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I am still living the dream at being nominated for my first award in the primelocation property blog awards Now fifth in a five horse race leaves a lot to be desired, although I prefer the Miss World system of fourth runner up. As it was a live vote as...
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Research published recently shows an alarming 67% of consumers think that all Will Writers are Solicitors. They emphatically are not. Even more worrying, is that 82% of consumers assumed that Will Writers had proper training and qualifications. Consumers...
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The news today that the UK is officially out of recession will be a welcome boost to many industries and service companies. One area which may see at least a positive change in sentiment is the housing market in England and Wales. The Housing Market has...
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What should you be looking for when selling or buying a home in Yate, near Bristol. Here are 10 helpful suggestions to get you on your way:- 1. Yate is about 13 miles north east of Bristol, with good rail and motorway links. The local authority is South...
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Home Information Packs (HIPs) were highlighted again on 7th January with a warning issued to Estate Agents by the Housing Minister John Healy in response to a question in parliament by MP Robert Neill Under the amended HIP regulations which were...
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When asked what solicitors and lawyers do, 68% of respondents in a Poll carried out by YouGov last week expressed little or no knowledge. The results of the Poll of 2033 peopled commissioned by the Legal Services Board in England and Wales were published...
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Choosing your Conveyancing Solicitor when you move home is a daunting task. Moving home can be a stressful time. But who will be right for you. Here are ten steps to choosing your Conveyancing Solicitor. 1. Listen to friends and family who have been moved...
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We would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and are pleased we have not sent you completely to sleep with our blogs We have some exciting blogs scheduled for the new year. If there are any legal matters which you would like to see...
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You will be known as having died Intestate, if you die in England and Wales without leaving a valid Will. The ability to decide where your assets will go after your death will be lost. In all but exceptional circumstances (in limited and expensive legal...
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The fictional case of Jarndyce v Jarndyce in Charles Dickens’s Bleak House told a story of a disputed Will and the cost ravages of the legal system. The poor litigants endured years of delay fighting their claim to the Jarndyce estate through the...
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The beleaguered Home Information Pack (HIP) was in the Conservative cross-hairs once again last week. Grant Schapps the Conservative Shadow Housing Minister commented at an industry conference last week, that if the Conservatives were elected at the next...
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“We did not make a Will. A massive mistake, a massive mistake” were the words used by a young widow on the BBC’s One Show recently. The show recounted the circumstances where her fit and athletic husband died whilst playing football at...
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If you are one of the 4 out of 5 Homebuyers who do not have a full survey or a RICS Homebuyers Survey and Valuation carried out on their new home, think again. Many excuses are used for failing to carry out a survey; cost; extensive local knowledge; age of...
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But how do you know that’s what you will get, when you instruct your Conveyancing Solicitor to act for you when you move home You may have heard horror stories of chains breaking down, and Conveyancing Solicitors not doing a great job. More...
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A perennial complaint against solicitors is their propensity to overcharge. The case of a Norfolk Solicitor who is being struck off takes overcharging to a new level. The Solicitor in question was charged with other irregularities, but one complaint...
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When you are buying your property, it is felt by some that your Conveyancing Solicitor is an unnecessary expense. Good advice, in this regard, was provided writing in the Bricks & Mortar section of the Times last Friday. The article entitled “...
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This is the third in my series on the prospects for the Housing Market in England and Wales in 2009. You can see my previous commentaries here for Spring and here for Summer. Now is the time to reflect and predict what will happen over the...
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Chancel Repair liability is an ancient medieval law which could still affect your Conveyancing transaction when you buy a property in England and Wales. This is a follow up to a previous article entitled Henry VIII and Chancel Repair Liability: His...
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When it comes to buying and selling your home, its right up there as one of the most stressful things anyone can do! However, it doesn’t have to be like this; with a little forward planning, a touch of patience and great communication it can actually...
