Property

The number of conveyancing firms and particularly solicitors has dropped significantly over the past two years in line with the major downturn suffered by the property market.

A leading South-West law firm has been fined £101,357 for failing to act over money laundering red flags on three property transactions, two of which may have involved a sanctioned entity.

A pre-contract enquiries platform created by a law firm founder and already used by 230 lawyers, aims to cut “weeks not days” from conveyancing transaction times.

Slow response time is by far the biggest ‘pain point’ homebuyers have when dealing with conveyancers, according to new research.

Expanding the amount of mandatory upfront information which must be provided by sellers when a property is marketed is a central part of the “roadmap” for the future of home moving.

PEXA, the Australian conveyancing technology giant that last year bought a UK law firm, is set to expand significantly after agreeing a £31m deal by buy listed company Smoove.

A law firm has been fined by the SRA for a “fundamental and prolonged failure” to comply with an undertaking it had given in a conveyancing transaction.

The Conveyancing Association has launched a future digital conveyancing protocol to help firms prepare for the “huge step forward” that greater use of upfront information and technology will achieve.

Rules on the information that must be included in property listings are to be extended next month to cover issues such as restrictive covenants and flood risks, National Trading Standards has said.

A solicitor who changed the date on a legal charge having missed the deadline for registration at Companies House has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

The government was yesterday told repeatedly of the need to mandate conveyancers and the rest of the home-moving sector to adopt new ways of working – but the calls look set to fall on deaf ears.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has been slapped with a £75,000 costs order after making an “essential mistake of law” in a failed prosecution of a solicitor.

The introduction of binding offers, backed by widespread use of artificial intelligence, holds the key to improving the conveyancing process, a leading figure has predicted.

A judge has refused to order the sale of a house after finding that the buyer’s solicitor “cut corners” and did not hold a signed contract at the point of exchange, despite claiming he did.

A law firm which failed to follow its internal processes and transferred the proceeds of a property sale to a third party has been fined for misconduct.