tm blog

On 12th April, Groundsure made some enhancements to their reports to make it even quicker and easier to read and absorb the information you need to pass onto your clients – including a new front cover layout to clarify where ‘professional opinion’, ‘further guidance’ and ‘screening’ information is available.

If you have any questions or queries, please contact your Account Manager, or get in touch with our friendly Helpdesk team on 0800 840 5571 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk 

Email order summaries are now available on tmconvey.

Once enabled, you’ll receive email order summaries direct to your inbox, including; an image of the maps you have used to mark up a site, Search Alerts generated against a site, as well as Additional questions for all searches ordered.

If you have any questions or queries, please contact your Account Manager, or get in touch with our friendly Helpdesk team on 0800 840 5571 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk 

As we continue to evolve our tmconvey mapping services in line with our customers’ needs, we’re pleased to announce the addition of the HS2 ‘Phase 1’ proposed route (from London to the West Midlands) to our mapping data layers. 

Available from Friday 3rd May, the latest in our series of new data layers for tmconvey will allow you to see where the route will pass through the landscape. The line will be colour coded, so you’ll be able to see how the HS2 route will cut through the land too. For example, where the land needs to be ‘cut’, will be subject to ‘fill’, or run over a ‘viaduct’ to level the train tracks.  

Here’s a quick guide to the colour code:

You’ll also be able to click on the route on the map to see more information about that particular section – including the length and speed. 

How do I turn on this new data layer?

If you would like to turn on this new data layer, your TM administrator will need to update your company preference by following the below steps:

1. Go to ‘System settings’ on the tmconvey Services Dashboard

2. Select ‘System defaults’

3. Select ‘View’

4. Select ‘Mapping defaults’ 

5. If you scroll down, you will see a new section called ‘Map Data Layers’ – and various options to choose from including the new ‘HS2 route’.  

6. Once you have settled on your choice, click ‘Save’.

If you have any questions or queries, please contact your Account Manager, or get in touch with our friendly Helpdesk team on 0800 840 5571 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk 

From 3rd May, you’ll notice some changes when completing our SDLT submission forms – including Companies House look-up and 14-day alerting. 

You can find more information about these new features below:

Companies House look-up

We’ve made it quicker and easier for you to add company information as you complete your SDLT forms within our tmgroup platforms – with our new Companies House look-up.   

Through our integration with Companies House, you’ll be able to look-up the company’s registered address and pre-populate the Vendor/Purchased Address details in the following sections of the SDLT form: 

• Page 3 - Vendor Details – Type Company

• Page 4 – Purchaser Details – Type Company

Once populated, you’ll be able to amend the address if you wish.  

14-day alerting

To help support you in meeting the new SDLT payment and filing deadline of 14 days, which came into effect on 1st March 2019, we’ve added some useful alerts within our tmgroup platforms so you can clearly see the expected deadline for each form.

You’ll be able to see this alert in the following places:

• Page 1 of the SDLT form: Once you’ve entered the ‘Effective Date of Transaction’ on Page 1 of the SDLT form, we’ll automatically show you the latest date for payment and filing (based on the new deadline) – immediately below the ‘Effective Date of Transaction’.

• Page 6 (Summary Page): This same deadline will also appear on your Page 6 Summary Page, as a reminder of the new deadline for payment and filing. 

To support these changes, we’ve also added the following SDLT status updates to our Post-Completion services:

• Draft – Submission Due: This will appear when your ‘Effective Date of Transaction’ is less than 5 days from the submission deadline. A red dot will also be displayed against the case, as well as a ‘Needs attention’ message on the SDLT tile under ‘Services’. 

• Draft – Submission Date Passed: This will appear when your ‘Effective Date of Transaction’ submission deadline has passed. The same message will also appear on Page 6 of your submitted form.

If you have any questions, please contact our Helpdesk on 0800 840 5571 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

On 8th May 2019, Future Climate Info (FCI) are making some changes to their commercial reports to help speed up transactions - particularly those with a Retail purpose.

