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Barclays Bank, Halifax, Lloyds Bank, Nationwide, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Yorkshire Building Society, and Skipton Building Society are just a handful of an increasing number of lenders now accepting Search Delay Insurance – according to the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook for Conveyancers, as of 22nd February 2021. 

The use of Search Delay Insurance is also permitted under CoPSO guidance; “where local authority delays mean search information cannot be obtained within the timeframe required by the conveyancer and their client”. By contrast, “‘No Search’ Insurance products which provide insurance as a substitute for definitive search information, not just as cover for any delay until the search information is available, are not compliant with the Search Code.”

This clarification is a welcomed relief to residential conveyancers, many of whom are now feeling the pressure to pull out all the stops to get their transactions over the line before the end of the Stamp Duty holiday on 31st March – even with the expected announcement of a 3 month extension being confirmed in the Spring Budget.

Where can I find Search Delay Insurance?

Offered by tmgroup, in partnership with legal indemnity provider CLS Property Insight, Search Delay Insurance is available to order now on tmconvey and tmconnect:

• A limit of indemnity up to £1 million

• A site size of up to 2 acres

• £19.50 inc. IPT 

The policy provides the insured party with financial cover in the event that an entry that would have been revealed in a delayed search leads to a loss under the terms of the policy. 

Areas of potential cover include loss of market value and professional and legal costs associated with a loss event – for both New Build and existing properties – in relation to the following searches; official Local Authority, drainage and water searches, coal mining and Q22 commons/green enquiry. PCCB regulated equivalent enquiries are also included under the policy cover. 

For more information and to see a sample policy, please contact your Client Relationship Manager. 

Residential conveyancers and estate agents both anticipate the Stamp Duty holiday extension verdict to have a significantly greater impact on their role in 2021 than either the COVID-19 vaccination programme or Brexit – according to the findings of the ‘Thriving in a Pandemic’ report published by tmgroup and mio earlier this month. The survey of over 600 property professionals also revealed anxiety around an increased number of broken chains and fall-throughs this year.

These concerns were echoed in the verbatim comments captured within the survey, including:

• “Without an extension of the Stamp duty holiday or a revision of the rates, the pressure on conveyancers will continue. I worry how much the conveyancers can deal with.” (Residential Conveyancer)

• “If the March deadline is not extended, I would imagine we’ll see a higher fall through rate. I have spoken with a fair few clients who are only moving to take advantage of the freeze on SDLT.” (Estate Agent)

• “If the Stamp Duty holiday is not extended or eased properly then it’s going to fall off a cliff.” (Estate Agent)

The Spring Budget announcement will bring some certainty to the market

The good news is that the Spring Budget announcement is just around the corner, which will bring some much-needed certainty to the situation – if nothing else, which will also allow business leaders to pause, take stock and continue the year with a renewed focus on achieving their business priorities for 2021 – including business growth, better use of technology, integration and digitisation, as Joe Pepper CEO at tmgroup commented: 

“It’s fair to say that the industry has been somewhat distracted by the unusually high volumes of property transactions coming through the pipeline, as well as the uncertainty (and potentially false hope) around the Stamp Duty holiday extension, which remains a critical concern in residential property. However, with the Chancellor set to announce the Spring Budget on 3rd March, there’s not much longer to wait until the industry either welcomes an extension of sorts, or battens down the hatches to cope with the final charge towards the Stamp Duty deadline. Whatever happens, for many in the property industry, I’m sure the 31st March can’t come soon enough.”

Want to find out more? The ‘Thriving in a Pandemic’ report is available to download now. 

The findings of the new ‘Thriving in a Pandemic’ report, recently published by tmgroup and mio, have highlighted that the market has not been able to cope with the sheer volume of transactions brought on by the post-lockdown and Stamp Duty holiday surge.

Despite creating unprecedented demand for property services, and helping the industry to appear to be thriving on the surface, a survey of over 600 property professionals – including residential conveyancers, real estate professionals, estate agents, developers, surveyors, and more – has revealed what’s really been happening ‘behind the scenes’; with an inability to handle rapidly increasing work volumes resulting in significant delays and an underwhelming customer experience.