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At least one third of people who die fail to make adequate provision for the division of their assets. And 4 out of 5 couples who live together and are not married or in a civil partnership believe they do not need to make a Will. They believe that...
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More than two thirds of you have not heard anything from your Solicitor, after acting for you, according to research released this week. The YouGov survey was commissioned by the Legal Alliance, a network of independent medium sized law firms....
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“What if, what if it all goes Pete Tong” or less colloquially “What would you do if it were to go wrong” is perhaps the last phrase you may want to hear when you’re about to set up home with your partner. It is now quite...
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It is a year ago today that I posted my first blog. I was the first solicitor to blog regularly on Conveyancing, and I have added other areas of our expertise as I have gone on, such as Wills and Probate, HIPs and the Housing Market in general. It has...
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When the Law Society launched its consultation paper “Improving Residential Conveyancing”, it was a great opportunity for members of the professions to shape the future of the home buying and selling process. The introduction of HIPs and the...
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A legal Conveyancing nightmare was finally over this week, for a couple forced to auction their home to pay for repairs to their local church, for which they were responsible under an arcane law known as Chancel Repair liability. The Wallbanks sold their...
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The news that the Financial Services Authority has issued its plans to repair the barn doors of the mortgage industry has received a mixed response. Leaving aside obvious jibes about more points scoring than credit scoring, there is at least a return to a...
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When someone dies, you will need to inform a number of people and organisations and complete certain documents needed by law. If you are a relative or friend you can do some of these things yourself. Others will need to be done by the executor or...
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The news of a mother and children being denied a share of their son’s and father’s estate rams home the perils of not keeping your Will bang up to date. The case which is reported in the news section of the Clutton Cox Solicitors in...
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What are we to make of Grant Shapps comments on HIPs at the Tory Conference last week in Manchester, when he said “HIPs are history, under the next Conservative Government”. With a dodgy grammatical style, perhaps no promotion for Mr. Shapps to...
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Chipping Sodbury based solicitor and England fan Paul Hajek is banking on a Rooney hat-trick in next summer’s World Cup final to boost the local housing market. Paul Hajek, who runs Clutton Cox , one of the country’s oldest law firms, reckons...
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The payment on death of Inheritance Tax has undergone significant changes in the last couple of years. Interestingly, Inheritance Tax becomes one of the main focuses of attention in Party Conference season. The Conservatives stole a march on the...
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The timing of the release of the results, this week, of an Ipsos MORI poll, commissioned by the Association of Home Pack Providers (AHIPP) with the Conservative Party Conference, may be coincidental. The fact that AHIPP is also exhibiting at...
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High Street Solicitors are benefiting from a new campaign launched by the Law Society to increase public awareness of the benefits of using a high street solicitor, under the banner “your solicitor qualified to answer”. At some point in our...
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The Stamp Duty concession which exempts properties purchased under £175000 from paying any Stamp Duty Land Tax expires on 31st December 2009. Thereafter, Stamp Duty will be imposed on any purchase over £125000. The Stamp Duty payable will be...
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The consultation period to respond to the Law Society’s report Improving Residential Conveyancing closes on tomorrow 18th September. We have listed the Questions posed by the Consultation Paper on Conveyancing together with our response. If...
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It is considered amongst the popular press that the housing market has changed beyond all recognition since the credit crunch began 2 years ago, and the slowdown then recession of the last 18 months. Yet, the fundamentals of the Housing Market and how...
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I read in the Bristol Law Society magazine Legal Life of the closure by merger of the Bristol firm of Solicitors, Clutton Moore and Lavington. With the closure goes a link in the history of my firm with theirs, for the common denominator was Walter...
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The current ills in the housing Market in England and Wales and the dearth of available mortgage finance were discussed in the Times this week by the eminent economist Ann Pettifor . In it, she blames the accumulation of unaffordable debts over the last...
