWHC 168 (QB) (05 February 2014)
In this post Anis Waiz, solicitor and head of commercial litigation at Curtis Law Solicitors, continues his critical review of current case law. In this case the High Court considered an important issue namely where a represented party loses mental capacity in the course of proceedings, does such loss of capacity terminate their solicitor’s retainer? […]
OneSearch Remortgage Benefits from Refresh as Market Picks-Up
OneSearch Direct, the largest local authority data search company in the UK, has today officially announced the re-fresh of its popular OneSearch Remortgage search and insurance solution aimed at conveyancers. OneSearch Remortgage which was originally launched 10 years ago, uses real-time data for remortage searches and comes with a comprehensive insurance for Local Land […]
Conveyancer to Tackle Wall of Death Climb in 2014
Geraint Aubrey of Convey Law Conveyancing Lawyers, is set to climb the Eiger and face a wall of death climb in support of Cancer Research this year. In July/August 2014 Convey Law conveyancer Geraint Aubrey will be attempting to reach the summit of three of the most formidable mountains in the Bernese Alps, within just […]
Record month in London
January 2014 has been a record month for prime London property, with over a third of houses being snapped up within a fortnight of being put on the market, according to data from Marsh and Parsons. Almost half of all properties were sold for, or in excess of, the asking price, with the extraordinary conditions […]
Land Registry possible refunds
The Land Registry recently posted on its website that applicants who have registered a grant or acquisition of an easement since 1 April 2004 may have overpaid if it related to three or more titles. The post states that those submitting applications should have been charged under Article 12 of the Fee Order, which asks […]
Leasehold Reform Bill goes to Lords
The Leasehold Reform Bill has successfully passed its third reading in the House of Commons and will now be sent to the House of Lords for review. The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) and leading law practise, Seddons, hailed the progress of the private members’ bill on January 24. In a speech in the […]
SLC Roadshows announced
The Society of Licensed Conveyancer’s has announced the first of its 2014 roadshow will be on March 8 in Brentwood. 2014’s roadshows will be spread throughout the year and will cover topical updates on issues ranging from the government’s Help to Buy scheme and regulations around staff pensions to flood protection options and updates from […]
Administration for Swinburn and Jackson LLP
A long-established conveyancing firm has gone into administration after reported debts of more than £800,000. After failing to find a buyer Gateshead-based Swinburne and Jackson LLP, which has been running for over 150 years, had to close all five of its regional offices and make 50 people redundant. Administrators Gordon Goldie and Matthew Higgins from […]
7 Ways to Increase Profit from Residential Conveyancing – CPD
Half-day CPD Training Course London, 6th March 2014 Improve the profitability of your conveyancing work and attract more instructions With many Solicitors needing to improve their profit margins from residential conveyancing, ETSOS, the country’s leading property search supermarket, is pleased to announce a collaboration with fee improvement specialists Legal Mentors to deliver a CPD Training […]
Conveyancing Association members leading market
Land Registry data has confirmed that Conveyancing Association member firms are leading the residential conveyancing market. The transactions for value data (applications for full market value) in 2013 shows nine out of the top ten firms are Conveyancing Association members. 39% of the top 100 are also members. Eddie Goldsmith, Chairman, Conveyancing Association, said: “These […]
Local Land Charges Institute on Land Registry proposed takeover
The Local Land Charges Institute representing Local Land Charge Officers across England and Wales has written to the Minister for Business and Enterprise, to raise concerns about the Land Registry’s proposed takeover. The organisations letter outlines a strong stance against the proposal saying: “We believe that the proposed takeover of the Local Land Charges function […]
Sales reach decade high
Property sales have seen their fastest annual growth in a decade, say Lloyds Bank. According to the research from Lloyds in the six months to September 2013, property sales rose to their highest level since the 2007 downturn. The figures show that the North, the West Midlands and Wales and London were named as regions […]
SRA Diversity Data update
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has reported a 79% of firms have submitted their diversity data on time, after the exercise was launched last July. So far, 8,396 firms have submitted data, and the first time reports on workforce diversity have been collected to be published online. Mehrunnisa Lalani, Director of Inclusion at the SRA, said: […]
BCL Legal’s January Edition of The Brief
There has been huge debate and speculation in the press over recent months about the UK property market and whether another ‘bubble’ is on the horizon. Most commentators agree that London and the South East have their own drivers so can’t be used as a barometer for the whole of the UK. It’s certainly a […]
Moneypenny announces 2014 investment in legal sector
With the number of law firms using telephone answering specialist Moneypenny at an all time high, the company has announced significant investment in the sector for 2014. With around 900 law firms of all sizes now relying on Moneypenny for either switchboard ‘overflow’ support or a fully outsourced reception facility, Moneypenny’s dedicated legal team is […]
Searches UK welcome and introduce new members of its rapidly expanding team
Searches UK, one of the leading providers of searches to UK conveyancing practitioners, is pleased to welcome three new members to its team — Kerensa Romero-McMahon, Melanie Zgardzinski and Natalie Shelley. Kerensa, an original New Yorker, has over 5 years of legal experience and brings a wealth of knowledge to the Orders team. Having dealt […]
Flood Risk identified – but what about insurance?
Insurability of property deemed at risk from flood is an increasingly high-profile issue affecting the whole of the UK, and as recent revelations over the Government’s Flood Re scheme indicate, there may be a significant number of homes without access to affordable flood insurance. From February PSG, working with Landmark, can offer a solutions-based report […]