‘FCI Standard Commercial’ and ‘FCI Premium Commercial’ are being withdrawn – and are being replaced with the following new reports: ‘FCI Retail’ and ‘FCI Commercial’.

You can find more information about these new reports below:

NEW FCI Retail report 

Price: £75 + VAT 

The FCI Retail Report is available for smaller retail properties - up to 0.25 hectares.

It includes remediation warranty and is also supported by £5 million professional indemnity cover.

It interrogates flood, environmental and ground stability datasets. 

• Flood

Analyses the impacts from key risks listed by The Law Society including Flooding from Rivers, The Sea, and Surface Water Flooding, Groundwater Flooding Susceptibility, Historic Flooding,  Flood Insurability, Flood Storage Areas, and nearby Surface  Water Features.

• Environmental

Analyses the impacts from key risks including Artificial Ground, Contaminated Land Insurability, Contaminated Land Register Entries  and Notices, Current Industrial Land Uses, Environmental Permits,  Petrol Stations, Landfill Sites Past and Present, Telecommunications  Transmitters, Potentially Contaminated Land from Past Industrial Land  Uses, Pollution Incidents, Air Quality, Potentially In-Filled Land, Pylons and Electricity  Lines, Radon Gas, Regulated Environmental Processes, and Surface  Dangers or Hazards.

• Ground Stability

Analyses the impacts from key risks including Subsidence, nearby  Ball Clay Mining Areas, Brine Compensation Areas, China Clay Mining  Areas,Coal Mining Areas, Geohazards such as Clay Shrinkage,  Landslips, Landslides and Sink Holes, Limestone Mining Areas, Past  Mining Hazards in Minerals other than coal, Modified Ground, Natural  Cavities, Potentially In-filled Land and Tin Mining Areas.

Click here to see a sample report

NEW FCI Commercial report

Price: From £100 + VAT

The FCI Commercial Report is aimed at other commercial and industrial units. Available in size brackets ranging from 0-15, 15-50 and 50-150 hectares. 

It is backed by £10 million professional indemnity cover and comes with expert support from FCI’s Risk Team.

It contains all of the information from the Retail report and also includes data on Energy & infrastructure such as wind farms, shale gas exploration, and HS2.

• Energy & Infrastructure

Analyses the impacts from key risks including Carbon Capture and Storage, Coal Bed Methane Extraction, Crossrail, Current and Future Hydropower Installations, Gas Recovery from Mines, HS2, Licensed Oil, Gas, and Shale Gas Exploration and Extraction, Major Energy, Environmental, and Transport Infrastructure, Power Stations, Solar Farms,Underground Coal Gasification and Wind Farms.

Click here to see a sample report

If you have any questions, please contact our Helpdesk on 0800 840 5571 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

Following on from our blog post about the annual round of price increases from the Water Authorities, Coal Authorities and Local Authorities, we just wanted to remind you that Anglian Water are changing their prices on 1st May 2019.

These changes will be automatically implemented on the tmconvey platform, and will be reflected in any new orders as the changes take effect.

You can see the full details below:

If you have any questions, please contact our Helpdesk on 0800 840 5571 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

Terry Jones Solicitors will be hosting a Spring Breakfast Property Seminar this May - in conjunction with tmgroup, Terrafirma and Howden - exploring the many and varied risks posed by the ground, alongside important changes to environmental due diligence in property development and purchase.

• Where? Shrewsbury Town Football Club (SY2 6ST)

• When? 8am-11am on Thursday 2nd May 2019 

• How do I register? Simply email marketing@terry-jones.co.uk to secure your place**

Learn more about the new chapter in the Conveyancing Handbook, the best ways to inform clients about ground hazard risks – and more!

Following breakfast at 8am, the seminar will begin at 8.30am. 

