tm blog

We continue to receive positive feedback from users of our online ordering platform who appreciate the functionality and ease of use of this platform. The website enables users to create and manage cases, instruct searches, track the progress of these instructions and access all completed searches. The platform includes an archiving facility that stores all completed reports for up to 12 months.

We believe a number of features of the platform are worth highlighting.

• Each user has their own unique Login credentials to enable them to access their personal cases and associated instructions. The platform also allows users to toggle between their own personal cases and all cases of the firm using the My Cases/All Cases functionality.

• Our platform includes a unique integration with the Coal Authority. When a case is instructed using the postcode look up feature, the system automatically creates a case plan of the property and compares this plan against the Coal Authority’s mapping layer. The platform will provide a search alert if this Coal Authority data identifies that the property is in a historic coal mining area.

• All reports including Continuation Legal Reports may be ordered in advance of their required date using the intuitive calendar function. Customer feedback indicates that this enables settlement workflow to be organised in the most time-efficient manner.

• When instructing searches for a case, the platform includes a Distribution List functionality that enables users to specify that completed searches should be emailed to up to six individuals. This is a helpful feature when multiple staff may be involved in a transaction – including for absence cover.

• The platform allows users to specify if they wish to receive individual search results as they become available, or to receive all results at the same time in a single “bundle” email.

A relatively new function within Property Searches Scotland – some would say one of our best kept secrets – is our Plans department.

Customer feedback provided through recent surveys indicated that an extension to our service to provide assistance to customers when dealing with complex plans matters would be very welcome.

We are nothing if not responsive to customer feedback, and we quickly identified and recruited an experienced Senior Plans Officer from Registers of Scotland with the remit to create a new team to provide customers with this service.

Since joining the business in 2019, our new Plans department led by Gavin Glover have assisted many customers with a variety of complex enquiries relating to interpretation and submission of plans.

A typical case for our Plans department will be a query in respect of a plan to be submitted to the Keeper. Who better to provide advice on the criteria that will be applied than an experienced individual that used to perform that role at Registers of Scotland?

When an instruction is received, it is allocated to a member of the team who will provide a bespoke and personalised service according to your specific requirements. The team will provide advice on the suitability of a plan or description for registration purposes – identifying and resolving any risks or concerns, including any conflicts with the cadastral map.

The team are also skilled in the preparation of Deed Plans and can assist with a variety of general enquiries relating to Plans Reports, Deed Plans, mapping and other registration matters.

This service continues to receive outstanding feedback from customers:

Elaine McKinnon, O'Hares Solicitors:

"I have required to use the Plans Service offered by Property Searches Scotland on numerous occasions and have found Gavin Glover to be nothing short of exceptional in his knowledge, understanding of Registers of Scotland’s requirements and also his attention to detail.  I recently had to use the Plans Service for the sale of a property in a rural location which was still recorded on the Sasine Register.  The actual property formed part of a larger estate title and there had been numerous parts sold off over the years and Gavin helped me piece together a plan like a jigsaw, ultimately ending up with a plan that accurately reflected the occupied extent, including common areas, garden ground, driveway and a random drying green situated nowhere near the actual property, with necessary servitude rights of access shown on the plan.  The end result was that the buyers obtained good title to a property with a deed plan that was spot on (the other only registered title on the land has a plan that does not even closely resemble the layout).  Great job done and happy clients!"

Gary Somers, MacPhee & Partners:

"I really appreciate the service provided by Gavin Glover of Property Searches Scotland.  His knowledge and experience of Land Registration and how the Land Register itself operates has been absolutely crucial in assisting me recently with a case involving relatively complex titles.  Gavin is very personable and has provided a high quality of service to my Firm, coming back to us on complex points quickly and with very detailed responses.  I would have absolutely no hesitation to recommend Gavin to any of my colleagues if they were dealing with similar issues."

Tracy Milligan, McCusker Cochrane & Gunn Solicitors: 

"I used Gavin Glover at Property Searches Scotland when, what I thought was going to be a standard Plans Enquiry, turned out to be problematic. The plans to the sasine deeds were of such poor quality that it was doubtful a clear plans report could be obtained. Gavin identified the problem before the request was submitted and provided a number of suggestions on how to solve matters and get the sale over the line. He was very helpful and obliging and, very importantly, pro-active in meeting the needs of the case. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him or his department."