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The demise of the Cheltenham & Gloucester C&G , it would appear has been greatly exaggerated. On the news of the decision to close the network of C&G offices in June spurred me into eulogising in a post at the loss of the good guys in the...
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The most recent statistics for the mortgage market in England and Wales have shown a small increase in lending. Lending was up 26% in July, but this was still 36 % down from the monies the Banks and Building Societies lent in July 2008 More in depth...
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The Law Society’s consultation on the role of Conveyancing Solicitors in the home buying and selling process in England and Wales is set to close in one month’s time on 18th September. You can have your say on how the Conveyancing process may...
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I have written here and here about the state of the Housing Market in England and Wales during the Spring and Summer 2009. But, how have Landlords fared in all this uncertainty and what are the prospects for Landlords for the rest of summer 2009? ...
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There are so many Conveyancing solicitors to choose from, but where do you start? Even where you have received a recommendation, how do you know that you will really get on well together. There are many Conveyancing Solicitors, who might be regarded as...
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If you take yourself back to heady days of 1997, you may recall the tale of a Labour M.P., who was so appalled by being gazumped on his proposed house purchase, he called for a reform in the Conveyancing and home selling process. Thus, was first mooted the...
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I have just posted an article on the ActionMove website entitled Happy Birthday Home InformationPacks:HIP HIP Hooray?. The article deals with the impact of Home Information Packs,or as they are now universally known, HIPs , on the Housing Market and...
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No, I am not talking about Darren Bent the (still) Tottenham striker who allegedly gave some directed Anglo Saxon words of transfer encouragement to his Spurs chairman via a tweet yesterday. No, I am not talking about Philip Hughes the Australian...
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The mortgage thaw may be underway, but it is clear to me as a Conveyancing Solicitor based in Chipping Sodbury South Gloucestershire , that the pace of issuing a mortgage offer is still painfully slow. Figures issued last week by the British Bankers...
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Tell me about your experiences when you last moved home, your thoughts about Conveyancing, Conveyancing Solicitors and how the home buying process could be improved. Why? Well, the Law Society has launched a consultation process with...
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The turmoil in the mortgage market has thrown up some interesting statistics. Moneyfacts has published data showing that the average shelf life of a mortgage product in June was down to just 14 days from a previous 23 days. The suggested thaw in the...
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There was an interesting discussion on BBC 5Live business this morning regarding the state of the housing market Prior to the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs), a proportion of the properties on the market for sale were by Sellers who...
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Choosing a Tenancy Agreement – by Solicitor Tessa Shepperson Many landlords new to letting, for example new ‘buy to let’ landlords and ‘accidental’ landlords are unfamiliar with the paperwork needed for letting property. With...
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I have been posting this week on the recent case of the Office of Fair Trading v Foxtons, the Estate and Lettings Agency. The case involved, in part, the understanding and reading of small print, which was some way from the main terms of the contract. If...
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There has been a lot of speculation on the future of renewal clauses in contracts between Letting Agents and Landlords following the recent Foxtons case . The High Court found that Foxtons clauses were unfair and therefore unenforceable. However, Mr....
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You are always exhorted, urged, nagged even to read the small print before signing anything legal. In yesterday’s blog, I reported an important case which involved, specifically, what terms in a contract between a Landlord and a Letting Agent...
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A High Court judge has ruled that Foxtons, one of London’s most well known Estate Agents, had used unfair terms in its lettings agreement with their Landlord clients .The case had been brought by the Office of Fair Trading. Unfair Consumer Clauses ...
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Approximately 66% of people die without making a Will. I know it is one of those things we like to put off. I even have a confession to make that I asa Solicitor didn’t get round to making my Will until recently. By making a Will you can decide what...
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It now seems that the Will of Michael Jackson has been found( allegedly). It might be interesting to compare a Californian Will with your own Will, as you will discover a lot of the terminology is the same. You may be one of the many who have yet to...
