Residential Property experts discuss ways to improve resilience
At a recent Women in Residential Property (WiRP) session on 7th October 2020, women from across the property industry met to talk about resilience and the steps we can all take to improve our mental health in these unprecedented times. The session was run in support of the charity, Ella’s which supports women who’ve been […]
Property Log Books Move a Step Closer
Yesterday the Residential Logbook Association (RLBA) held its inaugural stakeholders meeting supported by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (Matt Prior). The Association has been set up by four founding members, originally a subcommittee of the Home Buying and Selling Group (HBSG). The founders are Nigel Walley, chairman, Tim Main, Simon Lumb and […]
Edward Donne shares his experiences of the current PII Market
Edward Donne, Divisional Director within Howden’s Professional Indemnity division, affiliate members of the Conveyancing Association, who specialises in Licensed Conveyancer firms shares his experience of the current PII season along with his observations on how you might improve your position ahead of your next renewal. 2020 has proven to be an extremely challenging year, particularly […]
SDLT holiday will lead to substantial consumer service issues
Today’s Conveyancer approached one of the largest specialist legal conveyancing companies in the UK to ask about their experiences of the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) holiday and their view on the approach the government should take. We hear from the Lloyd Davies, founder and Managing Director of residential conveyancing specialists Convey Law who believes […]
Online meeting software – which is best?
The sudden requirement to use online meeting software was originally met with panic buying. Firms rushed just to get up and running, but now, six months into the pandemic, firms are reconsidering those initial decisions. So, is that software service good for the future? Products There is a plethora of meeting applications out there and […]
2008 SDLT holiday – Have we learnt our lesson?
As the residential property sector continues to be pushed to the limit, leaving conveyancers and consumers stressed and fatigued, will there be lessons learnt from the last Stamp Duty Land Tax Holiday (SDLT) over a decade ago? In a bid to lift the market following the financial crisis back in 2008, the then-Chancellor Alistair Darling […]
Legal profession hits significant gender parity threshold
Chambers and Partners’ annual rankings show legal profession hits gender parity for up-and-coming lawyers for first time in rankings history. Chambers’ 2021 solicitor rankings show that newly ranked up-and-coming lawyers – those attaining partner level – have broken the 50% threshold, with 51.07% female/48.93% male, an almost 8% jump compared to last year’s figures. Female […]
Senior Industry professionals react to HBSG pledge
Industry leaders comment on the Home Buying and Selling Group’s (HBSG) pledge for all those involved in house buying and selling process. Since lockdown, the HBSG has been working with the home moving industry to help ensure the home moving market operates as well as it can during Covid-19 and beyond. The HBSG launched ground […]
Gaddes Noble Property Lawyers expand conveyancing team
Gaddes Noble have strengthened their growing team with the appointment of Paulette St Hilaire as Director and Head of Residential Conveyancing. With over 20 years of experience in residential conveyancing, Paulette joins Gaddes Noble from Chadwick Lawrence Solicitors in Huddersfield. Paulette as well as having a wealth of experience in dealing with all aspects of […]
CILEx requests regulatory change on LawTech
The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) has stipulated that changes are required to the legal regulatory system due to increasing development of Lawtech solutions and remote access to legal services. Their response says that the impact of Covid-19 has fast-tracked consumer demand for legal services, more so in private client and conveyancing services and […]
Home-owners are worried they will not be able to renew their mortgages
A quarter of home-owners are worried about renewing their mortgage during the pandemic according to a poll. A third said their income was less secure now than before the pandemic according to the poll commissioned by specialist broker Willow Private Finance. While more than 1 in 10 mortgagees (12%) have had to take a payment […]
Rightmove House Price Index show new records set
• New national record for average price of property coming to market, with a 1.1% (+£3,534) monthly rise • Prices now 5.5% (+£16,818) higher than a year ago, the biggest rate of increase for over four years, with Rightmove now forecasting annual growth rate to peak at circa 7% by December • Activity levels also […]
Conveyancers asked to check protection following SIF closure postponement
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the closure of new claims to the Solicitors’ Indemnity Fund (SIF) has been postponed until 30 September 2021. Although, the postponement gives conveyancers another 12 months breathing space. Simon Davis, President of the Law Society of England and Wales has revealed that this doesn’t resolve “the underlying problem” […]
BREAKING NEWS: Wales Enters National “Firebreak” Lockdown
The Welsh government has this lunchtime confirmed that Wales will enter a national lockdown from Friday 23rd October to Monday 9th November. First Minister Mark Drakeford has made the announcement in response to the spiralling number of Coronavirus cases in Wales. Failure to abide by the temporary measures may result in fines and/or criminal proceedings. […]
Growing Calls For Extension of SDLT Holiday
There are growing calls for the government to reconsider the way in which the current Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday will finish As it stands, the SDLT holiday will finish on 31st March 2020 and those who remember the last Stamp Duty holiday in 2009/10 recall the chaos in the run up to the deadline. […]
Conveyancing community share ‘strange’ enquiries
Professionals in the conveyancing community have taken to social media to share some of the amusing enquiries they have received from a client’s solicitor as part of the conveyancing process. Hannah Dowling, took to LinkedIn to share one of the stranger enquiries that she has received. Her post read: “We note from the Memorandum of […]
Conveyancers advised excessive letters is causing homebuying delays
Conveyancers have been warned by the UK’s biggest mortgage lenders that continually sending needless correspondence will interrupt the home buying and selling process for their clients. They advised conveyancers that it could have been avoided by simply checking the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook first before sending out unnecessary letters to them. In the Law […]
SDLT Holiday; where do we go from here?
One thing that is for certain is that the SDLT holiday has vastly increased the number of residential property matters that we are currently dealing with. On reflection, and looking at our own statistics from the weeks following the initial relaxation of the governments lockdown measures, was such a SDLT holiday required so soon? Maybe […]
Price transparency review reveals solicitors are more affordable
A one-year review of Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) transparency reforms indicates encouraging trends as research found most consumers now believe that solicitors are not as expensive as they originally thought. The regulator surveyed 3,539 recent users of legal services and found that only 10% of consumers, who now have access to information on price, believe […]
Conveyancing bodies unite to manage homebuyers expectations
Overheated property market causing delays in the homebuying process. The Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC), the Bold Legal Group (BLG) and the Conveyancing Association (CA) have come together in a concerted effort to manage the expectations of those currently engaged in the home buying and selling process. A variety of factors are currently contributing to […]