Multiple parties under huge personal pressure to work longer hours

Sadly, the report findings also highlighted a trend of multiple parties connected within the transaction, particularly residential conveyancers, feeling under huge personal pressure to work longer hours to cover for the inadequate processes and technology in their businesses, as reflected in this comment from a residential conveyancer; “Increased caseload together with search and mortgage delays leading to frustrated clients has had a hugely detrimental effect on conveyancers wellbeing.” 

Unsurprisingly, this has raised significant concerns about mental health in the industry, as recently cited in this article from LawCare which claimed; “The number of legal professionals contacting the charity for emotional support continues to rise year on year, with 738 legal professionals seeking help in 2020, a rise of 9% on the previous year.”

The challenges of 2020 have focused the industry on making better use of technology to ease the pressure on their processes and staff 

Yet there is positive change afoot, with many property professionals acknowledging the need to review their systems and processes in 2021, as Joe Pepper, CEO at tmgroup commented:

“Looking to the year ahead, the report findings showed a strong focus on better use of technology, including system integration, which could help improve overall business efficiency and ensure that all property professionals are better able to cope with an expected increase of volume again, as the economy returns to normal in the second half of the year – a prediction based on a widely-anticipated COVID-19 and Brexit bounce-back supported by the continued availability of historically cheap lending. It’s interesting to note that these priorities reached across all of the professional groups within the property market, but the demand for better technology and system integrations was especially high up the list for residential conveyancers, with a strong feeling that the industry must demonstrate that it can handle higher volumes more efficiently if it is to thrive in the future.”

Want to find out more? The ‘Thriving in a Pandemic’ report is available to download now. 

A survey of over 600 property professionals has revealed that more acceptance of digital and remote working has been welcomed by the industry and recognised as an outstanding positive of the COVID-19 outbreak. This is just one of many revelations featured in the new ‘Thriving in a pandemic’ report published today by tmgroup and mio, which also reflects on the challenges that have stretched the industry to its limits. 

Carried out across December 2020 and January 2021, survey participants – including residential conveyancers, real estate professionals, estate agents, developers, surveyors, and more – shared their thoughts on the lessons that reshaped the property market, and how they expect them to continue to change the face of property transactions in 2021 and beyond. 

The research also gathered key insight into the individual impact of these industry changes, which further reiterate the positive feeling towards the wider adoption of digital and remote working, including:

• “It’s been very challenging, but amazing how much can be done remotely.” (Residential conveyancer)

• “Working from home and the use of technology have been positive factors for me. Hopefully the technological advances will continue to leap forward in 2021.” (Real estate professional)

• “We’ve saved a lot of time and money – especially on travel costs – thanks to the collective shift to using technology instead of face-to-face meetings.” (Estate agent)

• “2020 has been a great opportunity to embrace change, not just within our firm but also the industry. For example, we’ve gone from paper files to full electronic working.” (Residential conveyancer)

2020 was the year that nobody planned for

Capturing a snapshot in time at the end of a remarkable year, the ‘Thriving in a pandemic’ report explores remote working, digitisation, workflow tools, collaboration, and more; not only reflecting on what has been, but looking ahead at what’s to come, as Joe Pepper, CEO at tmgroup comments:

“2020 was the year that nobody planned for, and whilst the UK property transaction industry would eventually fare better than many other parts of the wider economy, it was still the nearest thing to a rollercoaster ride that many of us will ever face in our working lives. Most of the industry has had to react and change at a pace not experienced for decades, and many of the ways of working that businesses operated to in the first quarter of the year had disappeared by the time we got to the summer, and it seems likely that some of the old certainties have been shattered forever. The reassuring factor is that the industry was able to change, and what has shone through is how resilient and adaptable we truly are.”

Want to find out more? The ‘Thriving in a Pandemic’ report is available to download now.  

As the first Women in Residential Property meeting of 2021 took place, the mood was undoubtedly optimistic as the expert panel – representing many of the key industries involved in residential property transactions – discussed how their businesses were faring. 