Presented by a panel of industry experts, the seminar sessions will cover a range of key topics, including:

• The new chapter in the Conveyancing Handbook reflecting the physical, legal and financial liabilities posed by ground hazards.

• Real-life case study examples highlighting the importance of identifying ground hazards.

• Advice on informing your clients about ground risks and how to manage them. 

• PI Insurance and how to achieve the best renewal terms in the current market.

There will then be a brief networking session – before the event closes at 11am.

Meet our panel of industry experts

If you’d like to find out more about our panel of industry experts, you can find a brief profile, as well as their LinkedIn profiles below:

• Clare Yates: Senior Business Development Manager for tmgroup with over 25 years of experience in the property industry. 

Connect with Clare

• Tom Backhouse: Award-winning geologist, entrepreneur and the CEO and Founder of Terrafirma, who specialise in the innovation and provision of environmental risk assessment and land information in the property, land, finance, insurance and public sectors. 

Connect with Tom

• Jenny Screech: Consultant with Howden UK Group Ltd, supporting their professional indemnity insurance (PII) proposition for solicitors and other legal professionals. 

Connect with Jenny

Secure your place and join us… 

Simply email marketing@terry-jones.co.uk to register**

**By sending your RSVP to Terry Jones Solicitors, you are agreeing to share your details with tmgroup, Terrafirma and Howden UK Group Limited. If you would not like to share your details with these companies, please ensure you add a note in your email opting out.  

4 months on from the transparency rules coming into effect on 6th December 2018, we caught up with Richard Williams, Policy Associate from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) at LegalEx 2019 to hear the latest. 

The new digital badge helps firms differentiate themselves from unregulated service providers

Did you know? 40% of firms regulated by the SRA are already displaying the new digital badge to differentiate themselves from unregulated legal services providers. For those embracing the transparency rules and the badge, ahead of the changes being mandatory from 25th November 2019, they are already benefitting from:

• Managing client cost expectations from day one and reducing the risk of price-related complaints further into the transaction. 

• Market differentiation and attracting new clients, as more people use legal services and shop around. 

• Sending a clear message of adhering to market standards and regulatory protections, helping them to win new business and give their clients peace of mind – as 80% of consumers said they were more likely to go with a firm with a badge on their website. 

Firms are falling short on complaints and VAT on disbursements

However, there are still some challenges to overcome. Whilst many firms are already displaying pricing information, Richard noted some are falling down on providing details around disbursements and VAT, as well as clearly displaying complaints procedure information, including:

• The firm’s complaints handling process

• Details about how to complain to the SRA

• Information about how to complain to the Legal Ombudsman

You can find more information about adding complaints procedure information to your website here.  

What happens next? 

As the official deadline of 25th November looms closer, the SRA will continue to keep a close eye on the uptake of the new rules. They will be carrying out web sweeps to see how information is displayed – including an impending random sweep of 500 firms. Could your firm be one of them?

The SRA will also be speaking with firms to see how they are adapting to the changes, as well as engaging with consumers to raise awareness of what they should now expect to see on a firm’s website. This extends to following up on any consumer complaints and discussing with the relevant firm where they might need to make some improvements.  

The SRA will also be finalising their new Digital Register, expected to be launched in late November in line with the official deadline, bringing firm information together into one consumer-friendly place, where they will be able to validate their choices. Richard noted that this will not be a price comparison tool.  

Why were the transparency rules created?

The transparency rules were created to give the general public better access to legal services and information, after a survey of over 5,000 people revealed that only 15% were able to find the price information they needed.

The new rules were also driven by research into consumer behaviour and a growing appetite to shop around for legal services, as it was found that 71% of people spend more than an hour researching their options and 66% consider more than one provider.

Why is lack of information such a big issue to address? 

In the absence of pricing information, individuals assume that legal services are unaffordable – with a perception that they are 25% more expensive than they actually are. It’s a serious barrier to people getting the legal help they need and can also have a knock-on effect on the volume of work coming into the industry. Fortunately, the new rules are already bringing positive change.

