tm blog

John Madge at Cox & Hodgetts Solicitors explains how switching to tmconvey’s Post-Completion services has helped him to speed up SDLT submission in his firm by 2 weeks. 

“It used to take at least a fortnight for any SDLT5 forms to be returned.”

“Before using tmconvey’s Post-Completion services, my firm relied on posting paper SDLT submission forms to HMRC – and I would typically be waiting weeks for my SDLT5 forms to be returned. Even the quickest turnarounds were at least a fortnight. 

This put pressure on my AP1 submission times and put them at risk of cancellation. Not only that, but occasionally forms would go astray, and I would have to waste time making chasing calls – and sometimes even start from scratch if they went missing completely. 

I also once had a case where I had to appeal the penalty for a late submission, by confirming the dates of cheques sent and cashed. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that HMRC had also been in touch with my client directly with a penalty notice, so I also had to mitigate the reputational damage with my clients with additional phone calls and evidence of payment.”

“It’s so much quicker to fill in the SDLT forms online – and we get our SDLT5 back within seconds.”

“I’ve been using tmconvey’s Post-Completion services since October 2018, and find it so much quicker than paper submission – especially as my SDLT5 forms are returned in seconds. 

I also find it easier to fill the SDLT forms in online, as not only is there no chance of it going missing in the post, there’s also less risk of information getting lost in translation and misspelt on any returned SDLT5 forms.” 

“Even the most complicated scenarios are simple to process with intelligent, online forms”

“I always used to hate complicated scenarios when it came to filling out the SDLT form, such as a freehold property with a separate leasehold garage under a different title, as I would never be 100% sure of the sections I should fill out or whether the form would be sent back to me with additional queries. 

However, as tmconvey’s online forms only present the fields I need to complete, it’s simple to fill out and get it right first time, so I can get the results returned just as quickly as any other submission I’m working on. 

The interactive forms and automated error checking also help to make sure I don’t miss off any information. For example, if my client hasn’t sent across their National Insurance number, it’s obvious this information is missing from the form – and I’m reminded to add it before I click submit.”

Want to find out how tmconvey’s Post-Completion services can help to save your team time when submitting SDLT forms?

Take a look at tmconvey’s Post-Completion services, or request a FREE demo of tmconvey’s Post-Completion services.

Ashleigh Thwaites, Branch Manager at Emersons Green, Taylors shares how mio has transformed her approach to sales progression by making it quick and easy to complete tasks, as well as train up new recruits on the end-to-end sales progression process. 

The crucial difference with mio is that by removing traditional silos of information, mio creates visibility across the chain – with everyone from homebuyers and solicitors, right through to other estate agents. This improves communication and ultimately speeds up the process. 

Slow and outdated systems only exacerbate the challenges of day-to-day sales progression

Sales progression can be a challenge, especially with outdated systems making the process even slower and more frustrating. 

“Previously, we were using quite an old system to manage our sales progression. It had elements of mio, but it wasn’t as easy to use. I had to go in and out of different pages to get the information I needed. I also struggled with interruptions. For example, if the phone rang and I hadn’t finished what I was doing, I’d often lose my notes and have to start again.”

mio removes traditional silos of information and makes it so much easier to complete tasks

mio gets you to rethink your approach to sales progression with a positive outcome; there is a whole suite of features to help agents identify and monitor delays – helping them to be proactive, rather than reactive, as well as keep incoming phone calls to a minimum.

Features include; 

• Presenting the whole picture, so you know what needs tackling first 

• Contacts digitised and stored in one place 

• Centralised communications all in one place 

• Automated chain building (and less rekeying) 

• Data feeds from conveyancers, lenders and surveyors 

“mio is very efficient, and I find it so much easier to complete my sales progression tasks. I particularly like the time stamp on the notes, as this helps everyone to know what has happened and when. I also like that you can see all of the details of the connected solicitors and clients on a single tab – with just a quick glance. Not only that, but new handy features are released regularly, making my job even easier.” 

mio’s clear dashboard and processes also make it very easy to teach sales progression to new members of the team. For example, showing a new starter the various elements of the mio dashboard helps them grasp the full extent of the sales progression process – even if they’ve never done it before.

mio keeps everything in one place and takes the hassle out of sales progression

“Since first adopting mio over a year ago, my sales progression has been much more efficient. I actually manage to complete my tasks quickly and get it done in one sitting – without worrying about interruptions. It’s great to have everything all in one place too!”

Switching to mio was also quick and easy for everyone involved. 

“When I was first looking at switching to mio, I initially thought “oh no, not another program to learn” – but I quickly found I had nothing to worry about as it was easy for my team to get started with mio. I also wasn’t sure mio was going to be much better than what we were already using, but it is so much more user friendly and easy to navigate.” 

Want to be in control of your transactions – rather than feel like they’re controlling you?

