Category: CQS Policy Templates
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HSBC Stops Lending on Leaseholds with Onerous Ground Rents
HSBC have become the latest lender to change their CML Handbook instructions to lawyers in relation to ground rents. Policy 5.14.9 of HSBCs CML Handbook Part 2 now reads We will not provide residential or Buy to Let Mortgages in the following circumstances: • The property is subject to an onerous Lease clause regarding an…
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The Conveyancing Checklist – The Sharpest Tool in the Box
One reason not to use the latest legal technologies reducing conveyancing risk is that it potentially lulls the lawyer into a false sense of security. Lexsure’s intelligent checklist system COMPLETIONmonitor is sometimes met by such an objection. The phenomenon known as ‘inattentional blindness’ is real. This is when you ask people to look for something…
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Conveyancing: Sorting by Price
Sorting by price is the dominant way conveyancing online now happens with most consumers picking the lowest advertised price. If you think I am wrong, ask those firms who are the most expensive on comparison sites how much business they win compared to those publishing lowest fees. Just like cheapest airline ticket or cheapest insurance…
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Ransomware: Lessons for Conveyancers
The recent cyber attack on the NHS is a stark warning to a conveyancing industry targeted and vulnerable to cyber crime. Imagine the scenario..It’s 7 p.m. on a Friday. You are about to finish a report on title due the next day when a message pops up on your laptop. It informs you that a…
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Nationwide Building Society Sets Out New Ground Rent,Event Fees and Lease Length Policy
Following it’s announcement earlier this week to make changes to their lending requirements for new build properties the lender has now updated their CML Part 2 instructions. Sections 5.14.1 and 5.14.9 now have the following paragraph added: NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions but does not apply to Shared Ownership) The following are not acceptable:…
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AmTrust Extends Rewards for Risk Management to Licenced Conveyancers
‘A’ rated insurance company AmTrust Europe Limited have extended their ground breaking agreement with legal software house Lexsure that links the use of risk mitigation software with lower expenditure on professional indemnity (PI) premiums for licensed conveyancers, a move that could be worth thousands of pounds for some conveyancing practices on the JLT/CLC Scheme. Professional…
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Conveyancers: Are you a Tortoise or Hare?
Conveyancing in recent years puts a premium on speed: the sooner, the faster, the better. You only have to look at most law tech companies in the conveyancing space to see claims of generating ‘greater efficiency’ or claiming that their software ‘speeds up the process’. I recently attended a managing partners seminar where one of…
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CML Handbook – Staying on Top of Changes
All mainstream lenders provide their instructions to property lawyers via the CML Handbook or BSA mortgage instructions. Understanding a specific lender’s requirements and keeping up-to-date with changes can be a time-consuming manual process, particularly given that individual requirements can change on a daily basis. In not addressing or overlooking a lender’s requirements, a solicitor or…
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Reports on Title : How do You Find the Time?
Almost all conveyancing lawyers complain of not having enough hours in the day or being under significant time pressure. For many, there exists a feeling of being stretched or overworked. Few would challenge the sentiment that conveyancing has become more complex in the last twenty years. Simultaneously, the industry has witnessed an increased demand for…
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Will your Borrower Client's Lease Term Accord with CML Handbook Requirements?
Accord Buy to Let is the latest of a number of lenders who have changed their CML Handbook requirement relating to minimum unexpired lease terms (section 5.14.1). The new requirement reads : “85 years from the date of completion of the mortgage“. This replaces the old wording: “60 years from the date of the mortgage…