Where can I find more information?

If you would like to find out more about being compliant with the new rules, you can watch Richard Williams’ presentation – recorded live at LegalEx – on the SRA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLOxK9B_lYY 

More information and guidance can also be found on the dedicated ‘transparency’ section of the SRA website: https://sra.org.uk/transparency/ 

Terrafirma have updated their CON29M with several new features to offer a new level of due diligence and efficiency, as they continue to change the way in which property professionals across the UK approach coal mining activity.

Available now on tmconvey, the updates include: 

• The inclusion of the UserKey, as currently used in Terrafirma’s Ground Report. The UserKey clearly highlights who within the transaction needs to take action to make it easier for the conveyancer to know what information needs to be reported to which party. 

• Addition of a new ‘At a Glance’ expert opinion

• Loss of value insurance has increased to £100,000 – covering any subsequent changes in Coal Authority data.

• Upfront inclusion of the mine entry interpretive report. Terrafirma have used new data technologies to apply a new risk model to each of the 173,000 recorded coal mine entries, analysing the zone of influence and the potential impact of a shaft on the use and value of a Site, at no extra cost. This enhancement brings a number of benefits for the conveyancer, purchaser and lender alike.

Terrafirma CEO Tom Backhouse comments:

‘Terrafirma have worked tirelessly for nearly five years to change the way in which property professionals view ground risk. It has always been our ambition to better support due diligence in former mining areas and to more effectively cover and advise both solicitors and their clients. After extensive market research and a monumental effort from our team of experts, we are exceptionally proud to present this new and enhanced official CON29M.’

Want to find out more?

You can see a sample report here. 

You can also register for these free webinars from Terrafirma. 

Mine Entries - time to lose the 20m buffer

Tuesday 9th April 2019 : 11am – 11.30am

Click here to register

Navigating the professional opinion minefield

Tuesday 16th April 2019 : 11am – 11.30am

Click here to register

If you have any questions or queries, please contact your Account Manager, or get in touch with our friendly Helpdesk team on 0800 840 5571 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk 

We’re adding a new listed buildings data layer to tmconvey. 

Available from 5th April 2019, you’ll soon be able to give property developer clients much-needed context about their intended renovation projects – without needing to visit multiple websites. 

As with our recently added highways information, you’ll be able to turn on the data layer and see listed buildings overlaid on your existing map –  for Grade 1, Grade 2* and Grade 2 across England. As of 2nd May, this will be extended to listed buildings in Scotland and Wales too.

You can then find out more about a listed building of interest by clicking on it to generate a pop-up, which will give you the address and the grade, as well as provide a hyperlink that will take you direct to the relevant page on Historic England. This will enable you to read further information about the restrictions in place, if you wish. 

How do I turn on this new data layer?

If you would like to turn on this new data layer, your TM administrator will need to update your company preference by following the below steps:

1. Go to ‘System settings’ on the tmconvey Services Dashboard

2. Select ‘System defaults’

3. Select ‘View’

4. Select ‘Mapping defaults’ 

5. If you scroll down, you will see a new section called ‘Map Data Layers’ – and various options to choose from including the new ‘listed buildings’.  

6. Once you have settled on your choice, click ‘Save’.

What other changes have we made to our mapping?

The addition of ‘listed buildings’ data is the latest in a series of mapping enhancements. 

Here’s a quick summary of the last few months, just in case you missed anything.

Highways data added to tmconvey mapping 

NEW Map Data Layers section gives conveyancing teams even more control over their visible data layers

NEW realistic colour scheme creates clearer mapping boundaries

Map Search data now includes CCOD and OCOD

Exciting news… Even more Map Search updates to save you even more time!

Map Search enhancements make even more time for you

Stay tuned for more updates COMING SOON!

If you have any questions or queries, please contact your Account Manager, or get in touch with our friendly Helpdesk team on 0800 840 5571 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk