CQS – your practice may have been awarded membership but are you Walking the Walk?
Are you one of the 2600 firms who have successfully achieved membership of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme? If so you jumped through the hoops to complete all the paperwork, you pulled together the supporting documentation, you heaved a sigh of relief when you were awarded membership and once you have reaped the benefit […]
SearchFlow responds to Law Society’s findings on law firms targeted by scammers
The Law Society’s annual professional indemnity insurance survey,which looked at insurance claims among law firms of up to 25 partners, reveals that almost a quarter of law firms have reported being targeted by scammers in the last year. Greg Bryce, Managing Director of SearchFlow, comments: “This is an alarmingly high level of reported fraud attempts […]
Visualising Chalara dieback of ash
You may have seen recently the reports by BBC News and The Guardian on Chalara dieback of ash (Hymenoscyphus Fraxineus). This disease, combined with the arrival of the Emerald borer beetle, could eventually wipe out ash trees in the UK, according to report recently published by the Journal of Ecology1. Why does it matter? Ash […]
The importance of ordering a planning search
2015 saw over 1,200,000 residential property transaction completions and 2016 is set to exceed to this. The UK has also experienced a sharp increase in asking prices with the average asking price recorded in March 2016 as £303,190, a 7.6% increase on the previous year. This follows the moderate house price increases the UK has […]
London boroughs approve 64% fewer new builds in Q1 this year ahead of mayoral election.
The number of new build homes approved for development in the first three months this year is nearly two thirds fewer than for the same period last year. Nearly 40% of applications are currently being rejected, which estate agents Stirling Ackroyd say is the highest rate for a year – in 2015’s Q1, the rate […]
Pair who operated SDLT avoidance scheme at Abode Solicitors suspended on appeal
Two solicitors whose firm was closed down by the SRA in 2012 have been suspended from for three years. Richard Chan and Rajob Alli ran Abode Solicitors fro Harrogate which until it was closed down by the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority was a top ten earning firm per partner in 2011. The pair were originally fined […]
Number of remortgages up 10% on last year
Remortgaging in March 2016 was up 10% on March last year according to research by LMS, with a predicted 30,282 remortgages being processed. The number of remortgages is also up on February, with 7% more remortgages processed. However the value of those mortgages decreased, with the average loan amount falling from £158,144 to £153,916 from […]
The Postcode Planning Lottery
Location can not only affect the price of your house, but also whether you could be approved for planning permission. With house prices rapidly rising, many are choosing to purchase smaller houses with the intention to extend in the future. It is estimated that 90% of applications are granted nationally, however around 20,000 households will […]
When was the last time your firm increased your conveyancing fees?
Half of conveyancing firms have increased their fees over the past 6 months, a tmgroup survey has revealed. The survey, conducted throughout the first part of 2016 by leading property and data provider tmgroup, asked conveyancers: “When was the last time your firm increased your conveyancing fees?” It was revealed that 50% of firms surveyed […]
Equity release sector grows 21% into 2016
The total value of equity release lending has grown another 21% in the first quarter of 2016 to £393.9 million – the highest quarter on record. As a whole the market was worth a huge £1.7 billion in 2015, up 24% on the year before. According to the Equity Release Council, this is the highest […]
The cost of undisclosed planning and development
The risks of undisclosed local planning and development in conveyancing transactions hit the headlines in 2015 and you should consider the risk of longer term effects these cases have on your business.
Green Cities
The majority of the people in the world live in urban areas. The idea of city life has always been attractive for people. However, the consequences of growth – like traffic congestion, urban extension, waste, and environmental pollution – have negatively affected the quality of living. In Europe, we currently use 16 tonnes of material […]
Homeowner 2016 survey shows twice as many support new stamp duty surcharge as oppose, despite loud opposition from landlord groups
More than twice as many people (47%) support the 3% stamp duty surcharge than oppose it (18%). Policy seen to support first-time buyers and homes for living in Those in the South West, where there is a real shortage of affordable homes, are most in favour, with 6 in 10 (59%) supporting the change. Concerns […]
Landmark Academy launches to help solicitors meet “continuing competence” targets under the new SRA framework
In advance of the SRA ‘Continuing Competence’ framework becoming mandatory on 1 November 2016, Landmark Information Group is officially launching today the ‘Landmark Academy’.
Number of residential transactions leaps 77% in March – HMRC
The number of transactions over £40,000 leapt a huge 77% compared with March last year as a result of the looming increase in stamp duty on second homes. The number of transactions was also 74.8% higher than February. In total there were 161,990 transactions for residential property in March across the UK. To compare, the […]
Is there a Roman Villa under your client’s garden?
A rug designer in Wiltshire stumbled upon a hugely significant Roman archaeological find while having a barn on his property converted for his children. Luke Irwin’s find is said to be unparalleled by historic England, but until the electricians started drilling into the floor to install the underfloor cables Luke insisted on, they had no […]
Decoy sites: one of the biggest secrets of the World War II
Find out more about the historic military/ordnance features dataset which is included in all Groundsure residential and commercial searches.
Make residential conveyancing profitable
Peter Baverstock discusses the best ways of building a healthy, profitable conveyancing practice.
Private sector housing work up in construction industry – ONS
Output in the construction industry has declined overall with housing work down 0.2% in February. However within the overall decline, private housing work which represents the bulk of housing work increased a huge 10.6% year on year, with a corresponding 3.9% increase from January according to the Office for National Statistics. Public sector housing has […]
SDLT and additional properties
Paul Butt looks into the less obvious problems caused by the new rules on SDLT and issues you may not have considered.