Contact us today – and try mio FREE for 6 months.

The Water Authorities, Coal Authorities and Local Authorities have advised of their annual round of price increases – taking effect on 1st April 2019. 

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

Which Water Authorities, Coal Authorities and Local Authorities are changing their prices?

We’re working closely with the Water Authorities, Coal Authorities and Local Authorities to ascertain exactly which authorities are increasing their prices and what these new prices will be – and will continue to keep you updated as more information becomes available. 

The current available details are below:

Water Authorities 

The following Water Authorities have confirmed they will be changing their prices on 1st April 2019. 

The following Water Authorities have confirmed they will be changing their prices on 1st May 2019. 

Please be aware, Wessex Water and South West Water have advised that they are not changing their prices this year.

Coal Authorities 

The following Coal Authorities have confirmed they will be changing their prices on 1st April 2019. 

Local Authorities 

The following Local Authorities have confirmed they will be changing their prices on 1st April 2019. 

• Ashfield

• Basingstoke and Deane

• Bassetlaw

• Blaby *have advised of no changes

• Bracknell Forest 

• Braintree

• Broadland

• Bromley

• Bromsgrove

• Central Bedfordshire

• Ceredigion

• Chelmsford *have advised they will not be changing their prices until 1st May

• Cheltenham

• Cherwell 

• Chichester 

• Cannock Chase *have advised of no changes

• Corby

• Dorset

• Dover District Council *Please be aware Dover changed their prices at the earlier date of 1st March 2019

• Epsom and Ewell

• Great Yarmouth

• Guildford

• Hackney

• Harlow

• Harrow

• Hertsmere

• High Peak

• Hillingdon

• Hinkley *have advised of no changes

• Kettering

• Kirklees

• Knowsley

• Leeds

• Leicester

• Lincoln

• London Borough of Newham *have advised of no changes

• Maidstone

• Malvern Hills

• Melton

• Mole Valley

• Monmouthshire

• Newcastle Under Lyme

• New Forest District Council *have advised of no changes

• North East Lincolnshire

• North Kesteven

• North Warwickshire

• Oadby *have advised of no changes

• Redditch

• Reigate Banstead

• Richmond upon Thames

• Richmondshire Council

• Ribble Valley

• Runnymede

• Rutland

• Scarborough

• Sefton

• Selby

• Solihull

• Somerset West & Taunton

• Southampton

• South Gloucestershire

• South Northamptonshire

• Spelthore

• Staffordshire Moorlands

• Stevenage

• Swale

• Swindon

• Tandridge

• Taunton Deane

• Test Valley

• Tower Hamlets

• Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone and Swale

• Test Valley

• Wakefield

• Wandsworth 

• West Norfolk

• West Oxfordshire

• West Somerset and Taunton

• Windsor and Maidenhead

• Worcester

• Wychavon

• York

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

29.4%. That’s how much of my life I have spent in the industry and with tmgroup and I’m heading to another year celebration. I remember going to the head office for my interview in a building surrounded by trees, which sadly made way for our need to use our cars and park them. Whilst musing over how much a loaf of bread cost in those days and that you don’t get much for a shilling now (I’m not quite that old!) it took me back to how things were and how much they’ve changed…

The advance in technology has had a huge impact in conveyancing as it has in all industries

We seemed to go from paper search requests to electronic almost overnight, creating digital plans with drawing tools and whizzy things that could tell us about an area of the country we’d probably never heard of before let alone knew anything about. Technology becomes a victim of its own success and the more it can give us the more we want, expect and demand. I’m proud to see my company not only move with the times but be ahead of them.

Post-Completion is a good example. We’ve seen the time taken to complete the forms reduced to minutes as they can be done electronically and submitted with one button. No more paper forms, the tmconvey platform is interactive and brings in the SDLT1-4 when needed and the SDLT5 certificate returns electronically. 

Times are a-changing and following a lengthy consultation, the 14-day SDLT payment window is coming in on 1st March.

Why are these changes being introduced?

The new payment window is being introduced to help further improve SDLT submission. It should hopefully also bring more consistency to the industry by encouraging firms to use the latest technology to save time and reduce risk.

This is a big step forward and reflects the changes and advances in technology, although I’m sure it will be the cause of anxiety for some firms.

One of the areas that seems to be of concern with firms is visibility and transparency (big buzz-words at the moment) and our Post-Completion services give you this. You can see the dates, times, submission status (and more) making it easy to keep your eye on that 14-day submission on the horizon.

Our integrated Post-Completion services have already saved lots of time for firms – including Cox Hodgetts LLP, who now receive the SDLT5 forms direct to the tmconvey platform within seconds of submitting their SDLT forms. 

They also find it quicker and easier to submit their SDLTs as our intelligent forms only present the fields they need to populate, reduce the risk of sections being missed and errors being made – even on more difficult cases. 

