First Home Scheme Launched 4th June
The latest initiative to boost the first time buyer market has formally launched on 4th June in Bolsover, East Midlands. The pilot aims help local first-time buyers – many of whom will be key workers like NHS staff and veterans – onto the property ladder by offering homes at a discount of at least 30% compared […]
Lawyers virtually celebrate #LegalPride2021
The legal professions of England and Wales – solicitors, barristers and CILEX lawyers – will again mark Pride virtually, with an ‘Untold Pride’ theme. The Law Society of England and Wales, the Bar Council of England and Wales and CILEX (The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) will encourage their members to tell their stories – […]
Stamp duty tapering will not prevent substantial cliff edge
You only have to look at the latest Retail Housing Price Index figures for March and compare them with the HMRC’s residential property transaction figures for April to see that the property market is in danger of veering out of control. The Office for National Statistics March index revealed figures for house prices not seen […]
New UK trade deal provides for cross-border legal services
News the UK can begin the process of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was today welcomed by the Law Society of England and Wales. Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said: “Entry to the CPTPP will provide important benefits for the UK services sector given the number of UK businesses […]
Movers and Shakers – 4th June
Here at Today’s Conveyancer, we wanted to share with you the good news we’ve had within in the industry of professionals joining firms and those who have moved up the promotional ladder. This week we’ve seen the following announcement with regards to appointments and promotions: Coodes grows conveyancing team to meet increased demand Coodes Solicitors […]
Legal regulators must better understand the impact of diversity programmes
The Legal Services Board (LSB) urges legal regulators to do more to understand what is and is not working to improve the diversity and inclusion in the sector and focus on what is making a meaningful difference for professionals and consumers. This follows the LSB’s publication of the independent report it commissioned from the Bridge […]
Residential Property: A Melting Pot of Activity
When people are queuing outside an estate agency overnight to be ‘first in line’ for the launch of a new property development, you know the residential property industry is facing unusual times! Apparently, the 14 houses in questions were reserved in less than three hours, the following morning*1. Elsewhere, Land Registry’s latest house price data*2 […]
Highly Commended Spotlight: Best Direct to Consumer Offering
On Tuesday 25th May 2021, professionals from across the conveyancing sector came together to celebrate the successes and achievements of the industry at The British Conveyancing Awards 2021. The inaugural awards took to the virtual stage, and were led by the fabulous award winning broadcaster and journalist Samira Ahmed. If you want a re-cap of the […]
Cyber Security spend on the rise as it becomes more important than ever
Since the pandemic and the rise of people working from home, cyber criminals have had to adapt to their new environment prior to launching a cyber attack. The UK Government estimates that the cost of cyber crime is £27bn a year. The latest data released in the Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report shows that organisations are […]
Potential claims for SDLT errors could cause a professional indemnity crisis
– with premiums rising up to 30% in 2021 Last month, an industry reforming technology was launched for the legal profession, protecting property lawyers and conveyancers against an ongoing professional indemnity crisis surrounding SDLT. Evolving at speed across the nation, residential conveyancing remains the area of practice where most insurance notifications are received, with residential […]
£1.1M fund for digital tool usage in planning process announced
Housing Minister Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP has announced a £1.1 million fund to test the use of digital tools and data standards across 10 local areas. The planning white paper ‘Planning for the future’, published in August 2020, proposed reforms to the planning system to streamline and modernise the planning process. The pathfinder programme […]
GeoRisk – are you compliant with guidance on mining risk?
Ground stability, Mining and Geo-risk. Living in a temperate climate as we do here in the UK, nothing else out there has quite the same potential for catastrophic impact to property. Nor does any other risk have the same potential to impact so fundamentally the central aspect of most property transactions – the integrity of […]
Buying a coastal property? Top things to consider
As a result of the events of the last year, more and more people are unsurprisingly considering buying property out of large urban areas, and many have headed to the coast. According to Rightmove, Cornwall has overtaken London this year as the most searched for location on the platform, with Devon and Dorset also high […]
Latimer Hinks choose ‘highly recommended’ Linetime to manage efficiencies
Latimer Hinks have announced the selection of Linetime to continue improving efficiencies across the firm, citing how the legal business management software was highly recommended throughout the selection process. Based in Darlington, but operating predominantly in the North East of England and North Yorkshire, Latimer Hinks 40 strong team have been providing specialist and bespoke […]
LMS and Darlington Building Society form new partnership
LMS, the UK’s leading conveyancer and panel management specialist, has begun a new partnership with Darlington Building Society who will become the 29th lender panel within LMS Panel Link®. In providing Darlington Building Society with its unique Panel Link® service, LMS will provide a fully vetted, secure panel that meets with the Society’s exact requirements. […]
Conveyancing crunch deepens as the property market recovers by double in Q1
Q1 2021 transactions were up 193% on Q2 2020 after the shutting down of the property market caused transactions to slide to 82,385 Strong trading conditions have led to a sustained recovery in the number of active conveyancing firms – active firms climbed 4% to 3,962 in Q1 2021, up from 3,808 in Q4 2020 […]
Annual Practising Certificate Fee consultation survey launched
The Law Society has launched its member survey on the Practising Certificate Fee (PC fee) for 2021/22. The survey continues the consultation on the PC fee and business plan which began on 10 May and has already involved proactive discussions with groups of members to get their feedback. As a response to the challenges solicitors […]
Free Webinar: Life as a Boutique Law Firm Office Manager
The day of a law firm office manager is a busy one. In addition to making sure that the day-to-day things run smoothly, you’re also expected to be the face of the firm and the person making sure both staff and clients are happy and well taken care of. If the above description sounds familiar, […]
How well do you know your conveyancing A to Z?
From the day–to–day searches to the more unusual or non- standard due diligence or information services available, our free guide provides a snapshot into the A to Z of Conveyancing for residential and commercial transactions. Our guide highlights a wide range of searches and reports, and also explains when and why they are each useful. As a […]
The Highs and Lows of Conveyancing
With just over one month until 30th June, the residential property industry is working around the clock to help as many buyers as possible to meet the extended stamp duty holiday deadline. As we know, no tax will be levied on the first £500K of purchases up until this date, and this has been one […]