A key element of our award-winning service is a willingness on the part of all members of the Property Searches Scotland team to do whatever it takes to ensure that customer requirements are fully satisfied.

As everyone operating in the Scottish property market will recognise, the second half of 2020 has been an incredibly busy period. The residential market has been particularly buoyant, with the latest data from Registers of Scotland indicating an increase of 17.8% in residential registrations in October 2020 against the previous year.

As you will all recognise, a significant number of consumers have a strong preference to move home at the end of a month – once monthly salaries have been received. In addition, October month end is a key date for these transactions to complete and householders to settle into their new home in time for the Christmas holidays – whether these are traditional, limited or even “digital” celebrations. 

We thought it would be interesting to share some statistics around activity levels at this time, together with the steps taken by our Titles team to ensure reports were returned promptly to enable transactions to complete as smoothly as possible.

• In the final week of October, week ending 30/10/2020, our Titles team published 50.1% more Continuation Legal Reports than in the corresponding week in 2019.

• On the final Thursday of October, i.e. 29/10/2020, our team published 62.7% more Continuation Legal Reports than on the corresponding day in 2019. This figure included circa. 50 urgent reports that were ordered on a same day basis.

• To support these exceptional order volumes, our entire Titles team had commenced working by 6am. All reports had been returned to customers by 1pm or within 30 minutes of our instruction for same day reports.

• On Friday 30/10/2020, when all Continuation Legal Reports are urgent and there really is no wriggle room, due to same day settlement, our Titles team published an incredible 93.8% more Continuation Legal Reports than on the corresponding day in 2019. Again, around 50 urgent reports were ordered.

• The entire Titles team had once again started working by 6am, and all reports had been published by 11am or within 30 minutes of our instruction for same day reports.

We could not be prouder of our entire team and the steps they are prepared to take to ensure our customers receive an unrivalled service. 

Here, Michael Tolland, Commercial Director- Scotland, reflects on the highs and lows of 2020 and what’s on the horizon for 2021: 

With 2020 drawing to a close and thoughts turning towards a very well-deserved festive break for all involved in the Scottish property market, the team at Property Searches Scotland thought it might be worth reflecting on this most challenging of years.

2020 started with a relative bang, with UK House Price Index Scotland data suggesting that the residential property market increased by 5.2% in January/February 2020 compared with the previous year.

And then along came Covid…

The entire country entered lockdown on 23rd March, with the residential property market effectively mothballed for a period of three months due to restrictions on completing transactions unless deemed ‘reasonably necessary’.

Turning again to UK House Price Index Scotland data for residential properties, this indicates that completions in 2020 as a proportion of the figures for 2019 were March – 74.9%; April – 34.2%; May 34.4% and June 42.9%.

Of course, another feature of the spring lockdown was the requirement for all businesses to migrate to home working. This was not without its challenges, however it is our assessment that most firms transitioned through this stage relatively successfully with home working, at least on a part-time basis. Although, for those staff that would prefer it, it’s likely to be a feature of working practices in the future. 

The hope is that this development will be positive for work life balance and the environment, although what it will mean in the longer run for town and city centres, particularly the hospitality and commercial property sectors, has yet to be realised.

And then the summer months and the second half of the year…

The residential property market effectively reopened on 29th June – who knew this was also the first day of the Scottish autumn, as the unseasonably warm and dry weather enjoyed during much of lockdown came to a rather abrupt end!

Estate agents and surveyors immediately reported a substantial increase in demand in early July and, from our perspective as a leading search company with a residential market share upwards of 30%, this translated to a steep and sustained increase in new multisearch instructions from week 28 commencing 6th July 2020, right through to the current time. 

This unprecedently busy period, particularly following the depressed market during Q2 2020 with many employed in the sector having been furloughed, has placed huge demand on the entire sector. 

Our understanding, and this is informed by conversations with our customers, is that firms are generally coping well with these fresh challenges. Transactions are largely completing on schedule and, again from our perspective, the proportion of cases that result in a request for a second or further Continuation Legal Report or a ‘No Sale No Fee’ credit has reduced significantly compared to earlier in the year.

