CQS supported by Council of Mortgage Lenders
The Law Society have now reported that over 700 firms have now applied to join the Conveyancing Quality Scheme and have said that it is still possible for conveyancing firms to apply. At the end of April the Society will start their marketing campaign in support of CQS, following which firms should expect lenders and […]
Less than 80 years left on a Lease?
We’ve probably all done it… sighed at the prospect of dealing with a Leasehold transaction. If you are not keen on Leasehold transactions do you think you have become complacent when you do have to deal with them? Leases for flats generally run for between 99 and 125 years but, as with anything, the longer […]
Conveyancing Protocol update
The following was originally published in the Law Society Gazette on Thursday 24 March 2011 by Jonathan Smithers and was also online at www.lawgazette.co.uk. The Law Society and Jonathan have kindly allowed us to reproduce the article for Today’s Conveyancer. The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) is building up a head of steam. The first firms […]
People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones
There are a lot of different opinions regarding the Law Society’s CQS Scheme, some ‘for’ and some ‘against’. Paul Murden a locum from the South East regularly writes a blog about conveyancing and we thought you might be interested in his views on CQS. These are Paul’s views and are not those of Today’s Conveyancer: […]
Biggest threat to small firms is the reduction in lender panels
Today’s Conveyancer were recently able to ask Lisa Draper, Partner at Attwells Solicitors LLP, a few questions about the challenges currently facing the profession. Attwells, a three Partner practice with offices in Ipswich, Suffolk and St Johns Wood, North London, say that conveyancing accounts for over 50% of the firm’s revenue with the Ipswich undertaking […]
What deals are you offering to your first time buyers?
One of the UK’s biggest volume conveyancing solicitors, Goldsmith Williams, is offering a free ‘housewarming gift’ to their first time buyers. Following the recent budget announcement it is thought that this will encourage first time buyers to make the most of the final year of stamp duty exemption. The offer includes 10% off their standard […]
Should preliminary contracts become standard procedure?
A roundtable event hosted by former Head of the Office of Fair Trading and President of the E-Homebuying Forum, Sir Bryan Carsberg, last week saw leading estate agents, solicitors and conveyancers debating on the introduction of preliminary contracts as a standard procedure in the home buying and selling process. Many of the attendees were in […]
Changes to the responsibility for shared ‘Private’ sewers.
There are plenty of home owners who are unaware that they are responsible for the maintenance and repair of the pipes that connect their external drain to the public sewer but all the current home owner responsibilities are set to change in October this year. The home owner normally has a responsibility, sometimes shared with […]
Despite low market conditions Bellway build 4% more homes
The National house builders, Bellway Plc, have released their interim results for their half year ended 31stJanuary 2011 indicating that they completed almost 4% more homes, despite the current low market conditions. The key points are: – Average Price achieved was £168,428, compared to £155,871 in 2010 – Completed Sales of 2,332 homes, compared to […]
Should solicitors brought to the attention of the Legal Ombudsman be ‘named and shamed’?
The Legal Ombudsman yesterday published anonymous case studies on their website stating that it is part of their commitment to helping both consumers and solicitors to understand the sort of issues that it is required to investigate and how resolution is reached. From June it is proposed that the service will also be extended to […]
February sees a slight increase on house purchase loan approvals
The latest Bank of England Statistics for February show a slight increase in the number of loans approved for house purchase, 46,967. The figures are slightly higher than the previous six month average of 46,413. Remortgage application approvals were also higher than the previous six month average and for February were 35,725, up from 31,674. […]
Have you got the balance of technology and ‘the human touch’ right?
With the advent of ‘the internet age’ and other technology the conveyancing process has been revolutionised but David Kempster, Sales and Marketing Director at SearchFlow, says “these high-tech solutions should not come at the expense of the human touch”. Although many firms still view electronic communications with scepticism and don’t want to take the leap […]
Stamp duty reforms in the 2011 Budget set to open up buy to let opportunities
According to the Telegraph, buy to let opportunities have been opened up by the Budget’s stamp duty reforms following the announcement that there are to be tax cuts on the bulk purchase of residential properties. The Coalition said that they want to attract investment from major institutions, such as pension funds and landlords, into residential […]
Fear of interest rate hike leads to 19-month high for remortgage applications
Many home owners who are currently on a variable rate mortgage have made a dash for low cost fixed rate mortgage deals before the Bank of England has another opportunity to increase interest rates. Around 27,000 home owners have changed their lender in a bid to secure the best available deals and with the inflation […]
Law Society's Code for Completion by Post updated
The Law Society’s updated Code for Completion by Post will come into force on 1st April 2011 and is available on their website now. The updated Code will only apply to transactions where you have agreed to ‘adopt the current Law Society’s Code for Completion by Post’ after 1st April 2011. Today’s Conveyancer, bringing you […]
Are you looking for a new role?
If you’re looking for a new role take a look at our jobs section. We have recently added a new role for a Remortgage Fee Earner based in Cheshire, through Ab Initio Recruitment. Have a look and see if you are what they are looking for. Today’s Conveyancer, bringing you the latest conveyancing news and […]
First Buy Scheme – Monte Carlo or Bust?
First time buyers are being offered a lifeline when it comes to getting on the property ladder but how will George Osborne’s First Buy scheme work? First time buyers earning £66k or less will be eligible for the scheme which will allow them to buy a home with a 5 per cent deposit. The government […]
Septic Tank – is it registered?
Residential property lawyer David Morgan, a Partner at Higgs & Sons, has said that owners of property with a septic tank must be made aware of the new regulations relating to domestic septic tanks. The regulations were changed in 2010 but owners of existing septic tanks only have until 1st January 2012 to register them […]
Fee free remortgages from Aldermore
Aldermore, who say that their aim is to ‘take a fresh perspective on markets that have been poorly served by traditional banks’, have recently launched a number of fixed and variable rate remortgage deals. The new deals, open to both residential borrowers and buy to let borrowers, have no completion fees, no valuation fees and […]
‘We want you’ says the SRA
The Solicitors Regulation Authority are seeking your views regarding the fee structure for alternative business structures (ABS). They say that the starting point for the development of the fee structure for ABS is: that the ongoing cost of regulation be broadly the same as the cost of regulation of equivalent traditional firms, and that the […]