Joined by surveying representative, Rachel Griffiths – SDL Surveying,  conveyancing representative, Megan Jenkins – Shakespeare Martineau, property searches representative, Kelly Wilson – tmgroup, estate agency representative, Lisa Rowden – Blundells, and mortgage broking representative, Gemma Bacon – Mortgage Advice Bureau, Chair Emma Vigus, also MD of mio and part of the tmgroup Exec, kicked off the conversation by asking the group to reflect on their current work volumes. 

A strong tail end of 2020 has propelled high volumes into 2021, and it’s been a busy start to the year for some, as Rachel Griffiths – SDL Surveying comments:

“We’re still incredibly busy as we continue to manage the work coming through from a busy November and December. In fact, we’re actually up 11.512% on where we were in January 2020. There is some variation across the country however, as London and South Wales are particularly busy, compared to a relatively flat and steady picture in Manchester, the Midlands and North East, but it’s really too early to say exactly what this means.”

There’s been a similar experience for lenders and mortgage brokers, as Gemma Bacon – Mortgage Advice Bureau comments:

“We are seeing continued higher levels of activity through January so far, off the back of a strong November and December. We’re optimistic about the year ahead as we’re continuing to see high demand.” 

By contrast, estate agents are feeling the more immediate impact of Lockdown 3.0. as sellers are unsure about putting their house on the market right now, as Lisa Rowden – Blundells comments:

“We’re seeing valuations slack off a bit because of Lockdown 3.0. As with previous lockdowns, there’s this initial period where people don’t realise they can still move. The message just isn’t getting out in some places, so we’ve got lots of buyers, but not a lot of people wanting to put their house on market. Once people begin to feel more confident and become more aware of the  measures that are in place to help them move safely, for example virtual viewings, I’m confident this will prove to be a ‘temporary blip’ and the volumes will come through once more.”

It’s also anticipated that the end of the Stamp Duty holiday may not be as drastic as first thought, as Megan Jenkins – Shakespeare Martineau comments:

“We’ve been busy across all elements of the residential market, and while we’ve had a lot of people ask questions about being able to complete within the current Stamp Duty holiday, a lot of people have been quite relaxed about it all and simply said that if they don’t get there, they’ll still move in April/May. It may very well be the case that volumes begin to tail off, but it’s promising to see there are still people happy and willing to move after the end of March.” 

This will also be supported by a rush of people still wanting to buy and sell houses due to a change in personal circumstances, as Lisa Rowden – Blundells comments:

“Although Lockdown 3.0. and the Stamp Duty holiday period are creating a rather unpredictable market, there are some strong emerging trends and we’re optimistic that we should be meeting (if not exceeding) our 2019 transaction volumes. As an example, we’re expecting to see an increase in First Time Buyers; many of which have continued working and have been able to build a sizeable deposit from their reduced living costs (of no commute, for starters) and are now well-placed to take advantage of the increased availability of 95% LTV mortgages.”

That’s not the only driving force expected to support the property market this year, as Gemma Bacon – Mortgage Advice Bureau comments:

“We’re also expecting a surge of people to be moving house for more personal reasons, such as deciding to part ways after an intense last 9 months, as well as a surge in “lockdown babies” at the other end of the spectrum, forcing people to reassess their living arrangements.” 

As the meeting came to a close, there was some discussion about the ongoing challenges posed by extremely high volumes of work and unrealistic client expectations. The importance of good communication, alongside working collaboratively with the other businesses involved in a transaction, were highlighted as key to helping to resolve these problems. The meeting ended on a positive note with agreement on the fact that one of the key lessons we’ve learnt in 2020 is that the residential property industry and the people in it are more adaptable and resilient than we could have ever imagined.   

Just in case you missed the Stamp Duty debate yesterday, here’s a quick round up of some of the key contributions:

Elliot Colburn MP:

The debate opened with Elliot Colburn MP who championed the view of the petition and drew on data from the lender Paragon which suggested that 42% of borrowers would be unable to afford to proceed if they missed the current deadline, which would translate into a total of 51% of chains in serious danger of collapse.  He felt that the delays were largely outside of the control of the home-buyers, and therefore unfair.  He outlined several options for alternatives, but felt that given the current circumstances he would most welcome a phased or tapered extension.