And so to 2021…

Given everything we have faced during 2020, it is impossible not to look forward to 2021 with a significant degree of optimism.

Recent vaccine news has been very positive, and at the time of writing a vaccination programme has commenced with our most vulnerable fellow citizens starting to be vaccinated.

New working practices have been established, with the daily commute likely to be a thing of the past and work life balance hopefully being enhanced as a result.

Firms generally have embraced technology – willingly or otherwise as a result of the transition to remote working – and will be starting to reap the benefit of this investment through enhanced operating efficiencies and improved sharing of data. This is certainly a theme that Property Searches Scotland will be looking to develop during 2021 through additional case management systems integrations and further enhancements to our online ordering platform.

To close, on behalf of everyone at Property Searches Scotland I would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and best wishes for a happy, safe and healthy new year. Due to continuing travel restrictions we are unfortunately not going to be able to visit customers with our customary Christmas cheer this year, however we have made a generous contribution to the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice on behalf of all staff and customers of the business.

We have been working hard in the background to ensure ancillary searches remain available for your transactions into the new year and beyond. To enable us to maintain this service our partners in the supply chain will be applying a small price increase of £5 plus VAT, effective 4th January 2021 to each of the searches listed below. 

The changes will appear in the platform and will be applied to your order automatically.

Cable and Wireless (CableWir)

Canals & River Trust (BWB)

Canals & River Trust Residential (BWBR)

Civil Aviation ( CivAvi)

Colt (Telecoms search) (COLT)

Conveyancing Only Company Search (ConvComp)

Forestry Commission (ForCom)

Highways Agency (roads managed by) England only (Highways)

London Underground (Commercial) (LTCom)

London Underground (Residential) (LTRes)

Mail Rail (MailRail)

National Grid (Electric Infrastructure) (Natgrid)

National Grid Gas (Gas Infrastructure) (Transco)

Port of London Authority (PLA)

Radon Advisory (RadonAdv)

Radon Risk (RadonRis)

Regional Electricity Company ( RegElec)

Virgin Media (NTL)

If you have any questions, our Client Support team will be happy to hear from you:

Client Support Team: 0800 840 5571 | helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

tmgroup, the leading independent provider of property searches and data, alongside sales progression tool mio, part of the tmgroup family, are excited to invite property professionals to share their thoughts on the successes and challenges of 2020, and what may lie ahead for 2021. What’s more, they are giving away 60 gifts in an elaborate prize draw for those who provide their feedback – including family tickets to “The Making of Harry Potter” Warner Brothers Studio Tour, and more!

For your chance to win, simply get involved before 5th January 2021.

Capturing a snapshot of the property industry at the end of an extraordinary year

Why now? As the year comes to a close and the industry begins to brace itself for the challenges of 2021, tmgroup will be capturing a snapshot in time of these unparalleled events. Open to all parties connected across the property transaction, this is an opportunity for industry representatives to not only share their views, but benefit from a full-market picture of how 2020 has shaped the property transaction – for better or for worse. By providing a clear understanding of the challenges and successes of 2020, as well as predictions for the coming months, tmgroup and mio hope to provide useful insights into how the industry has and will continue to evolve in these unprecedented times. 

Joe Pepper, CEO at tmgroup comments:

“Change is inevitable, as they say, however the rate and speed of change this year has been unprecedented, as the pandemic has forced everyone to work differently – practically overnight. Whilst this has been challenging, to say the least, it’s also accelerated the adoption of trends that were already emerging in the property industry, which I believe have and will continue to bring long term benefits. I’m looking forward to seeing what the market has to say as we reflect on this extraordinary year.”

£100 John Lewis vouchers, Hotel Chocolat Hampers, and more

To gather these insights, estate agents, residential and commercial property lawyers, surveyors, developers, and more, are being invited to share the positives of the pandemic, as well as how their businesses have been affected. Looking forward, they’ll also reveal what they think the market will look like in 2021, and what the impact of Brexit might be. 

To say a massive thank you to everyone who takes part, tmgroup and mio will be entering all participants into a free prize draw for a chance to win one of 60 amazing prizes – including family tickets to “The Making of Harry Potter” Warner Brothers Studio Tour, £100 of John Lewis Vouchers, Hotel Chocolat Hampers, and £10 Love2shop Vouchers. 

