Local Authorities Reject Central Government Plans To Convert Retail Into Residential Space
Retail to residential conversions in England have reduced by 17% in the past year. According to newly obtained figures by Bootle Hatfield, the number of retail and office units/properties approved for residential conversion has fallen from 452 in 2017/18 to 376 in 2018/19. Empty retail units are now at their most worrying level since 2015. […]
Industry Experts Discuss Technology, HMLR Progress And Subsidence
The future of conveyancing looks bright with a host of digital innovations leading to greater collaboration and holistic shared working, but the present is fraught with fragmentation and ill-considered technological innovation according to experts. The Today’s Conveyancer round table was fizzing with insight at a recent event held in London with key stakeholders discussing the […]
HMLR Announce 1,000 New Staff To Alleviate Leasehold Extensions And Updates
HM Land Registry (HMLR) has acknowledged serious problems leading to backlogs in service by employing 1,000 new staff over the past eighteen months. Following the financial crisis and subsequent housing crash in 2008, HMLR inevitably reduced their staffing burden and have struggled to increase their staffing levels to meet demand as the housing market started […]
Conveyancing Hits The Brexit Buffers As 10% Drop Activity Means Slowest Quarter For Two Years
Search Acumen Conveyancing Market Tracker – Q2 2019 edition Total conveyancing transaction volumes fell by over 10% on a quarterly basis and 20% since Q2 2016 as Brexit uncertainty plagues the market The top 200 conveyancing firms now collectively control two fifths of the market – a record share The number of active conveyancing firms […]
Property Sector Director Banned For Breaching Privacy And Electronic Communications Regulations
An owner of a property company has been banned for operating a business for five years after encouraging his company to make over 110,000 illegal cold calls. Jonathan De Sousa set up Xternal Property Renovations Ltd in 2015 and relied heavily on direct marketing techniques which included cold calling potential customers. In a bid to […]
Disillusioned Buyers Increasingly Consider Unconventional Property
In a potential cultural shift, over half of homeowners are tempted to secure permanent accommodation in unconventional properties. A possible reflection of the intense difficulties associated with the modern-day rat race, 61% of people aged between 35 and 54 would like to raise the anchor and sail away in their unconventional home, according to the […]
Search Acumen comments on HMRC’s Monthly Property Transactions for July
Andy Sommerville, Director of Search Acumen, comments: “Much like this rainy August, there wasn’t much sunshine to be found in the property market this past month, as a muted July tells us that most potential home buyers are still concerned about the looming Brexit deadline. “And the gloom is not set to abate any time […]
Older Homeowners’ Confidence In Property Market Deteriorates
Sentiment in the housing market and wider economy continued to deteriorate with older home owners. According to new research, conducted by Just Group, almost half (46%) of people over 50-years-old are confident that the property market will decline further over the next 12 months. Over half (54%) speculate that the wider economy will also stumble […]
Senior Appointments join CLS Property Insight Business
CLS Property Insight, part of the CLS group of companies, have added two senior appointments to their team. Lianne Goddard has joined as Managing Director and Chris Green has joined as Business Development Manager. Lianne Goddard joins from Epiq Global where she was Director of European Commercial Strategy, working with four of the five Magic […]
August’s Agreed Sales Soar 6% Year On Year
The usual summer slowdown could be turning into a bustling marketplace as buyers look to beat the Brexit deadline. According to data from Rightmove, the number of agreed sales is 6.1% higher than August 2018, suggesting that buyers are determined to complete their home move before the October 31st deadline. Whilst areas around the South […]
The Importance Of Embracing Property Searches For Commercial Leases
A commercial property lease is normally one of the biggest overheads a business has after wages. This is not taking into account the initial outlay for renovations often required to ensure the premises is fit to benefit the commercial activities of the leaseholder. However, many organisations instructing Solicitors to manage the legal aspects of securing […]
Sajid Javid Rejects Stamp Duty Liability Reversal Speculation
Significant tax reform is on the horizon but will not involve reversing the liability of stamp duty land tax, according to the Chancellor, Sajid Javid. An article in Saturday’s The Times speculated that Mr Javid was considering measures to save first-time buyers (FTB) from paying stamp duty land tax (SDLT) by placing the emphasis on […]
The Next Chapter In Conveyancing: A Must-Attend Modern Law Conference.
Calling all conveyancers looking to deliver a more streamlined and effective customer-focused service, the Modern Law Conveyancing Conference 2019 will be packed with essential information to help firms strategise and plan their conveyancing futures. Featuring an interactive interview format, broken into bite-size modules chaired by and featuring panels of industry leaders, the full day conference […]
Free webinar: What happens if your law firm falls victim to a cyber attack?
According to reports, businesses were attacked by cyber criminals on average every 50 seconds between April and June this year. After conducting our own research of 100 law firms, we discovered that 82% of those we spoke to, didn’t have the Government recommended Cyber Essentials Accreditation, leaving the door wide open for criminals to exploit. […]
The Government Want Your Views On Digital Identity
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMC) has launched a consultation on digital identity, and is seeking your views on how the Government can support the development and secure use of digital identities fit for the UK’s growing digital economy. The consultation states: “We welcome written responses to this call for evidence from […]
Terrafirma Tackle Tough Mudder
So far, Terrafirma have raised £510 for homeless charity St Mungo’s. 9 brave members of the Terrafirma team took on the South West Tough Mudder Challenge over the weekend. The team have been training for the past 6 weeks for the course which consists of a 5K run with 13 gruelling obstacles to raise money and […]
Geodesys Consolidates Customer Service Function With Appointment Of New Team Manager
Geodesys – part of the Anglian Water Group and a leading provider of conveyancing searches for residential and commercial properties throughout England and Wales – has confirmed its focus on the delivery of excellent customer service by promoting Chelsea Sarath to Customer Services Team Manager. Chelsea’s new role includes management of the Customer Services team […]
Chancellor Won’t Shift SDLT To Sellers
Chancellor Sajid Javid has rebuffed any suggestion that he could switch the payment of stamp duty land tax away from buyers onto the sellers. The suggestion, taken from an interview published in The Times over the weekend Mr Javid said: “I’m a low-tax guy. I want to see simpler taxes.” Adding that he was looking […]
Conveyancing Protocol Takes Effect Today
The Law Society has today, Monday 19th August launched its Conveyancing Protocol 2019, which has replaced the previous 2011 version. The update comes following changes to the Conveyancing Quality Scheme effective from May 2019 and addresses some of the most significant changes in conveyancing since the release of the previous version. Most notably the new […]
Government Housing Target Found To Be Unrealistic
The current process for calculating housing needs suggests that the Government’s goal of delivering 300,000 homes per year will not be met. Last year in the National Planning Policy Framework, planning consultancy Lichfields had evaluated how the ‘standard method’ would meet the Government targets, through calculating the minimum number of dwellings each council should plan […]