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The speculation that now surrounds the existence and/or whereabouts of the Last Will and Testament of Michael Jackson highlights an acute problem which can be faced by relatives and friends immediately after the death of a loved one. Is there a Will , and...
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A Poll carried out by Reuters amongst analysts at banks, investment firms and consultancies makes more encouraging news for the beleaguered Housing Market in the UK. 23 out of 33 economists felt that house prices would stabilise within the year. 11 went...
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I published my first Article, Twist Stick or Bust?-How to deal in the Housing Market Spring 2009 in early March this year. Now, it’s time to revisit the Housing Market to see what Summer 2009 has in store. Where are we then? My opinion is garnered...
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1. The average price of a Property is now £152,898. 2. The average price of a Property excluding flats, is £224,024 3. Average Home Prices have declined by 20% since 2007 4. The Average time it takes to sell a property is below 10 weeks for...
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It came as a great shock and with considerable disappointment to learn of the demise of the the Cheltenham & Gloucester, part of the Lloyds Banking Group C&G . As a Conveyancing Solicitor , I found them to be the epitome of a well run mortgage...
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Well, a good pointer was included in the latest edition of Property in Practice magazine from the Law Society Property Section It included extracts from an interview with Vince Cable MP the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable is...
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83% of people who had used a solicitor in the last 5 years were satisfied with their performance. This is one of the findings of a newly commissioned 66 page market research report on how the public perceives Solicitors has just been published. This major...
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A newly commissioned 66 page market research report on how the public perceives Solicitors has just been published. This major opinion poll was commissioned by the relatively new regulator of Solicitors, the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) One of...
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This would appear to be what the well known anti HIP campaign SPLINTA did yesterday according to a news release on the Estate Agent Today website. It possibly never occurred to the SPLINTA founder Nick Salmon that pro HIP enthusiasts would seek to...
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Law Society President Paul Marsh has entered the fray in the debate over the true cost of Home Information Packs or more commonly known as HIPS . He has warned that some Estate Agents are receiving secret payments from HIP companies for the provision...
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From today Monday the 6th April, new Rules apply when you put your property on the market for sale. There are 3 main rule changes: 1. A new form called Property Information Questionnaire must be included. This provides information such as Council Tax...
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Well, yes, if the views of the Law Society is heeded. Paul Marsh, the President of the Law Society, which represents 10,000 Solicitors in England and Wales, interviewed in the Times today urged “the way in which Estate Agents operate from top to...
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From the 6th April 2009, you will no longer be able to market your property for sale without a Home Information Pack in place. This overturns the previous concession whereby you were only required to place an order for your HIP before marketing your home...
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After 2 months of the New Year accounted for, how are we to interpret the varied data and forecasts for the Housing Market for the rest of 2009? Important data has just been released by Hometrack, the housing data group. It surveyed just over 1800 estate...
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In my articles in the computer press recently, an element of confusion has arisen.I would like to post the following erratum. Please replace the words " Home Information Packs (HIPs)", with "Host Intrusion Prevention Software (HIPS)"-...
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The Conservative shadow Housing Minister has reiterated recently in a letter to the Law Society Gazette of its determination to rid our land of the contentious HIPs( Home Information Packs). Yet it is unlikely that a general election will be called before...
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The Department for Communities and Local Government published at the end of last month the Summary findings of its Home Information Packs; Consumer Focus Groups Qualitative Research. ...
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When you decide to put your property on the market for sale in England and Wales, you must now have in place or have ordered a Home Information Pack (HIP). Here is some guidance on what you should be considering before commissioning the HIP from you Estate...
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A recent investigation by Birmingham Trading Standards Office into Home Information Packs (HIPs) has illuminated an alarming series of errors. The investigation centred on the provision of what are called Personal Searches. These searches are carried out...
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Margaret Beckett the Housing Minister said as much in giving evidence about the effectiveness of Home Information Packs this week to the local government select committee. The Minister commented "I think that given their limitations they have some...