Click here to take part before 10.30am on 5th January 2021. Findings will be published shortly after. Winners will be drawn and notified within 28 days of the survey closing. Good luck!

On 4th November 2020, the Women in Residential Property network met for yet another engaging industry discussion; this time, about the future of the high street. Hosted by WiRP Chair Emma Vigus (also MD of mio), guest speakers Damian Sumner, Partner at Brasier Freeth, and Trevor Watson, Director at Davis Coffer Lyons, shared their first-hand experiences of how the high street is adapting to the challenges of a changing market. 

The session was run in support of Ella’s, a charity which supports women who have been the victims of trafficking and sexual slavery.

The changes we’re seeing haven’t sprung up overnight  

The high street continues to face massive challenges in dealing with an increasing amount of surplus space owing to businesses closing their doors due to administration; move online or to out-of-town retail parks.  Shoppers are increasingly drawn to the convenience of online shopping particularly in the face of rising car parking charges and localised congestion. The recent pandemic has only exacerbated these issues, as Damian Sumner comments: “It’s important to remember that the changes we’re seeing haven’t sprung up overnight because of coronavirus. We’ve been seeing change on the high street for a long time, it’s just that the current situation has dramatically accelerated this.”

The concept of the high street is tightly woven into the social fabric of our society 

“Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water” is an adage pertinent to the future of the high street. The concept of the high street can’t simply be discarded, as it is tightly woven into the social fabric of our society – from the commercial property investments held in our pension funds, to playing an important role in our sense of community and well-being. 

There is also a surprising link between physical space and online shopping, which continues to make high street store fronts a valuable asset for retailers – albeit not all of them. Beyond the more obvious click and collect services, brand awareness and PR, research has shown that if retailers don’t have physical space in a particular region, their online business suffers in those areas. 

Mixed use spaces to live, work, and play will become increasingly important

Our high streets will continue to exist, just not as we know them, as Trevor Watson comments “The death of the high street is exaggerated. Mankind has had city centres for generations, and they will continue to be places for people to meet. However, we will see a shift away from tangible retail usage to other activities such as hospitality, members clubs, coffee shops and experiential leisure.”

Mixed use spaces to live, work, and play will become increasingly important to the survival of the high street – but collaboration will be fundamental to how well these spaces serve their communities. Unfortunately, there have been cases where attempts at creating mixed use spaces have favoured housing needs over those of commercial occupiers, and this has resulted in spaces which aren’t viable for retail and hospitality businesses. To truly succeed, there needs to be an element of localised collaboration that brings various professionals together – including developers and surveyors – to ensure the emerging spaces are truly mixed use and work effectively for everyone. 

Some towns and cities are proactively adapting to the changing demands of the community.  For example, residents in Basildon and Southampton will see a steady reduction in the amount of retail space, in favour of creating more housing.  This is the approach more towns and cities need to adopt, to ensure their high streets change with the times – and don’t disappear. 

We’re seeing a shake-up in how space is made available to retailers

It’s not just about the use of the space either, it comes down to how units are priced, the length of leases available, and how units are fitted out and how adaptable the spaces are.  Many landlords have had to rethink how they offer their space to their potential clients in order to remain competitive, as Trevor Watson comments, “Opportunities for pop ups now are huge, and I believe that pop-ups with rents based on turnover will be with us longer term. We’re also seeing more demand for fitted or partially fitted units, which are quick and easy to move into and repurpose, as the renting model shifts towards a more flexible approach. However, that doesn’t mean that fixed rents will disappear, as they are tightly linked to the investment community, and operators would prefer to pay a fixed rent if they are confident in their revenue stream and have a  strong product and a good brand.”

There continues to be winners and losers in the ever-changing face of the high street

Conditions remain tough on the high street. There is no telling when social distancing measures will be revoked, or if the country will face a third lockdown. Beyond this, many retailers are also bracing themselves for the impact of Brexit and the removal of the rent moratorium, where no doubt some landlords will be calling in back payments and forcing many businesses to make tough decisions to ensure their survival. 