Catherine West MP:

Swiftly followed by Catherine West MP, who noted the wider economic benefits of the Stamp Duty holiday – including confidence in the construction industry, as well as a hive of activity for connected services including removals and retail (e.g. furniture stores) when people move.  She highlighted some concern for the need for Stamp Duty feeding into the Treasury funds, such as for supporting social housing, and also that there were some buyers with whom she had little sympathy (most notably those buying second homes) but recognised the stress and worry of home movers at risk of missing out, and suggested that the government could follow the example of the devolved assembly in Wales in looking at how to provide targeted support to those who ‘needed to move’.

Kevin Hollinrake MP:

Next, Kevin Hollinrake MP (noting his interests and experience in the industry) surmised that there was no benefit to be gained from simply extending the Stamp Duty holiday, as this would just create another cliff edge for the industry to worry about.  Instead, he said that those at a significantly advanced stage (for example, those with a mortgage offer in place by the end of February) should be granted more time – particularly in reference to the estimated 400,000 properties currently stuck in the pipeline, partly owing to the limited capacity in mortgage and conveyancing services.

Dianne Abbott MP: 

Dianne Abbott MP then made a special plea for exceptional treatment for people buying in the London Borough of Hackney, allowing them to benefit from the stamp duty relief at a later date, due to the impact of the cyber-attack on the council on 11th October 2020.  This had meant that Hackney was unable to fulfil property searches currently, and that it was unfair therefore for home-buyers in Hackney to miss out on the stamp duty holiday for reasons outside of their control.

Greg Smith MP:

Next, Greg Smith MP commented on the success of the Stamp Duty holiday for stimulating the economy, and stressed we must make it count for those already in progress. He stated his opposition to Stamp Duty as a tax generally, and felt that the current holiday could be extended and in due course the way we tax property in the country could be reviewed.

Janet Daby MP:

Janet Daby MP noted that Stamp Duty was introduced to support the housing market in a period of a pandemic, and that pandemic had gone on longer than expected and therefore so should the relief.  She called attention to the wider positive impact on connected parties and services, with surveyors, architects, removal companies, and more, all also benefitting from the activity generated by the Stamp Duty holiday, and therefore also called for an extension to the Stamp Duty deadline. 

Matthew Offord MP:

Matthew Offord MP raised concerns that he’d heard from a number of his constituents who were worried they wouldn’t be financially able to go ahead with their transactions if they missed the 31st March deadline, and suggested an extension would help boost transactions by 10%, with all the associated benefits, if it were extended until the end of 2021.  He also noted that older people in particular had been disadvantaged as they were unable to get out and about during the pandemic, and many were looking at this as an opportunity in which to downsize.

Barbara Keeley MP:

Further support for an extension came from Barbara Keeley MP, who said that no one could have predicted the ongoing lockdowns and restrictions that came into effect after the Stamp Duty holiday was introduced, and that those who made a commitment to move in the good faith that they would not have to pay stamp duty should not be penalised. 

Sarah Olney MP:

The main exception to the call for some form of extension to the stamp duty holiday came from Sarah Olney MP, who reiterated her opposition to the initiative, as she said the money the Treasury had missed out on through offering this tax break could have been better spent on funding furlough or addressing the cladding scandal.   She did however say that she was open to longer-term reform of the way property is currently taxed.

Ben Everitt MP:

By immediate contrast, Ben Everitt MP showed his supported for a tapered end to the Stamp Duty holiday to avoid an overnight “cliff edge”, and also called for overall reform in SDLT. 

Abena Oppong-Asare MP:

Abena Oppong-Asare MP then provided a view from the Labour front bench and highlighted that this cliff-edge had been foreseen when the original holiday was announced, and that it was a clear fault in the design of the initiative.  As a result, there was now a clear case to look to amend the approach as it was clearly unfair to those who will be unable to complete before 31st March due to reasons clearly outside of their control.  A better solution should be found rather than a simple extension to the cliff-edge, and it should not be used as a tax benefit for those buying second homes.