That’s not all. When cases are created on the tmconvey platform, it provides a seamless link with the Post-Completion forms to pre-populate information, which saves time and reduces the risk of re-keying errors. We’re also introducing look-up features for finding additional information to save checking separate websites, which will further reduce the time to submit, as well as the potential for error.

The best bit? SDLT submission via tmconvey’s Post-Completion service is available free of charge to all customers using the tmconvey platform and services, so you don’t have to worry about HMRC’s anticipated on-going costs of “amending systems and/or processes to ensure returns are filed and payments are made within the 14 day deadline”.  

What happens next?

Just to remind you, the measure reduces the time limit that purchasers have to file a SDLT return and pay the tax due from 30 days to 14 days – and will apply to transactions with an effective date on or after 1st March 2019. 

If you’re worried about meeting the new deadline, about to launch into a ‘pesky technology’ tirade or just want to find out more about how the latest technology can help save your team time, why not take a look at tmconvey’s Post-Completion services, request a FREE demo, or send me an email at Alex.Jackson@tmgroup.co.uk. 

With thanks to Alex Jackson, Senior Account Manager at tmgroup

The latest LPM Legal IT Landscapes Report has revealed that firms are feeling increasingly threatened by legal technology-based new businesses and are keen to adopt new technologies to set themselves apart from the competition – yet many are equally concerned that their firms simply aren’t allocating enough budget to keep up. 

Sponsored by tmgroup, along with a handful of other key players in the legal services and technology sector, the LPM Legal IT Landscapes Report 2019 shows that just 6% of the average firm’s revenue is invested in technology, and of that only 12% is spent on new things like creating client-facing systems – equating to approximately 0.5% of revenue. 

Emma Vigus, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of tmgroup comments: 

“Respondents acknowledge the threat posed by new entrants to the legal sector who focus on service delivery via technology – and the data demonstrates that law firms recognise the potential in technology-driven innovation. But with the budget allocated to the development of non-BAU technology at under 0.5%, firms are not investing in combating the competitive pressure.”

Legal technology-based new businesses pose one of the biggest threats

With such minimal investment, it is hardly surprising that 52% of firms do not believe they devote enough to new or non-business as usual technology. No doubt, this is exacerbated by the perceived threats in the market including; ‘Legal technology-based new businesses’ – concerning 18% of respondents – and ‘firms just like mine already in our geographies’ (15%). Both of which highlight that firms are becoming increasingly aware of the need to set themselves apart from the competition in order to succeed. 

Simon Elven, Commercial and Marketing Director at Tikit comments:

“What is starting to occur is a growing realisation across mid-market firms that these things are not only desirable but inevitable and that any long-term plans must take these into account.”

Client portals, CMS and AI all pinpointed as key game-changers for efficiency

According to the report findings, technologies expected to bring the best combination of competitiveness and efficiency to law firms are client portals, Case Management Systems (CMS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Firms investing in these technologies are already benefiting from increased efficiency and being able to deliver an enhanced customer journey, whilst those who aren’t should explore which technologies will give them the best return – even with just a slight increase in their technology budget. 

Eddie Harrison, Head of Business Optimisation at Lowell Solicitors comments:

“SME law firms should get out there and take calculated risks to bring about process changes and efficiencies. Even the smallest of gains can have a huge impact when scaled up, especially when relieving staff of some rather boring and repetitive tasks.”

Improving the customer experience should be at the heart of any investment 

One of the most resonating statements observations in the LPM Legal IT Landscapes Report is that “The market is maturing in a way that means SME firms will have to differentiate, innovate and improve their services to remain successful.”

With limited resources at their disposal, this is certainly a challenge, but there is a simple way to separate the wheat from the chaff – simply by asking “will this improve the customer experience?” This will help to make sure that any investment is giving firms a much-needed competitive edge – and not going to waste. As Julia Warrilow, Finance and Operations Director at Thursfields confirms; “It’s ultimately about what adds value to the client experience.” 

It’s also about understanding the technology investment that is both plausibly affordable for each firm AND has the potential to move the dial on revenue. For example, automating repetitive and mundane tasks can free solicitors up to spend more time on informed decisions and delivering a better overall customer experience; resulting in up and cross sell opportunities, repeat business and referrals.

This is where LPM’s ‘competitiveness v efficiency’ chart can really help to narrow down the search, with technologies such as client portals ranking highly. Available through conveyancing platforms such as tmconnect, client portals can make a real difference to the customer experience – from empowering clients to keep an eye on progress and communicate securely with their solicitor, as well as receive online forms and complete tasks. 

With so much to be gained, is it time firms started asking themselves if they are truly placing their customers at the heart of their investment decisions? 

The LPM Legal IT Landscapes Report 2019 is an annual snapshot of law firms' changing technology priorities – published on Friday 8th February 2019. 