However, as with all change, there’s opportunities too. Even in the midst of the pandemic, there are still “winners”. Damian Sumner highlighted several retailers who have performed strongly throughout the last 6 months.  These included retailers in the DIY and home interiors sector who’ve benefited from high demand as homeowners used lock-down to improve their homes and casual wear brands who’ve cashed in on the declining demand for formal wear.  Damian also highlighted those retails who have a diversified presence across the high street, out of town retail parks and garage forecourts, Costa Coffee being a great example. 

We’re also seeing a shift towards localisation and more affordable rents, as Damian Sumner comments: “We will see a re-basing of rents because of the collateral damage brought about by the pandemic and this will enable a new era of affordability which will create a great opportunity for businesses, who were previously priced out, to return to the high street”. 

Trevor Watson highlighted regional variations in high street performance, “Retailers who’ve been heavily reliant on commuter trading are going to see a very slow recovery, and perhaps never return to ‘normal’ based on the growing likelihood that people will commute just 3 days a week – instead of 5 – as things eventually normalise. By contrast, leisure travel will bounce back very quickly, and places such as the West End will recover far quicker. Equally, we’re seeing trends in the London ‘villages’, such as Clapham, being mobbed with consumers taking advantage of local hospitality offerings. In these areas in particular, high street rental rates are standing their ground and we’re seeing very little reduction in cost.” 

The future is uncertain, but not as bleak as mainstream media outlets would have you believe, and once the dust settles, there will very likely be a yearning of people wanting to get back onto the high street – whatever shape that may take.  

Terrafirma are making price changes to their CON29M, Ground Report and Coal Extra report – effective from 1st January 2021. 

The changes are summarised in the table below - for 0-15 ha:

If you have any questions, please get in touch with your Client Relationship Manager, or our Client Services team on  0800 840 5571 or helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

Property Searches Scotland, part of the tmgroup family, are pleased to announce that they have won ‘Support Team of the Year’ at the 17th Annual Scottish Legal Awards; recognising the best performing individuals, teams and firms in the Scottish legal profession. 

Over 250 guests watched the national awards celebration online, after the live event was cancelled due to the pandemic, so the Property Searches Scotland team were in good company as 18 awards were presented to high-achieving individuals and teams. These included; the highly regarded Lawyer of the Year Award being presented to Iain Smith of Keegan Smith; Aegon Asset Management (formerly Kames Capital) taking home the award for In House Team of the Year; and MacRoberts collecting the award for Corporate and Commercial Team of the Year. 

Michael Tolland, Commercial Director of Property Searches Scotland commented; “We are absolutely delighted to receive this prestigious award. One of our core principles since our launch in 2012 has been to seek to provide our customers with the most exceptional service possible. This has been evidenced by our outstanding customer retention rates and our recurring annual growth in market share. We are thrilled that this success has now been formally recognised through this award. This award would not have been possible without the diligence and professionalism of the entire Property Searches Scotland team, and the support of our valued customers, and we are proud to receive this accolade on their behalf.”

The awards were presided over by a large expert judging panel, chaired by Shonaig Macpherson, and she commented; “It’s testament to the high regard in which these awards are held, that again this year there has been a record-breaking number of entries. Thank you to all the finalists for their forbearance and understanding as we present these awards after a necessary delay in the schedule this year. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to our sponsors whose continuous support in this new digital format has been very much welcomed.”

The awards also raised funds for two charities, It’s Good 2 Give and LawScot Foundation.

For more information about Property Searches Scotland click here. You can also find out more about the Scottish Legal Awards and see the full list of winners here. 

In a recent tm:tv session, tmgroup’s CEO Joe Pepper explored how and why the residential property market continues to be a money laundering target. Joined by Simon Wilkinson, Board Member of Propertymark (NAEA), Olly Thornton-Berry, Co-Founder & MD of Thirdfort Limited, James Liffen, Partner and Head of Mishcon de Reya's Residential Property team, and Andrew Kimpton, Mortgage & Protection Adviser, Just Mortgages, the panel discussed how issues surrounding inconsistency, lack of regulation, and reliance on paper-based processes need to be addressed to help the industry move forward. You can watch the full session here.

