About CQS Conveyancing

Google Maps containing information on public Rights of Way could be of use in the Conveyancing Process as conveyancing solicitors in some cases have to investigate trough Commons Registration Searches and other conveyancing searches. I am sure we all agree that speeding up conveyancing would be a good idea.

The principle of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) means that the purchaser is assumed to purchase the land or property in its condition at the date of the contract, regardless of what the buyer actually knows about the property. The responsibility for finding out about the property lies with the purchaser so it is the purchaser ( =though his advisers ) who submits pre-contract enquiries with the vendor. Whether or not the purchaser raises enquiries, the vendor is legally compelled to disclose latent encumbrances and defects in title, unless the contract says otherwise. The vendor's duty does not extend to disclosure of physical defects and the vendor is not required to disclose anything that is already in the purchaser's knowledge. It is generally unwise for the vendor to assume that the buyer has actual knowledge. The purchaser's remedies for incorrect or incomplete replies Subject to the terms of the conveyancing contract, the purchaser has no remedy against the selle...

The Legal Services Board is to have an oversight role in ensuring that the interests of consumers ( including conveyancing clients ) are properly protected. It is said that the immediate priority of the Legal Serviced Board is to ensure that the regulatory function of each regulator is separated from any representative function. This is most relevant for the Law Society which has set up the SRA ( Solicitors Regulation Authority ) to regulate conveyancing solicitors and non conveyancing solicitors. The Bar Council has set up the Bar Standards Board to regulate barristers in England and Wales. The establishment costs and ongoing running costs of both the Legal Services Board and the OLC will be funded by the legal profession. The Legal Services Board will soon make rules to determine the way in which the costs will be covered and split between the different branches of the legal profession. The Council of Licensed Conveyancers will soon after decide how its liability for these costs ...

Conveyancing stands as the legal process to obtain the ownership of a property. Conveyancing covers the whole buying and selling process of a property, hence the property is registered in the name of the purchaser only after following the legal process of conveyancing. Conveyancing is essentially the transaction that takes place between the buyer and the seller. It is therefore during the contract negotiations between the two parties a conveyancing service provider is needed. Conveyancing service is usually provided either by the conveyancing lawyers, known as the conveyancer, or by the conveyancing companies. Choosing the conveyancing solicitor can be daunting. Consider the following tips to choose the best service to befit your requirement and to strike the best deal. Look for a competitive and fixed rate: Whether you are searching for a conveyancer or conveyancing companies, look for a fixed competitive conveyance cost if you want the value for your money. Keep away from the fir...

In Daejan Investments Ltd v Benson and others [2009] UKUT 233 (LC), the Freeholder/landlord who owned a block of shops and flats gave notice to the leaseholders of the flats that it intended to carry out major works amounting to £270,000. The landlord failed to comply with the statutory service charge consultation requirements leading to a service charge dispute. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) refused to grant a dispensation from compliance. This net result of the decision was that the service charge liability of the five leasehold owners was limited to £250 each. At appeal, the Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal agreed with the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal that it could not take into account the disproportionate financial consequences for the landlord when deciding whether or not to make an order for dispensation: the statutory consequences of the failure to comply were an intrinsic part of the law relating to service charges, and there to be followed. This decision should ...

Did you know that you can be kept up to date about the progress of Crossrail subscribe to the Crossrail Bulletin, keeping you up-to-date on the progress of the Crossrail project. This is very useful for those who conduct conveyancing in London. Crossrail's contact details are as follows: Crossrail Limited | 25 Canada Square | London | E14 5LQ Switchboard: 0203 229 9100 | Helpdesk (24hr) 0345 602 3813.

The Consumer Panel of the Legal Services Board has announced that it is carrying out an enquiry into conveyancing referral arrangements. This is an issue about which there are strong views and conveyancers are urged to take advantage of this opportunity to make sure their views are taken into account. A copy of the Terms of Reference is available from the download section of the Council of Licensed Conveyancers website. All conveyancing referral arrangements will be covered, whether or not they involve payment or fees, including non-monetary arrangements that are linked to the introduction of clients, such as the provision of free or below-cost services in exchange for the referral of other business. The deadline for evidence is 5pm on Friday 26 February 2010. Licensed Conveyancers are invited to respond direct.

For the last few years the mechanism for lenders to discharge registered charges has been by way of an electronic notification of discharge (END). This is to change early 2010. The END has proved to be of great benefit to the conveyancing practices as conveyancers no longer have to chase discharge forms from lenders and manually send the forms to the Land Registry. In other words, it has assisted the post completion element of the conveyancing process. The Land Registry has stated that hopes that those lenders who currently use the END system will sign up to the new portal, which will enable them to discharge mortgages using an electronic notice of discharge of a registered charge (e-DS1). Unlike an END, an e-DS1 operates as a stand-alone application for discharge, which does not require the conveyancer also to submit a separate paper submission.

