tm blog

Fresh from the release of an update to their new commercial property portfolio tool, tmgroup have announced the launch of two new time-saving mapping features to help conveyancers streamline their property transactions.

The two property mapping services have been developed in close collaboration with conveyancers from across the industry and integrate with the Land Registry in order to save time and hassle when creating cases and conducting title investigation.

MAP SEARCH
The Map Search facility enables conveyancers to recreate the Land Registry Map Search service from within tmgroup’s platform for conveyancers, tmconvey, by creating cases and ordering OC1’s directly from a map. It saves you time by making it quick and easy to carry out title investigations.

Conveyancers can:

• Quickly establish whether land or property is registered
• View the location of registered land or property
• Obtain title numbers, details of freehold or leasehold tenure and other registered interests
• Order OC1's (registers and plans) straight from the map

More information - http://web.tmgroup.co.uk/cn/an9um/map-search

MAPPING DATA LAYERS

The enhanced mapping data layers provides conveyancers with aerial imagery and Local Authority boundaries layered over the map, helping them to make informed decisions on a property from the outset, saving time and hassle.

Conveyancers can:

• Filter different data layers over maps when plotting properties
• Get access to more information from within the same view

More information - http://web.tmgroup.co.uk/cn/an9um/map-search

Sales and marketing director Ben Harris said:
“Fresh from the update to our Land Registry Extract Tool last week, we’re bringing two further customer-led developments to our system to save conveyancers lots of time in their property transactions. Our new Map Search feature brings the Land Registry’s MapSearch functionality right into tmconvey, which means that conveyancers no longer need to visit two websites and rekey information; whilst our enhanced mapping data layers provide property information up front helping users make informed decisions earlier on in the transaction.”

TMCONVEY MAPPING FEATURES

tmconvey gives you the starting point to create a case directly from a map and provides the most advanced mapping tools a conveyancer can access, featuring:

• Full screen view
• Automatic property outlining
• Aerial photography
• Automatic road outlining
• Leasehold & freehold boundaries
• Local Authority boundaries
• Gas, Electric & DW distribution boundaries
• Customisable print areas
• Area locate tool

For more information on tmgroup’s new mapping features, click the links below:

Map Search
Data Layers

As much as we’d like to think so here at TM Group, the term 'property searches' doesn't just refer to those done by a conveyancer once a property is being transacted. It's actually much more commonly used to refer to the consumer's activity to find that dream home in the first place.

Consumers searching for their next home typically go online to one of the property portal websites - a space that has been dominated for the last few years by the big two: Rightmove and Zoopla.

Rightmove, celebrating its 15th birthday this year, is the most visited property portal in the UK by some stretch although Zoopla has made significant ground in recent years to consolidate its position at #2.

In January of this year, the status quo was disrupted by the launch of an estate agency-owned portal with low fees called OnTheMarket.com (OTM) which is now gaining market share by allowing its estate agents to advertise on just one other portal.

What impact has this had?

Advertisers

Property portals rely on the 19,000 estate agents in the UK to be signed up and listing property and so the OTM ‘one other portal’ rule is designed to eat into Rightmove and Zoopla's market share.

According to OTM’s Chief executive, Ian Springett, they had signed up more than 4,000 estate agency branches ahead of their launch. Rightmove announced that their advertiser numbers rose by 5% in 2014 and were unchanged at the end of February, following the launch of OTM.

In contrast, Zoopla recently admitted that its 16,500 agency advertiser numbers fell by 11% over the year to January but, even so, OTM still only has around a quarter of the advertisers that Zoopla does.

Stock
A property portal wouldn’t be a property portal without property, so a key measure of their success is the volume of stock on each portal. A recent report by investment bank Morgan Stanley says that Rightmove has one million listed properties, Zoopla has 650,000 and OTM 350,000.

Visitors
There have been no discernible changes to visitor traffic at Rightmove or Zoopla in the two months since the launch of OTM and this is where the challenger meets its biggest obstacle. Since the conclusion of their 6 week launch marketing campaign, OTM has actually seen its initial traffic volumes fall, according to Experian Hitwise figures, and their traffic remains 21 times smaller than Zoopla's.

OTM’s major challenge without a doubt will be building a recognisable brand that can pull in the right level of sustained traffic to compete with the big boys. Rightmove and Zoopla have invested heavily in this area over a number of years and so there is considerable catching up to be done if OTM are to warrant their place at the top table.

Shares
Rightmove shares actually climbed 10% in January and February but, in the same period, shares in Zoopla Property Group have fallen by 8% in the wake of their announcement about falling agency members.

So, in summary, OTM have publicly stated that they are confident in becoming the #2 portal by January 2016 - which is looking like a pretty bold statement as things stand, certainly in the eyes of the public.

Between the top two, it's Zoopla that has been the clear loser in the property portal wars so far this year but there is still a huge gap between themselves and OTM and it is apparent that OTM will need to play the long game to increase their visitors as this audience cannot be built overnight.

It’s hard to argue against OTM being successful at some point down the line but much will depend on the patience of their agency owners - and they will need advertisers to be prepared to play the long game too. If OTM do make significant progress this year the twist in the tail could turn out to be that Zoopla are forced into turning their hand at estate agency and using their brand power to go straight to the general public.

