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If we cast our minds back to last winter, which was the wettest in 250 years, the scale of the flooding that was suffered and the resultant damage can still be seen. According to the Environment Agency (EA) 7,000 households, along with a similar number of commercial and industrial premises, were flooded and over 150 severe flood warnings were issued. The Thames Barrier was raised nearly 50 times during the winter and, according to the National Farmers Union, 49,000 hectares of agricultural land was flooded which is very similar to the losses experienced in 2012.

Convey Law

"Convey Law stood out as a conveyancer which is doing things differently - no mean feat in such a compliant and regulated industry." - Read more

Image: £2.3bn worth of investment into flood defences has been promised as part of the National Infrastructure Plan 2014.

With the recent Government announcement on infrastructure spending in the Autumn Statement, the discussion about these projects has been added to the national agenda. It would seem that one of the cornerstones of the Government's plan for economic recovery are these large projects but what of the impact that they can have on specific areas, home owners and house buyers?

In a recent poll conducted by leading property data and service provider TM Group, it was revealed that almost half of the conveyancers polled did not realise how serious a client’s flood risk could be.

Flooding is the biggest natural threat that the UK faces and, in England alone, more than 5 million properties are at risk, equivalent to nearly 1 in 6.

However, despite most environmental property searches containing an indication of a property’s likely risk of flooding, many conveyancers are still unaware of the likelihood of their client’s property flooding.

Image copyright altogetherfool

The Chancellor's Autumn Statement announced a major reform of SDLT for residential property transactions. With effect from 4 December, the structure, rates and thresholds are being changed to deliver a more efficient and fairer system. 

The new rates, which apply where purchases are completed on or after 4 December 2014, are set out below.  Each new SDLT rate will only be payable on the portion of the property value which falls within each band (rather than tax being due at one rate on the entire property value). 

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has announced the most substantial revisions to the lender handbook in more than a decade.

33 sections of part 1 of the handbook (accounting for more than 10%) will see revisions - the most since the second edition of the handbook was launched in 2002.

In turn, the CML has instructed all mortgage lenders to update their specific requirements that form the part 2s and have promised that these changes will be available through their website from 1st December 2014.

The number of bogus law firms reported to the SRA over the past few years has increased exponentially.

So much so, in fact, that the SRA saw fit to reserve special mention for the problem in their recent update to the risk outlook 2014 - and yet, many law firms remain blind to it.

Proximity to London's sprawling underground rail network can be a real and serious problem for homebuyers. Not only can it impose planning restrictions on a property, but it can also cause vibrations and noise pollution -- and even lead to subsidence.

Law firms are still failing to capitalise on telephone enquiries to convert lucrative new business, according to research.

“Oh you want a quote do you … would you prefer Byron or Shakespeare?”

Not a line from a television show or a film, this was a genuine response from a legal professional who was answering a call made by a potential client, exposed in a study designed to help law firms turn telephone enquiries into profitable business.

Each month, we run a poll on opinions and trends which help serve as a barometer for the industry and publish the results in our newsletter. November's question asks "what does '1 in 75 year chance of flooding' actually mean?"

Flooding is the biggest natural threat that the UK faces and, in England alone, more than 5 million properties are at risk, equivalent to nearly 1 in 6. When assessing the various environmental risks to your clients' property, it is therefore wise to check for potential threat of flooding. But can you tell us...

The poll has now closed, to read the results please click here.