£4.5 billion is laundered through residential property every year

Money laundering continues to be a huge challenge, with £4.5 billion of “dirty money” estimated to have gone through the residential property last year, and some believing the actual figure is closer to £30 billion. Why is this such a problem? Looking at the bigger picture, money laundering activity typically passes funds to terrorist groups, drug dealers, and other unsavoury characters. Yet there are also terrifying, direct consequences for property professionals too, with jail time and unlimited fines at stake for those (even unintentionally) finding themselves involved in such activity. 

However, we’re beginning to see changes for the better, as Simon Wilkinson, Owner of the Wilkinson Partnership and Board Member of Propertymark (NAEA) comments:

“Beyond the introduction of the 5th and 6th AML Directives, heavy fines and high profile cases have come into play. HMRC have also been doing more audits over the last few years, so property professionals are taking AML practices far more seriously. Unfortunately, we’re still seeing a handful of ‘rogue’ agents not following proper practices and leaving themselves open to sanctions, which will be a question of when they get prosecuted – not if.”

Manual processes leave gaping holes for criminals to take advantage of 

Why is residential property so attractive to money launderers? Quite simply, it enables a quick and easy way to “clean” hundreds of thousands of pounds in a single transaction. Coupled with many law firms, estate agents, and mortgage brokers still using older, manual methods to complete AML due diligence, this provides huge motivation for criminals to develop new and increasingly sophisticated methods to outsmart “the human eye”. 

In a world where fake bank statements, ID documents and utility bills can be bought online for as little as £5, the industry needs to take a long hard look at how it is practicing AML due diligence, as Simon Wilkinson, Board Member of Propertymark (NAEA) continues:

“Part of the problem is the lack of regulation across the industry resulting in poor practices being rife. This is evident in the latest research from the SLC and SRA as, at the end of last year, a series of random surveys from the SLC found that two-thirds of firms were non-compliant with their AML rules, whilst the SRA found that 65% were just using a boilerplate template for their AML due diligence.” 

Artificial Intelligence and facial recognition technology can help detect fraud

Fortunately, innovative technology providers are rising to the challenge and solutions are now available that use Artificial Intelligence, facial recognition technology, and more, to verify identity documents and source of funds – saving time and reducing risk, as Olly Thornton-Berry, Co-Founder & MD of Thirdfort Limited comments:

“It’s very easy for a fraudster to change an ID to a new address to outsmart a simple database check. However, when this is layered with Artificial Intelligence that can detect whether a document is real or fake, and facial recognition technology to prove that an individual is who they say they are, it suddenly becomes a lot harder for criminals to succeed.”

The pandemic-led surge in remote-working practices has helped to boost the adoption rates of technology-led AML checks too, as James Liffen, Partner and Head of Mishcon de Reya's Residential Property team comments:

“Since lockdown began, we’ve had to bring in practices we didn’t even think were available, such as companies doing online verification checks for us. While we were always very thorough and comfortable we were doing a good job, digital solutions now offer us that extra layer of protection. It’s proved a fantastic opportunity to see how technology will be vital moving forward. Even when we go back to the office, we’ll be using it.” 

Digital collaboration will be key to stamping out money laundering

Moving forward, it’s clear the time has come for property professionals to “go digital” in order to better protect their businesses and their clients from money laundering activity, and put a stop on the billions of pounds of “dirty money” flowing through the residential property market each year. As consumers become increasingly tech-savvy, it’s equally important that the industry moves away from the manual time-consuming processes and duplication of effort we are currently seeing. 

The industry also needs to consider practical solutions as to how multiple providers can all work together to deliver a joined up, time-saving and secure solution to everyone involved, as Andrew Kimpton, Mortgage & Protection Adviser, Just Mortgages comments: 

“As more solutions come to market, I think we’ll need to adopt a system similar to how we all currently work with credit reference agencies, allowing various property professionals to work with their choice of provider, but still receive the same information.” 

Individual providers also need to consider how they communicate and collaborate with industry partners to enable this, as Joe Pepper, CEO at tmgroup comments: 

“Collaboration across the industry is key to success and building solutions with open APIs will help to facilitate this, so we are increasingly able to join solutions together to not only make things better for property professionals and consumers, but make it harder for criminals to succeed.”

Want to find out more? Watch the full “Dirty Money in the Property Market” tm:tv session here.