Whatever happens it will be an interesting year or two in the property portal wars. 

A new year means new opportunities — and, of course, new challenges — especially for business. So what does 2015 have in store? Ben Harris, TM Group Sales & Marketing Director, explores the top 5 challenges that conveyancers face this year.

From adapting to advances in technology and economic changes, to retaining customers and recruiting top talent, conveyancers will have a lot of issues to handle. How business leaders face these challenges might just make or break their businesses. So, in no particular order...

Finding and recruiting top talent
As the economy continues to grow and the unemployment rate continues to fall, the already small pool of applicants with the right skills to work in your business will be further diminished. Many of the largest conveyancing firms have resorted to opening their own training academies in order to develop their own talent, but firms without the deep pockets to embark on such a solution should at least have a clear strategy in place.

Risk management
To many this is a dry and repetitive subject but, with 163 SRA fraud alerts between January and November 2014 and 90% of identity thefts reported to them being rated 'red' or 'amber', risk management is a growing issue that shows no sign of disappearing. 70% of PI claims relate to conveyancing so it is crucial for conveyancers to take this seriously in 2015 and have the systems and process in place to protect themselves and their businesses.

Meeting customer expectations
This year's Home Moving Trends Report showed that consumers value professionalism, proactivity and communication skills and are prepared to pay for it. A combined six out of every ten respondents to the survey also said they were influenced in their decision of conveyancer by a third party, so if you can meet their expectations you will be well on your way to meeting the next challenge facing conveyancers this year...

Attracting new business
Most of a conveyancing firm's growth is largely dictated by the market and, with most commentators predicting a flat 2015, the only ways firms are going to increase the size of their business is by acquisition of other law firms or by attracting more customers. Winning business on your local high street was top of the agenda in our August 2014 survey with most firms telling us that building relationships with third party introducers, such as estate agents and mortgage brokers, is their biggest priority.

Managing your online reputation
Law firms can no longer ignore the online conversations that are taking place about your brand, because they will continue to happen whether you like it or not. Firms that take the time to identify and respond to negative online feedback about their brand can turn these negative experiences into positives. So far the conveyancing world has escaped the impact that a TripAdvisor-style review site has had on many other professions, but now is the time to get smart about your online reputation before it’s too late.

Jet Flight increases efficiency, reduces risk and ensures compliance in residential conveyancing.

Jet Flight is a unique product that is the first to come to the market. It can significantly reduce the time taken to ensure that every residential property transaction within the conveyancing process is lender-compliant while protecting conveyancers against negligence claims.

The sophisticated online solution sits within a range of existing TM Group products that help solicitors and conveyancers to manage risk, ensure compliance, and act in the best interest of the client during property transactions.  A key benefit of Jet Flight is that it makes the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook an integrated and automated part of the conveyancing process, helping to quickly identify individual lender requirements.

With unexpected and destructive flooding continuing to affect property owners across the country, investigating the potential risk has become even more important. The Law Society's recent flood practice note provides information on the difference types of flooding that you need to consider and the various ways in which you can obtain the necessary advice for your client.

This year saw our very own Michael Arnold and Mike Mayne (the two not wearing the tutu's) compete in a hardcore 12 mile-long obstacle course designed by the Special Forces to test all around strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie.

TM was delighted to be headline sponsors again of the 2013 Law Firm Services Conveyancing Conference “How law firms interact with the customer”.

The conference, now in its 5^th year, is one of the highlights of the conveyancing calendar and this year’s line-up did not disappoint. Delegates listened to a wide range of speakers from residential conveyancing including Peter Rodd, Chair of the Law Society Property Section, Nick Larkins of Lloyds Banking Group and Sheila Kumar, Chief Executive of the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

Our own Ben Harris also took to the stage to talk about the battle between property professionals and criminals and highlighted some of the tools available to enable conveyancers to protect themselves from fraudsters such as AML search, Jet convey and Lawyer Checker.

The conference was followed in the evening by a glittering awards ceremony that recognised the best conveyancers in the business many of who are existing TM customers.

Click continue to find out the winners

A recent seminar hosted by TM Group and GroundSure brought together key industry commentators to discuss the speed of change in the commercial property sector. The event was aimed at helping lawyers identify legislative changes and act in the best interests of their clients whilst adapting as a firm in this fast changing environment.

Held in MediaCityUK , the ‘Speed of Change’ event featured speakers from businesses including Glenigan, ELM Law, Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP and Lockton.

Chancel repair liability is the liability of an owner of land to pay for repairs to the chancel of a parish church. Owners affected include individual homeowners as well as ecclesiastical organisations, universities, colleges and others. Land does not have to be near a church building in order to be liable.

Our ever growing population has an insatiable appetite for energy.  A dependence on imported fossil fuels had propelled the need to seek alternative resources to maintain our energy resilience. Will the benefits to local communities be outweighed by the intrusion, loss of property values and potential blight? Ben Harris from TM Group assesses whether the new “Energy Rush” will be for the public good.