Property Story Of 2019
First-time buyers (FTBs) made up the majority of the market, fewer EU nationals looked to purchase property in the UK and the majority of movers stayed within a five mile radius of their previous property according to Reallymoving’s story of UK property moves. FTBs made up 55.7% of all home purchases in 2019 with a […]
Leasehold Reforms Easing Enfranchisement Hostility
A leading specialist in leasehold enfranchisement has claimed current leasehold legislation is to blame for attributing to disputes and hostility between leaseholders and freeholders during the enfranchisement process. The current system, especially involving restrictive deadlines for extensions has been seen as exacerbating issues and reducing the opportunities for ‘open dialogue’ between stakeholders. The Law Commission is set […]
New Development Manhole Covers Don’t Conform
Manhole covers that don’t conform to regulations may not be being installed correctly on Type III roads on new housing and commercial developments across the UK. Scott Parnell Ltd (civils and drainage supplies specialist) and the manufacturer Wrekin, claim that the issue could cost housing developers huge sums to rectify. The regulations, which were updated as part of Sewers […]
Why choose CON29DW?
Jonny Davey, Product Manager – Conveyancing at Geodesys – part of the Anglian Water Group and a leading provider of conveyancing searches and services for residential and commercial properties throughout England and Wales. Why is a drainage and water report so important for home buyers? A drainage and water report is an essential part of […]
Does Your Firm Have A Handle On Call Handling
Law firms across the country are losing out on valuable business and damaging their reputation as a result of common call handling errors, according to Ella Nelson from Moneypenny, which handles over 2 million calls and chats annually for more than 950 legal practices across the UK, including 65 of the Top 200. Smart changes […]
Solicitor Struck Off After Committing Fraud
Mbolokele Nsimba has been struck off the solicitor’s roll and ordered to pay £33,200 in costs after “consciously closing his eyes” to the activities of people he knew were fraudsters aiding them in completing £5.74m in conveyancing fraud. Mr Nsimba agreed to buy a law firm which was “purchased from the outset as a vehicle for fraud” aiding criminals in their malicious acts. At the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), it […]
Firm Shut Down On Christmas Eve
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) revealed that they had to shut down a Kent based law firm on Christmas Eve. The regulator’s decision making panel were satisfied that grounds existed to exercise their intervention powers in order to ‘protect the interests of the firm’s clients’. The order applied to County Solicitors Head Office in Herne Bay as well as branch […]
Potential Lift On Tenant Pet Ban?
On Saturday 4th January 2020, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP called on landlords to make it easier to allow responsible tenants to live in properties with their well behaved pets, as part of an overhaul of model tenancy contracts. The rental sector is booming, with more young people and families than ever before choosing to rent rather than purchase their own home. However, many are restricted […]
Groundsure Acquires Mining Searches UK
Groundsure, the leading environmental search specialist providing market leading property search solutions to the UK conveyancing market, has today announced the acquisition of Mining Searches UK, the country’s leading specialist in historical mining risk. The combined business will have a compelling and broad product set, with geo-environmental experts and geospatial data scientists providing advice and […]
Government Crackdown on Rogue Landlords
The Government has pledged millions of pounds to help local councils crack down on criminal landlords and letting agents. Over 100 councils will share £4 million to put towards enforcement action against rogue landlords and providing advice to tenants in regard to their housing rights. The action will work alongside the government’s pledges in creating a fairer […]
Will Conveyancers Embrace Electronic Verification Following 5AMLD?
Is your law firm ready for the Fifth EU Money Laundering Directive (5MLD) which comes into force at the end of this week (Friday 10th January)? The regulations are an update on the Money Laundering Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 and now scrutinises the digital world more closely […]
Criminal Mastermind Sentenced To Over 7 Years
Chinese national Feng Xu has been sentenced to seven years and four months in prison after he pleaded guilty to 22 fraud, false identity and money laundering offences at Birmingham Crown Court. Feng rented hundreds of properties to criminal gangs, who subsequently ran brothels and cannabis farms. In his role as ‘mastermind’ of the operation, […]
GlobalX Appoints Two New Operations Managers
GlobalX has added to their senior management team with the appointment of two new operations managers responsible for their Cardiff and London offices. Jason Perrier, who joined them before Christmas, will take on the responsibility for their London operations while Alyson Jones was promoted to the role of Operations Manager in Cardiff. Jason formerly worked […]
New Government Plans To Boost Housing – How Can Conveyancers Protect Their Clients?
The election is over, and the Conservatives won a decisive victory. While Brexit took much of the attention during the campaign, the Conservatives made a number of bold promises in their manifesto; one of which was to, “deliver at least another million homes in the next five years, making further progress towards the target of […]
Brexit Reduced Concern For Conveyancers In 2020
Stakeholders in the property sector perceive reservation agreements, the fifth anti-money laundering directive (5AMLD), Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) changes, technology and ground rents/leases/service charges as the main challenges to the sector this year. According to a survey conducted by the Bold Legal Group, respondents from the 700 strong association of law firms were focused on […]
Could You Spot A Fake Or Modified Email?
Register for our upcoming webinar: OnDMARC: The questions law firms want answering Email redirection fraud was a lucrative tool in the criminal underworld accruing £123.7 million from UK account holders in 2018 alone, according to a UK Finance report. Of the 7,544 malicious redirection scams completed, over 9,000 payments were made with an average individual loss of […]
FTBs Exceed Pre-Financial Crash Levels
First-time buyer (FTB) figures reached their highest levels since 2007 in 2019. According to data obtained from the Yorkshire Building Society (YBS), the 353,436 FTB homeowners in 2019 marginally exceeded the pre financial crash levels of 353,130 buyers in 2007. The statistics also suggest that buyer activity amongst FTBs is consistently at pre-crash levels with […]
How Digital Marketing Can Expand Your Business
Today’s world is completely digital, making it an exciting time for digital marketing specifically. It offers more freedom for companies and is an easier way to communicate with customers and other businesses. Compare My Move has grown exponentially through digital marketing and, as expected, we’re not alone. However, it’s not enough to simply have your […]
Anti-Money Laundering Client Due Diligence – A Practical Session
Effective client due diligence is key to the fight against fraud and money laundering. This practical, scenario based session allows staff to develop their understanding of why we run client due diligence checks, what we are looking for, and how this meets firm obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. In this session, participants will […]
Homelessness Prevention Promised £260 Million
The new decade will open with the Government offering increased help to support the growing issue of homelessness. Over £260 million has been promised to local authorities to boost homelessness services. The funding will enable local councils to employ specialists to provide advice and support to vulnerable people living on the streets, sofa surfing or […]
