The homes of several lawyers were searched on Saturday, sources said yesterday, as part of an investigation into an alleged criminal ring that illegally obtained the rights to dozens of plots of land and buildings that were due to be auctioned.
The ring is alleged to consist of up to 50 people, including judges, civil engineers and land registry employees. It is thought that the group’s activity cost the state millions of euros in lost earnings from property tax.
It appears that the group would lay claim to real estate that was due to be auctioned by banks to recover debts owed by its owners. According to sources, members of the group would either present forged papers showing they also had a legal right to the property or they would produce documents showing that they were owed more than the banks and therefore had first rights on the land or buildings.
It is believed that to help them execute the scam, the ring set up some 200 companies to serve as fronts. It is not yet clear how many properties they were able to obtain in this manner. Notes recovered from the lawyers’ homes over the weekend suggest that certain judges were either targeted by the gang or were in on the scam.
The probe, which has been carried out with the help of the police and the National Intelligence Service, began last year and is due to be wrapped up soon.
The government plans to increase the cost of buying a home by raising Land Registry fees in England and Wales.
Under yesterday’s proposals, fees for homes up to £50,000 would rise £10 to £50; a £150,000 property would be £50 higher at £200; and £1m-plus places would soar £220 to £920.
The housing slump has seen the Registry fall £148million into the red, the first annual loss in its 147-year history.
Searches and copies of documents would also cost more from July 6.
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Hi to anybody that has been reading this!
I am sorry that there have been no posts for ages but a lot has been happening behind the scenes which i shall reveal when the blog gets up and running again next week.
House prices fell by 2.2% in October, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index.
House prices in October were 13.7% lower on an annual basis. The UK average price has returned to the level in October 2005 (£168,031).
House price to earnings ratio – a key affordability measure – is improving significantly. The house price to average earnings ratio has fallen by 16% from a peak of 5.84 in July 2007 to 4.92 in August 2008. This is the first time that the ratio has been below 5.0 for four and a half years (4.99 in February 2004). Halifax expects a further improvement in the ratio as prices continue to soften. The long-term average is 4.0.
The UK average house price is 22% higher than five years ago. The average price stood at £138,208 in October 2003; nearly £30,000 lower than today.
Housing market activity shows signs of stabilising. The number of mortgages approved to finance house purchase was broadly unchanged in September for a third successive month, at a seasonally adjusted 33,000 compared to 32,000 in August. Approvals in 2008 Quarter 3, however, were 25% lower than in 2008 Quarter 2.
Martin Ellis, chief economist, said: “House prices declined by 2.2% in October. Housing market conditions remain challenging in the face of the significant pressures on householders’ incomes and the reduction in the availability of mortgage finance since last summer.
“But housing affordability is improving significantly. The house price to average earnings ratio has fallen below 5.0 for the first time for four and a half years. We expect a further improvement in the ratio over the coming months.”
The Land Registry has revealed annual house prices in England and Wales have fallen 8%, while it posted a monthly fall of 2.2% in September.
This takes the average property to £168,814, according to the Land Registry.
The biggest monthly fall was noted in Wales, where house prices declined by 5.5% last month.
However, London proved the most resilient as prices were down by 6.1% over the year, taking the average property price to £328,927.
Meanwhile, Hartlepool experienced a 4.7% increase over the year, taking the average property to £115,018.
Furthermore, the Land Registry said the number of property sales fell to 58,000 between April and July, compared with 111,000 for the same period in 2007.
The data is regarded as the most reliable house price indicator as it is based on completed property transactions.
According to Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global Insight, it seems highly likely that house prices have further to fall, particularly as the fundamentals continue to be largely stacked against the housing market.
Reports over the last week are mixed as to how much property prices will fall with economic forecasting agency, Capital Economics, predicting that house prices will fall 35% by next autumn, from their peak of last summer.
Meanwhile, Knight Frank estate agents said house prices in the UK will fall 30% from their high of summer 2007 and fall to levels seen in September 2003.
Yesterday, however, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has predicted that house prices will fall in value by 25% from their peak. The organisation believes that house prices will not recover to the levels they peaked at in 2007 until 2013.
U.K. house prices fell 4.6 percent in August from a year earlier, the most since at least 2000, the Land Registry said today.
From July, the average home value declined 1.9 percent, the registry, which records all property transactions in England and Wales, said in a report in London today. Both readings are the biggest since the Land Registry’s records started in April 2000, the report said.
The declines leave the average cost of a home at 174,493 pounds
Dutch house prices have risen in 2008 says Land registry
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Solicitor accused of forging land registry documents
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