Jesse Norman MP (responding for the Government): 

The debate concluded with Jesse Norman MP responding for the Government.  He reflected on the success of the Stamp Duty holiday in driving activity and stimulating the market by providing confidence but noted that part of that success had been driven by the time-limited nature of the relief.  He noted that he was unable to provide any view on government’s approach outside of a formal financial event, but did suggest that the government would always listen to the opinions of those engaged in the market.

As for what happens next, the industry has been vocal about the need for an extension, but exactly what this will look like (if at all) remains to be seen, as Joe Pepper, CEO at tmgroup commented:

“It was an interesting debate, with 9 MPs speaking in favour of some kind of change to the current plan to end the Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday at the end of March, and only 1 speaking against, although the majority felt that the creation of another cliff-edge in the future was not the right approach.  If the Government does move, then it would be more likely to involve a phased or tapered end to the duty, and potentially require home-movers to have reached some milestone in the home-buying journey, so we would suggest that anybody worried about the possibility of missing the current deadline speaks to their conveyancer to understand what they can do to make sure that they will have done as much as possible to speed up the process and demonstrate their commitment to the move.”

Thanks to an integration supported by tmgroup, a leading property data and technology provider with over 20 years’ experience, Plymouth-based law firm, Wolferstans Solicitors, has benefitted from significant time savings, as Arash Dinari, Head of Commercial Property – Wolferstans Solicitors comments:

“Our commercial property team has been working with tmgroup since February 2020. Thanks to their time-saving technology, we’ve significantly reduced the admin time per transaction, and this has helped our team work far more efficiently. Not only that, but the service has been fantastic. We’ve been so impressed, we’re now rolling out across our residential property team too.” 

Initially drawn to tmgroup by their strong reputation for excellent service levels, Wolferstans’ commercial property team quickly started embracing tmgroup as a trusted business partner; empowering the tm team to deliver key operational changes to help save them time – including full integration with their existing Case Management System provider (DPS Software). This pivotal change has helped Wolferstans to streamline their processes and reduce admin time on conveyancing tasks, and so free up more time for delivering fantastic customer service to their clients.

Rolled out in collaboration with Wolferstans and DPS Software, tmgroup were able to complete the full integration with minimum disruption. This allowed Wolferstans to embrace the benefits of tmconvey – including ordering searches at the click of a button and having the search results returned automatically into their CMS – whilst continuing to use their chosen Case Management System, and so saving further time by not having to retrain their staff. All of which has reduced rekeying and double entry and amounted to hundreds of hours saved across the year. 

As Joel Swann, Business Development Manager at tmgroup comments: “All conveyancers want to save time – and our innovative technology allows them to do just that. It’s fantastic to be working in partnership with Wolferstans and to see our tmgroup/ DPS Software integration already making such a positive difference to their overall business efficiencies.”

For further information, please contact Joel Swann, Business Development Manager at tmgroup, via Joel.Swann@tmgroup.co.uk or call 07483 155862. 

With 2020 firmly behind us, Joe Pepper, CEO at tmgroup, comments on what might lie in store for the property market as 2021 begins to take shape in the face of economic uncertainty:

As the famous saying by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus goes “change is the only constant in life”, and that has never felt truer than in the extremes we’ve experienced in the last 10 months.

Whilst it is somewhat of a relief that we’ve dodged the looming threat of a no-deal Brexit, or yet another extension period, the fight against coronavirus continues to shape our daily lives. Even with the recent approval of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, and the rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination programme, the UK is still facing an extended and unpredictable period of lockdowns.

Yet these are not the only factors that will influence the success of the property market this year…  

Furlough and redundancy will reduce lenders’ willingness to lend and lock some buyers out 

Beyond the ongoing saga of Stamp Duty, with its soap-opera style “will they or won’t they” end on 31st March 2021, there are, of course, several contradictory factors which will influence how confident the market is likely to be in 2021.  For many people, the events of 2020 have only increased their own insecurity, whether that is in their natural optimism or in more material terms in how secure their employment is.  Many have been on furlough or reduced pay, and many more have been made redundant and are now looking for work in a hugely competitive marketplace.  

