NEWSbeat
agent £25,000 IT SYSTEMS
Free software trial saves
Bristol-based DJ Foley responded to a special promotion offered last year by the software specialists Landmark
Systems. DJ Foley, a commercial property consultancy completed a headline compatibility assessment before being offered a complimentary installation of the KEY Property & KEY Accounts portfolio management system with the Client Accounting Module.
In addition to saving an estimated £25,000 in time and labour costs, the system has helped the consultancy to become fully compliant with Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) client- accounting regulations. Director David Foley said,
“We responded to the offer not knowing quite what to expect but realising that better accounts and business management control was vital to our continued development. “The installation has not been without its challenges but we are extremely pleased with the results, which have seen us deliver significant savings at the same time as meeting all of the RICS good practice requirements.” Nigel Parsons (pictured), MD of Landmark Systems added, “The prospect of overhauling accounting systems can sometimes seem daunting but Landmark’s KEY software has been specifically designed to meet the needs of property and estates professionals. “The system is flexible enough to be shaped to fit different business needs but it is also robust enough to deliver real efficiency gains – particularly in terms of reducing duplication.”
www.landmarksystems.co.uk
TAXATION Chancellor’s £1bn “windfall” from Stamp Duty
Analysis of latest figures shows the Government received £5,960m from Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in 2010/111; a
22 per cent increase from £4,885m in 2009/10, despite an ailing property market. The figures show that SDLT receipts rose last year in all regions of the UK, apart from Northern
CONVEYANCING HSBC back down on conveyancing
Home buyers who use HSBC to fund their property purchase will soon be able to use a much wider range of solicitors
after the bank agreed to expand the panel of law firms which are able to carry out conveyancing for them.
The bank had previously
restricted borrowers to using a solicitor from a panel of just 43 conveyancing firms across England and Wales.
Now HSBC has announced it will widen its panel to include law firms which carry the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation. This will give homebuyers who use HSBC a much wider choice of some 1,419 firms who carry this standard, in addition to the original 43 panel members. The Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) was introduced to enable movers to easily identify the best property solicitors in their local area, so that they can be assured of an excellent level of service and advice when carrying out their sale or purchase. Stephensons Solicitors LLP was among the first 500 firms to successfully secure the accreditation. Tom Bridge, managing partner of the Residential Property department
Stephensons, said, “This decision to expand the panel comes after a four month campaign by firms like Stephensons, organisations such as The Bold Group and lobbying by the Law Society. Rob Hailstone, founder of the
Bold Legal Group is equally pleased, “HSBC’s decision marks a positive step in our campaign and has been received largely positively by Bold Legal Group members. “Over the past few months, the
Bold Legal Group and others have campaigned relentlessly against the draconian changes introduced by HSBC in January. Over recent months we took the step to launch an HM Government E-Petition against the changes, which to date has received over 2,000 signatures. In addition, warning posters and leaflets were displayed by our members, MPs were harangued, HSBC bank accounts were closed and client and lawyer experiences were relayed in great detail to HSBC.
“This news has been welcomed
by most conveyancing solicitors, in some cases with a few provisos; the Law Society must not allow lenders to exert too much pressure on the future development of the CQS and it should consider how complex and restrictive completing the CQS form is for larger firms. What is of the utmost importance now is getting as many lenders as possible to agree to a uniform system or process. The public, lawyers, estate agents and others are fed up with the current scattergun approach and it is time for change.”
Ireland (static at £40m), at a time when there was almost half the number of property transactions as pre-recession.
The highest increase was in the
East Midlands, at 33.3 per cent (to £240m) with 32 per cent in Scotland (to £330m) and 27.7 per cent in London (to £1,980m). These figures cover the period before the end to the SDLT holiday for First Time Buyers. Wendy Evans-Scott (pictured),
President of the NAEA, said change is needed, “The Government’s latest figures show
it has received a windfall of £1bn on property transactions, at the same time as thousands of consumers are struggling to afford even the deposit for a home. “Clearly, the Chancellor can
afford to reinstate the First Time Buyer ‘holiday’ and help boost this vital part of the market, instead of taking the 22 per cent increase in income from this unfair tax. “The fact that SDLT is fluctuating regardless of the movement in the housing market shows it is an outdated tax that needs urgent reform.”
MORTGAGES
Brokers beware mortgage fraud
John Malone of Sesame Bankhall Group spoke at the Mortgage Business Expo in Manchester to spell out the need for greater vigilance by brokers when it comes to determining potential cases of mortgage fraud. Malone said the “level of
mortgage fraud has remained relatively static in the last 12 months” however a variety of sectors were more prone to fraudulent activity than others. These sectors generally involved so-called ‘dabbler’ brokers and were more likely to be in buy-to-let, equity release and bridging finance. “There is a big problem with buy-to-let and this is where most of the fraudulent activity is taking place.” He also suggested that lenders admitted to him that they had more of a problem with fraud in their branches rather than via intermediary business, “In some respect they have taken their eye off the ball with their own branches and call centres. However, it is so difficult to judge what is a genuine and what is a fake, document.” He recounted a recent
conversation with a lender on the scale of the problem. “I met a lender who gets 1,500 applications per week and they believe 12 to 15 per cent are fraudulent... and most of them are in the buy-to-let market.”
PROPERTYdrum JULY 2012 11
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