Background to property fraud Identity Theft The phenomenon of identity theft has assumed alarmingly high proportions around the world today .Advances in technology often fuel identity theft rather than prevent it , as more and more sophisticated means of identity theft are devised by fraudsters . It is estimated that identity theft costs the UK economy approximately 1.7 billion Pounds per annum . In the UK alone there are around 120 000 cases a year of identity theft ( the worldwide figure is 10 million ) per year . Identity fraud is one of the UK's fastest growing crimes . Property Fraud The property industry is not immune against the scourge of identity theft . Mortgage fraud alone is estimated at 700 million Pounds per annum . Land and buildings are usually the most valuable assets people own.Property can be sold or mortgaged to raise money . They are therefore attractive targets for fraudsters . Identity theft is often initiated by the fraudster by changing the legal owner'...

Even though the stamp-duty holiday, which has meant properties under £175,000 have been exempt from the levy, ends in the next couple of weeks, there has been some good news for those looking to get on the property ladder. Yorkshire Building Society has this week launched a new range of mortgages for first-time buyers with a deposit of 15 per cent or more. Its three-year fixed rate of 5.84% with no fee is a market-leading deal and includes £500 cashback, a free survey and conveyancing. This is not only good news for fist time buyers but also lawyers on the Yorkshire conveyancing panel . The "free conveyancing work" only covers basic conveyancing costs and does not cover search fees and land registry charges.

A businessman’s legal dispute with a developer in Reading has led him to set up a website for others legal assistance. As reported in the Reading Post earlier this month, Roy Assersohn is suing Muse Developments over the purchase of six Chatham Place apartments. Mr Assersohn, a former city editor with a national daily paper, has now set up a website to offer legal advice to people who believe they may have been a victim of a “property misdescription”. The Legal Investigation Services is www.property-misdescriptions.com. Most members of the public believe if they have a problem over the purchase of property, their legal redress is with the conveyancing solicitor. But often they should be taking legal action against the developer or in non new build cases the seller of a property.

Hot on the heals of the Law Society looking into the question of referral fees, commissions by conveyancers to estate agents and mortgage brokers are to be examined by the Legal Services Consumer Panel. The Legal Services Consumer Panel will also look at other referral fees paid by lawyers to insurance and claims management companies.

The Daily Mirror in an article entitled How Mortgage Fraudsters Stole Our Mother's House last week highlighted a recent case where crooks have managed to sell a house from under the noses of the real owners - who warn the same fraud could happen to anyone. In March 2009 a BBC reporter wrote to Land Registry, claiming to be the owner of an unmortgaged house in London. Using a bogus signature, the reporter asked for the property's correspondence address to be changed to Liverpool. Land Registry wrote to both addresses confirming the change to be made in 21 days. The owner was known not to be resident at the London address and so no objection was raised. Having been successful it would have been left open to commit a fraud. Although not clear form the Mirror article, critical to many of these scams is the use of stolen identities. According to many conveyancing solicitors specialising in the field, the key context for the problem was the dash into deregulation and e-commerce at ...

Years ago, a completion of a conveyancing transaction would take place in person with the buyer’s solicitor visiting the seller’s solicitor’s office to inspect all the documents before releasing the purchase monies. These days, however, provided the transaction is not complicated, completion takes place through the post. Occasionally, problems may arise on completion and completion is delayed as a result or the transaction can even fail to complete entirely. The contract will specify the date the purchase conveyancing transaction is due to complete. This date is agreed upon by the parties during exchange of contracts. The Standard Conditions of Sale , currently the 4th edition, provide for what happens if completion is delayed or if the transaction fails to complete at all. If for some reason the Buyer is unable to complete on time his Solicitor should notify the Seller’s Solicitor as soon as possible. The Seller’s Solicitor will serve a ‘Notice to Complete’ on the Buyer’s Solicit...

Bank of China has this week become a member of the CML setting out their conveyancing requirements through publishing their Part II requirements. For those not familiar with the CML Lenders Handbook , I should explain that The Lenders' Handbook provides comprehensive instructions for conveyancers acting on behalf of lenders in residential conveyancing transactions. Part II details each lender's specific requirements. At first glance there is nothing too unusual in the Bank of China’s Part IIs. However I remain perplexed by Section. One of the Part II questions is “Contact details if you need to be notified when the seller does not have legal representation”. Bank of China's response is : We do not allow licensed conveyancers to act for the Bank. Therefore, this section in n/a. Can anybody please translate this for me ?

The well timed The Flood Risk Regulations 2009 (FRR 2009) will come into force next week on the 10 December 2009. The FRR 2009 transpose Directive 2007/60/EC on the assessment and management of flood risks (the Floods Directive) into law in England and Wales. The Regulations require lead local flood authorities to, amongst other things, prepare preliminary flood assessment reports, identify flood risk areas, prepare flood hazard and risk maps and prepare flood risk management plans in relation to each flood risk area. It will be interesting to see whether as a result of legislation and greater information conveyancing lawyers being required to carry our further checks. I am anticipating that at some point within the next couple of years the CML Lenders Handbook will be developed to include a requirement for further investigation into flood risk.