Senior hires at Steele Raymond
The appointment of a trio of senior hires has been hailed as a “milestone” for regional law firm Steele Raymond. The appointments of Tim Higham and Jane Lynch in their residential property and private client teams respectively has been complemented by Rachel Hadfield as Marketing Manager. Tim Higham joins the partnership from Trethowans and […]
Material Information is “re-engineering conveyancing by the back door”
A pressure group that says it represents the interests of property lawyers has described the Parts A, B, and C guidance introduced last week by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team as “re-engineering conveyancing by the back door” and warned “non-regulated companies” seeking to take advantage of “HIPs 2.0.” The recently launched […]
Claim: Express conveyancing trial cuts home move times in half
A self styled homebuying platform and challenger portal has claimed it has succeeded in cutting transaction times in half following a year-long express conveyancing trial. OneDome describes itself as “a digital platform for property transactions that enables home buyers and sellers to conduct end-to-end property transactions online.” The trial saw average transaction times reduced to […]
Planning system tops list of barriers to home building
A survey of SME home builders has identified planning system failings and falling buyer demand as two key factors in the fall in the number of new homes being built. The Federation of Masters Builders’ (FMB) House Builders’ Survey, which has been running for a decade and keeps track of the experience of micro, small […]
Rushed leasehold bill doesn’t ban new leaseholds
The government’s heralded “Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill” has been published without a key element of the intended legislation. The published bill does not ban developers from selling new build property as leasehold, an admission the government admits was due to the rushed nature of the bill’s drafting so soon after the King’s Speech. First […]
CTS Update: Conveyancers “trying their best” to get people moved
Conveyancers affected by the cyber incident at infrastructure provider CTS are “doing their best” to get people moved as the outage enters its second week. The incident was first reported last Wednesday (22nd) and confirmed by CTS in a statement on Thursday which said it was working “around the clock with the assistance of third-party […]
Details of funding to improve digital homebuying
Further details have emerged around the £3m of funding allocated to investment in the home buying and selling process announced in last week’s Autumn Statement. It is hoped the investment in innovative technologies and data projects will improve the home buying a selling process in England and Wales. The £3m of funding will be allocated […]
SRA report examines use of AI in law firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have shared a report outlining both the opportunities and risks associated with and presented by the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This report forms part of the SRA’s Risk Outlook series and the latest report specifically focuses on how AI is impacting the legal services sector. The report, whilst researching […]
‘Stable but subdued’ market amid economic challenges
The property market remain “stable but subdued” as data for Q3 2023 suggests that the usual post-summer uplift has failed to materialise. Consumers continue to come to terms with inflation and interest rates and property price; and commentators have pointed to stable supply and demand as reasons to be positive. However, the figures supplied by […]
“Challenging” time for industry but picture “stabilising”
Research from a number of bodies indicates that Q4 2023 is set to remain challenging for the property sector, but that there is an overall sentiment that there is some “stabilisation” in the market. The latest Residential Survey from The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) indicates that sentiment amongst members surveyed suggested that both […]
Update to conveyancing “Pledges from industry body
Quality of service and expediting matters which could cause “hardship” to clients has been identified as key commitments for members to make as part of an update to the Conveyancing Association’s (CA) “Pledges” Following on from the introduction of the FCA’s Consumer Duty and the publication of the CA’s Digital Conveyancing Protocol Document, the update […]
Are we in the midst of a conveyancing cold war?
Half a century next year. 50 years of being heavily involved with conveyancing, conveyancers, and estate agents. As the saying goes, I would have got less time for murder! Those 50 years included moving from the 20th Century to the 21st Century, and the job and the conveyancing process is more difficult, challenging, and frustrating […]
PII costs ‘not expected to fall in the near term’
Joint research by the Legal Services Board (LSB) and Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has identified key trends in the professional indemnity insurance market. The research found that the average PII premium is now equivalent to 5% of a law firm’s annual turnover but also points to the potential for continued market consolidation as one fifth […]
Initiative to improve home buying in Northern Ireland announced
A new initiative has been announced this week which aims to improve the experience of moving house in Northern Ireland. Following in the footsteps of National Conveyancing Week 2023, hosted in March of this year, The Law Society of Northern Ireland have partnered with Propertynews.com to launch a Conveyancing Week in Northern Ireland. Conveyancing Week will […]
Martello Joins Mishcon de Reya’s MDR Lab Programme
Martello, a digital platform that is building the first live property search database to help speed up the homebuying process, has today announced that it has joined the summer cohort of MDR Lab, the product-focused innovation programme of Mishcon de Reya, one of the UK’s leading law firms. Over the coming 12 weeks, Martello will […]
British Conveyancing Awards 2023 – Shortlist Part 1
The first half of the shortlist for The British Conveyancing Awards sponsored by Groundsure, has been formally announced this morning. Following on the opening of the vote for the Today’s Conveyancer Industry Champion, today’s shortlist reveals the first half of the programme, including the popular and hotly contested “Law Firm Innovator,” “Customer Service Champion” and […]
Kate Faulkner on the property market, ROPA, upfront information, and the HBSG
The latest Today’s Conveyancer podcast sees industry expert Kate Faulkner OBE deliver her verdict on the current state of the property market, the ills of the home moving process, regulation of property agents (ROPA), upfront information and the work being done by the Home Buying and Selling Group to improve the experience for all. Since […]
#BCAwards2023 | Industry Champion vote opens as tickets go on sale
Tickets for The British Conveyancing Awards 2023, sponsored by Groundsure, are now available as the vote for the Today’s Conveyancer Industry Champion, sponsored by Minerva, opens today. The winner of this prestigious award will be announced live at the hybrid event on 21st March. The shortlist for the remaining awards will be released on Wednesday […]
The state of play in the property market
Predictions for the 2023 property market continue to vary wildly as economic and social issues continue to create uncertainty in the property market. In the last week Estate Agency membership and training body Propertymark released its review of 2022 and predictions for 2023, RICS released it’s latest industry sentiment report and data from property portals […]
Crisis in local government will slow plans for progress
A local government workforce crisis is threatening vital local services – particularly relied on by those who urgently need support – with more than 9 in 10 councils experiencing staff recruitment and retention difficulties, a new survey reveals. The Local Government Association, which represents councils across England, has published its 2022 Workforce Survey which identifies […]
