Government Anxious As New Build Registrations Fall 9%
New build home construction has fallen considerably in the third quarter of 2019. According to newly released figures from the National Housing Building Council (NHBC), during the last three months, the number of new homes registered to be built in the UK has decreased by 9% when compared with 2018’s output. In 2018, 43,403 homes […]
DUAL Asset Announces Strategic Partnership With Aviva
Deal harnesses DUAL Asset’s pioneering portal to deliver more choice to clients DUAL Asset, part of DUAL, the underwriting arm of Hyperion Insurance Group, today announced a long-term partnership with Aviva, the UK’s largest general insurer, for their UK legal indemnity insurance business. This deal sees DUAL Asset further consolidate its position as one of […]
Brexit Blamed For Cancelled Construction Projects
An overwhelming majority of the construction industry attributes political uncertainty and Brexit fears for the delay and cancellation of UK development projects. Overall, the construction sector is fearful that constant Brexit delays will lead to greater turmoil in the sector with cancelled construction, reducing foreign/skilled labour, increased material costs and reduced investment all realistic consequences […]
Help To Buy Premium Decreases In The Year To September
The alleged Help to Buy premium on housing has been questioned following recent statistics claiming first-time buyer prices have increased in line with the home-buying average since the scheme’s launch in 2013. UK wide house prices for first-time buyers increased by 32.8% since Help to Buy was launched in 2013 which is consistent with the national […]
Winston Solicitors Awarded Gold At ESTAS
Winston Solicitors, a West Yorkshire based law firm, have picked up a highly acclaimed property award at The ESTAS Customer Service Awards. The firm were awarded the Gold award in the regional category. Jonathan Winston, Managing Partner of Winston Solicitors, said: “I was thrilled to be presented with our ESTAS award. The conveyancing team at Winston Solicitors work […]
GlobalX Awarded Cyber Essentials Plus Accreditation
As part of its ongoing commitment to adopting best practices, GlobalX has secured the Cyber Essentials Plus standard. The Cyber Essentials scheme is a standard created by the UK Government that assesses a business’ cybersecurity capabilities and standards. The scheme assesses the IT security controls that an organisation must have in place in order to […]
SearchFlow Congratulates ESTAS Conveyancing Awards’ Winners
SearchFlow congratulates ESTAS Conveyancing Awards’ winners SearchFlow – the UK’s leading provider of search solutions and legal reports – would like to extend its congratulations to the winners of the prestigious ESTAS Conveyancer Awards, which recognises legal services providers and property law professionals for their excellent customer service, as independently voted for by end customers. […]
UK Housing Association Giants Suffer Data Breach
One of the UK’s housing association giants has suffered a serious data breach in recent days. The Home Group has advised 4,000 of their tenants and stakeholders that their personal details could have been siphoned off by cyber criminals during the recent attack. The housing association charity provides rental accommodation to 116,000 people across 55,000 […]
September Transaction Data Suggests Market Improvements
Transaction data released by HM Land Registry indicates a resilient and improving property market despite a barrage of Brexit uncertainty. The 1,709,120 applications to change or query the land register, are the highest recorded figures since July and indicate that the UK may be starting to enjoy a modest autumn bounce. September’s completed applications represented […]
Conveyancers Improve Accuracy As HMLR Requisition Requests Fall
HM Land Registry are returning fewer requisitions in the third quarter of 2019 as law firms become more adept at providing accurate information. Between July and September, 12.9% of all applications resulted in a requisition from HMLR. Whilst the data suggests that more needs to be done to ensure fewer home purchases are delayed because […]
poweredbypie Strengthens Management Team
Search and software provider poweredbypie has strengthened its management team with two new senior appointments. Jon Orpen joins as group finance director and Angela Gordon-Lennox has been appointed to product management director. Greg Bryce, Group CEO, poweredbypie explains: “Our focus is to develop solutions tailored to the needs of the conveyancing industry and beyond. Working […]
Landmark Information Launches Market-Leading Land Contamination Remediation Cover On Residential Property Transactions
Landmark Information, the property, land and environmental data specialist, has announced it has increased its remediation contribution across its entire suite of residential environmental due-diligence reports. This means that homebuyers benefit from increased peace of mind and certainty that, in the unlikely event of a large remediation claim at their address once they have purchased […]
The ESTAS Conveyancer Awards 2019 Winners List Announced
The best conveyancing firms were announced at the ESTAS awards, sponsored by Search Flow, on Friday 18th October following a glamorous event at Grosvenor House Hotel, London. Congratulations to all the firms shortlisted and of course to the deserving winners. THE REGIONS EAST OF ENGLAND GOLD MJP Conveyancing SILVER Kerseys Solicitors LONDON GOLD The Partnership […]
Crackdown On Money Laundering
Regulators are becoming increasingly stringent on the way law firms comply with anti-money laundering (AML) procedures. Earlier this week, we reported that firms are improving their money laundering processes. However, on a wider scale, the crackdown on money laundering has begun. Following over 40 complaints to Action Fraud and the Citizens Advice Bureau, a recent investigation […]
Conveyancers Tasked With Improving Services For Disabled Consumers
Over a third of disabled people with a named legal issue over the past four years refused to utilise professional help. New research suggests that solicitors and law firms need to do more to ensure disabled consumers access legal services. A Solicitors Regulation Survey found over half of more than 3,500 disabled consumers believe accessing […]
IASME Consortium To Be New Cyber Essentials Partner
It has been announced the IASME will take over the full responsibility for Cyber Essentials delivery from 1st April 2020. This announcement has come on the back of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) conducting an extensive consultation process and making changes to improve the scheme. Having a clearer, more consistent path for customers to […]
October Seller Activity Plunges To 10 Year Lowpoint
The number of sellers looking to enter the market have fallen considerably in October. Compared to the same time last year, seller activity has reduced by 13.5% with the 24,539 new listings per week representing the lowest total at this time since October 2009, according to Rightmove’s Housing Index for October. Unsurprisingly, given the short-term […]
Security Risks In The Conveyancing Sector – A Look At Anti-Money Laundering Regulations And The Impact On The Conveyancer
Today, protecting against risk has never been more critical for conveyancers. But, as criminals find newer and more effective ways to commit fraud, neither has it been more challenging. Of course, the conveyancing market is particularly attractive to lawbreakers, with solicitors and law firms regularly holding large sums of money on behalf of clients. And, one significant threat facing the sector is that […]
Estate Agents In The Fight Against Money Launderers
Estate agents may be forced to hand over private information (bank account details, company information, etc.) belonging to buyers of high-value properties in some parts of London; this is a proposal being forward by the Home Office and should come as no real surprise bearing in mind the amount of ‘dirty money’ that is allegedly […]
Law Firms Improving Anti-Money Laundering Procedures
Law firms are improving their processes when it comes to anti-money laundering procedures. Reports, about concerns involving law firms handling client money, submitted to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) by accountants, have fallen by 13% in the past year, according to SRA Accountants’ data analysed by Hazlewoods. In 2018, a total of 1,194 qualified reports […]
