February Transaction Data from Land Registry
Land Registry completes 1,318,903 applications South East tops the table of regional applications with 306,172 Birmingham tops the table of local authority applications with 21,396 The Transaction Data shows Land Registry completed over 1,318,900 applications from its customers in February. This includes 1,273,401 applications by account customers, of which 292,796were applications in respect of registered […]
Pricing – Raise our prices? Are you crazy?
Many readers will have seen the recently published research by Morar Consulting for Veyo. To remind you, a few of the headlines were: 42% of consumers were unsure that they would use their conveyancer again; 60% found dealing with their solicitors the most stressful aspect of the process; 27% chose their conveyancer because of the […]
Marlborough Street £180
Great Marlborough Street is the second orange property on the Monopoly board. The road runs west to east in Soho in Westminster. At the western end it joins Regent Street and at the eastern end it becomes Noel Street. Carnaby Street runs off it. Great Marlborough Street’s construction began in the early 18th century. A […]
Budget 2015: ‘Movement on housing but more to be done’
The Chief Executive of one of the UK’s largest housing providers has cautiously welcomed Budget announcements aimed at tackling the housing crisis. Mark Henderson, Home Group chief executive, welcomed an announcement that 20 areas in England have been selected to become Housing Zones. Mr Henderson has been a long term advocate and campaigner of introducing […]
SRA investigates two firms over closure
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is investigating two solicitor firms that should have closed at the end of December last year because they did not have a valid insurance policy. The two are the only firms being investigated out of a total of 39 practising firms that entered the extended policy period (EPP) on 1 […]
Flood Re: Who, What, When, Where, Why
What is Flood Re? Following the Water Act 2014, the Government have announced their plans to introduce Flood Re, which is expected to roll out in July 2015. Flood Re is a not-for-profit financial scheme designed to ensure that affordable flood insurance is available for home owners in the most seriously affected areas. It is […]
Beware telephone scams, SRA warns
Don’t be duped into disclosing bank security information, the SRA is warning following reports of more firms being targeted by telephone con artists. The reports involve at least two incidents this month where telephone fraudsters posed as bank representatives. This follows on from four firms being targeted in November last year which prompted another SRA […]
What impact will the election have on the conveyancing market?
The UK housing market and the conveyancing sector is gearing up for a quieter period in the run-up to the General Election, but then a bounce back afterwards. This is normal of any election year but with the election too close to call in 2015, it will be a little worse. What the market and […]
BBC R4 give Fake Law firms top billing
March 4th saw the airing of Radio 4 consumer programme ‘You and Yours’, covering current affairs for the consumer, the headline topic was that of the ‘Fake Solicitor’. The programme revealed that as an industry scam alerts and reports of fraudsters have doubled in 2014 from the previous year. SRA Chief Executive Paul Phillip commented […]
Mortgage lending sees decline compared to the strength of 2014
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have released their latest data regarding UK mortgage lending for January 2015. Do conveyancers have reason to be cautious in the run up to the Election? These latest figures show both first time buyer and home mover lending declined by around a quarter compared to December 2014. The CML […]
myhomemove launches online case-management service for Remortgage clients
myhomemove, the UK’s leading provider of mover conveyancing services, has launched an online case-management service tailored for Remortgage clients. Remortgage eWay, launched in early March, is available to all clients who are recommended to myhomemove through its network of introducers. The new service allows remortgage clients 24/7 access to their case file via a smartphone, […]
Recession survivors see conveyancing volumes hit a ten-year high
Mergers and exits leave the average firm handling more transactions than in 2007 Seven firms completed 6,000+ transactions last year; just one did the same ten years ago Top 200 firms achieved a collective 36% market share, up from 26% at the last peak 4,800 firms – 80% of the total – left to fight […]
Don’t let “Morecambe & Wise” be your guide
In our latest guest blog, Howard Cooper of CreatingMoRE focuses on the importance of the human element of enquiry handling. For various training projects over the years Howard has made and listened to in excess of 3500 new enquiries so he has a very good understanding of what works and what doesn’t. It is this […]
Home Condition Survey – A quick and cost effective survey for your clients
FACT: More than 70% of homebuyers do not commission an independent survey on the property they purchase. The main reason for this is that 80% of mortgage borrowers think their lenders valuation is a survey – which of course it is not! According to a WHICH? Report, consumers who have their property surveyed save an […]
QRS – Converting visits into value
In the last 12 months on average there were 12,100 Google searches per month in the UK for ‘conveyancing’.* With QRS you can increase your chances of a web visit turning into paying custom in just three easy steps: Take QRS, the same intuitive quotation system you use in the office, and embed it into […]
Spotlight on…charging as a disbursement
How ought you treat an AES search? This is a frequently asked question on sign up by firms. Clearly many of the searches now common place within the conveyancing transaction are charged out to the client without quibble or question. Which of these searches though can you say, for a nominal fee, potentially offers to […]
CDS Launch Free Portfolio Service and OPTIONAL Mapping Facility
Those of you that know us here at Conveyancing Data Services will have first-hand experience of our constant search for ways to make our ordering process not just easier but also bespoke to each and every customer we have. You could say that is what sets us apart from the crowd. Our latest two developments […]
Steadier demand and tight supply push price expectations higher
Supply conditions tighten again in most areas Demand stabilises following recent falls in buyer enquiries Twelve month price and sales expectations move upwards The February RICS Residential Market Survey shows a slight pick up in price momentum with the headline price balance moving to +14 from +7 previously. London remains the only region where more […]
House prices £34,000 above pre-crisis high
At £273,528, home values now £34,192 higher than at height of the housing boom in February 2008 But over half of that value (£17,340) added in the past year, following annual rise of 6.8% London buyers at top-end brace for General Election, but lower rungs of ladder keep moving Completed home sales in the opening […]
TM Group finalists in 2014 Business Awards
Leading property data and service provider TM Group are finalists for three categories in the Wiltshire Business Awards 2014. TM Group have made it through to the final stages of the Wiltshire Business of the Year Awards 2014 in three categories. The leading property data and service provider are up for ‘Medium Sized Enterprise […]
