A Layered Approach To Managing Risk
Let’s start with a couple of facts. 1) Conveyancing is the highest risk area of law. 2) Cyber crime reports to the SRA have again risen over the last year. 3) The amount of client money reported as stolen also increased over the last year. The above is evidence that fraud and cyber crime in […]
Blackpool’s £250 Million Property Market Up By 19% In Three Years
Blackpool’s £250 million property market up by 19% in three years, as town prepares for digital data switch-over Blackpool’s property market experiences 19% growth in just three years, as the annual value of sales reaches £241m in 2017 Value of market in H1 2018 reaches £133 million, indicating Blackpool on track for another record year […]
CA Issues Response To MHCLG Implementing Leasehold Reform Consultation
The Conveyancing Association (CA), the leading trade body for the conveyancing industry, has today (19th November 2018) issued its response to the Ministry for Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) consultation on Implementing Reforms to the Leasehold System. The consultation deals with implementing the Government’s plans for leasehold houses and also includes questions on the […]
Five Benefits Of Attending A Conveyancing CPD
Since November 2016, the SRA (Solicitor Regulation Authority) rules around how legal Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is undertaken have been relaxed in order to allow practitioners to tailor their approach to professional development. Although the SRA, CLC (Council for Licensed Conveyancers) and CILEx (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) all expect members to undertake CPD activities, […]
Home Owners Struggling To Make Second Step
The vast majority of people have found the property market fairly hostile in recent months. According to a recent report by Lloyds Banking Group, a third of home owners looking to take a second step up the housing market feel as though current conditions are making it a lot more difficult than 12 months ago. […]
Council Retaliated After Being Branded UK’s Slowest For Conveyancing Searches
British TV property expert, Phil Spencer, launched a property data company, MoveIQ, whose research identified Stratford District Council as the slowest in the UK to complete conveyancing searches. After using Freedom of Information requests, the data company, MoveIQ, found that Stratford District Council can take 95 days to carry out searches and that 15% of […]
Property Expert Discusses The Growing Industry Of Proptech
Proptech is a growing industry that is forcing legal service providers to consider how they interact and use technology to improve the property moving process. The most well-known examples are real estate websites like Rightmove and Zoopla. Furthermore, The HM Land Registry have been transferring all local authority data onto a digital system and the […]
Search Acumen: Legal Proptech Will Hit Warp Speed Within Five Years
Technology and data provider marks half a decade of growth by predicting the demise of “digital dabblers” as property law firms and their clients become “data-dependent” Proptech firm celebrates five years of industry firsts – including data integrations, HM Land Registry partnerships and becoming a founding member of the UK PropTech Association Artificial intelligence and […]
Shieldpay Power The World’s First Fully Digital Property Chain Transaction
The world’s first fully digital property chain transaction took place last week, powered by Shieldpay’s instant digital escrow facility Shieldpay’s digital payments is transforming moving day across the UK by making simultaneous morning key releases possible across a whole chain of transactions This meant real-time digital authorisations of payments were made by conveyancers at four […]
CLC & SRA Publish Transparency Rules Guidance Before 6th December Deadline
From December 2018, all regulated law firms will be required to publish information on the prices they charge, and what these cover, across a number of common services. The Council of Licensed Conveyancer (CLC) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have published guidance on how the firms they regulate can comply with the new ‘Informed […]
Government Fail To Meet 300,000 New Home Pledge
Despite insisting in the 2017 budget that the government intended to build 300,000 new homes a year to help ease the housing crisis in England, latest figures by the Office for Budget Responsibility have found that hosing stock in England is falling short of the 300,000 pledge by over 20%. At current levels, the OBR […]
Conveyancers Invited To Nominate In The Local Land Charges Awards 2019
Land Data has opened its 2019 Local Land Charges Awards for Excellence and is asking conveyancers across the country to nominate the local authority that provides them with the best customer service – quality, efficiency, reliability and value for money should all be considered when deciding who to nominate. The Awards which have been running […]
My Home Move Wins At The British Legal Technology Awards 2018
My Home Move, the UK’s leading provider of mover conveyancing services, has won the ‘Most Innovative Firm of the Year’ at this year’s British Legal Technology Awards. The ceremony, which was held on Thursday 1st November 2018, at the Plaisterers’ Hall in London, acknowledged and rewarded excellence in Legal Technology and IT Security within the […]
Future Of The UK Housing Market
As we approach the end of the year, it’s only natural to reflect on what has happened throughout 2018, but perhaps this year more than most, we can’t help but cast an eye on the future and the potential future the UK housing market might have. I am, rather strangely, writing this on the day […]
Annual House Price Growth Lowest Since May 2013
Figures from the Nationwide House Price Index revealed that annual house price growth is now the lowest since May 2013, with growth slowing to just 1.6% in October. Furthermore, while there were 1.2 million transactions in the 12 months to September 2018, that remains 30% lower than the levels seen in the same period in […]
Woman Loses Appeal Following Son’s Mortgage Fraud
In 2017, a mother found her home of 25 years being repossessed by her bank after her son committed mortgage fraud and conned her out of more than £100,000. While her son, Ashley Fletcher, was convicted of fraud and sent to prison, he was subsequently released early, with no obligation to give back the money. […]
38% Of Help To Buy Users In 2018 Would Be Unqualified After 2021
Under the new rules announced in Monday’s Autumn Budget, Reallymoving’s research data has revealed over a third of homebuyers who took advantage of a Government Help to Buy Equity loan to purchase a new home in 2018 will no longer be eligible to use the scheme after 2021. The scheme which was originally meant to […]
HM Land Registry Rejection Policy Widens
In August 2017, HM Land Registry announced plans to trial a wider set of rejection criteria on first registration applications (FR1). The ultimate aim being the achievement of “simpler, faster and cheaper conveyancing”. The trial of a further six criteria will begin from 8 October 2018. These included where: · the first option in panel […]
Law Firms Underperforming When Not Face-To-Face
According to mystery shoppers, law firms are underperforming when dealing with clients remotely. The Client Journey Project 2018, which is now in its third year, was conducted earlier this year. It highlights a number of areas where firms could improve the way they handle enquiries. The UK-wide survey tested 70 legal firms by measuring their […]
The Autumn 2018 Budget Carries A Hefty Price Tag
Chancellor Philip Hammond potentially delivers the last budget before Britain leaves the European Union with an eye-watering £100 billion spend over 5 years. The spending taps are firmly back on again as Hammond says ‘the era of austerity is finally coming to an end’ and pledges billions into the NHS, social care and defence. The […]