Even if they find work then their recent experience will have reduced their long-term confidence and may well also reduce the willingness of some lenders to lend.  The recent crisis is only likely to have increased the pace at which a certain percentage are locked-out of the property purchasing market, especially when you consider that others have prospered in the same period. 

More and more people will be rethinking where they live now remote working is here to stay

However, for those who have been able to work from home and are secure in their jobs, they will have seen their outgoings reduced in 2020, and incidentally saved more than usual. They may also have seen enough of their home that they have lived, worked and even home-schooled their children in to realise that they may want something else. 

Fuelled by the conclusion that remote working is here to stay, these are the people most likely to move in 2021, as they are freed from the commitment to live in a major city, opening up the opportunity for a lifestyle change. Life changes will also drive activity in the property market over the coming months, as we are told to expect a baby boom in early 2021, as well as a flurry of break-ups and divorces.

Businesses will continue to adapt to challenging market conditions – including search delays

Outside of these wider economic factors, over which we as an industry have little or no control, there are trends and influences much closer to our businesses. In the short-term, transaction delays are very much part of the picture, as many parts of the market have struggled with capacity and effective working over the past few months. Conveyancers and Lenders are both typically working to extended time periods for handling correspondence, and many Local Authorities are operating search periods many times longer than normal.  

However, forward-thinking businesses are doing their best to adapt to these challenging market conditions and offer solutions to help take the pressure off. For example, tmgroup has recently launched a market-leading Search Delay Insurance product – provided by CLS Property Insight – to mitigate against the impact of search delays in the short-term.

We’ll hear more and more about digitisation and API integration

We’re also seeing positive developments in the longer term too, including the advice around digital signatures from HM Land Registry, which many firms are still digesting and looking to understand how they can implement into their current workflows. The adoption of digital signature technology is easy and readily available from a host of proven providers. More important though is the way that the technologies we all use continue to improve their ability to talk to one another, and to provide conveyancers and others with joined-up data and other information.  

It was during the first lockdown that tmgroup announced a new and industry-leading set of APIs, which allow conveyancers to easily integrate their case management systems with tmconvey and tmconnect, and shortly after that were able to provide a joined-up view of the property transaction through integration with mio, the leading Sales Progression platform for Estate Agents.  This year, it will be possible for a conveyancer to have the same real-time view as an Estate Agent and, through the mio app, update a home-buyer on the progress of a transaction, and for that information to be accessed in the conveyancer’s own case management platform.  

The trend for real-time sharing of relevant data between property professionals is only going to intensify in 2021. Regardless of the success of the coronavirus vaccination programme, remote working is very likely to remain predominant across 2021, which will only accentuate the importance of having information and data relating to the status of a property transaction easily accessible and available digitally. There remains huge potential for the conveyancing market to increase overall productivity, and that will be crucial whatever happens in the wider market this year.

The Christmas opening hours for Property Searches Scotland, based in Glasgow, are as follows:

>> Thursday 24th December: 8am - 1pm

>> Friday 25th December: Closed

>> Monday 28th December: Closed

>> Tuesday 29th December: 10am - 4pm

>> Wednesday 30th December: 10am - 4pm

>> Thursday 31st December: 10am - 4pm

>> Friday 1st January: Closed

>> Tuesday 4th January: Closed

>> Wednesday 5th January: 8am - 6pm

Any questions, please get in touch with our Property Searches Scotland team here.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you of some of the other benefits provided to customers of Property Searches Scotland.

• No Sale No Fee on manufactured reports to qualifying customers. Manufactured reports include Property Enquiry Certificates, Legal Reports, Charges Searches and Company Searches. This enables these reports to be ordered before missives are concluded at no risk to the conveyancer or your customer, and provides time to deal with any issues highlighted in the search results.

• Multiple free updates on manufactured reports to qualifying customers – this includes multiple Continuation Legal Reports, and also extends to Property Enquiry Certificates that may be required if the transaction has been delayed beyond three months from the date the PEC was published. 

• A unique integration with Coal Authority data providing search alerts to identify if a property may be impacted by coal mining, with completed reports ordered through our online platform typically returned in less than 15 minutes.