You can find out more about the Legal IT Landscapes report here and read a full PDF version of the report here.

Did you know? The SDLT window is reducing from 30 days down to 14 days from 1st March 2019. Don’t panic! There’s still time to get your house in order. 

What’s happening and when?

According to HMRC, the measure reduces the time limit that purchasers have to file a SDLT return and pay the tax due from 30 days to 14 days. The new time limit will apply to transactions with an effective date on or after 1 March 2019. 

The deadline marks the success of digitisation and a faster more efficient way to submit SDLT forms 

This is a positive step forward for conveyancing; reflecting the impact of new technology, digitisation and integration on streamlining the SDLT submission process – and tmgroup is proud to be at the forefront of this innovation. 

As the new payment window is being introduced with a view to improve the efficiency of the SDLT system, the deadline should also encourage even more firms embrace the new technology available to them, and in doing so further standardised the high levels of efficiency many firms have already become accustomed to. 

Many firms simply don’t have visibility of their SDLT returns to know whether they are meeting the deadline or not

This measure will affect approximately 20,000 businesses, including small and micro businesses who are mainly licenced conveyancers and solicitors. Whilst the impact is expected to be minimal, with the majority of returns already filed within 14 days of the transaction, many firms lack the visibility of their processes to fully understand whether they are already meeting the deadline (or not) – ahead of 1st March 2019. 

This uncertainly is likely to be the cause of much of the anxiety experienced in the lead up to 1st March. However, for firms already embracing the latest technology, such as tmconvey’s integrated Post-Completion services, they already have complete visibility and peace of mind of their end-to-end processes – including time stamps and history, and status updates of exactly which SDLT forms are in draft, in process, submitted and returned.

HMRC also anticipates that “on-going costs may include amending systems and/or processes to ensure returns are filed and payments are made within the 14 day deadline”. However, SDLT submission via tmconvey’s Post-Completion service is available free of charge to all customers ordering cases. 

What should I do next?

For those unsure of whether they are meeting the deadline or worried that their current processes may not be up to scratch, there is still time to explore alternative options and save time. 

For more information…

• Take a look at the HMRC website guidance on the upcoming changes.

• Take a look at tmconvey’s Post-Completion services.

• Or request a FREE demo of tmconvey’s Post-Completion services. 

Is "Sales Progression" a dying art?

mio Account Manager Becky Howes takes a look at the truths and challenges of successful sales progression in 2019... 

The challenges of the current market

The high street estate agent faces more challenges than ever. With the time to completion being the longest in my memory at 18 weeks (*1) combined with fall through rates at 31% (*2), the estate agent seems to be working harder for less. 

When I started out in this industry circa. 30 years ago, if my Negotiator team were exceeding a 15% sale cancelation rate they would be getting ear ache in the morning meeting! 

So where did it all go wrong?

Could it be that the requirements of the high street lenders are just taking it too far? A property lawyer told me recently that she worked her way through a 40-point checklist before the file was even presented to the managing partner for sign off! 

Could it be that in a bullish market with optimistic sales prices being achieved over the last couple of years, that surveyors have struggled to find sufficient comparable evidence to justify the figures agreed, resulting in an increased level of down valuations? Just yesterday, a front line Negotiator told me she was trying to hold a deal together with a 20K down valuation on a bog standard town house!

Could it be that the rise of the online agent and pressure on traditional high street agent’s fees has contributed to the decline of the “Art of Sales Progression”? Is it that the appeal of winning more listings outweighs the interest in investing in thorough Sales Progression? 

What is Sales Progression for the unaffiliated?

Sales Progression is communication along the whole chain length and it keeps the deal moving on but is it a nice to have or an essential service? Some may say, “exchange of contracts will happen when it happens” but try telling your vendor that, when the new school term is fast approaching. Try telling that to your valuable new build client at the top of the chain at quarter end!  

I heard a real pearl of a story last week… A local Sales Progressor had been working down a chain as the vendor at the top was keen to exchange. They had a large onliner beneath them. They had been given some sketchy chain details, however due to our hero’s attention to detail and tenacity, she finally realised that this chain belonged to a completely different property being sold on the same street. She spent two hours advising key parties above, of the correct details and the very significant effect this would have on the planned exchange and completion dates. At time of writing, the chain is still holding together but it would have snapped clean in half without her quick actions!   

Your hard working estate agent will tell you that good Sales Progression is essential. Law Society rules prevent lawyers talking to anyone other than either side of a chain, so each chain link has no idea of the requirements, desires and wants of the parties involved – more than a link away. How many times has your client been ready to move with vans booked, only to be advised at the 11th hour that the first time buyer at the bottom has yet to get his mortgage offer? A valuable, time served Sales Progressor will eradicate these issues and keep relevant parties informed, saving abortive work, time and stress. It only takes one good Sales Progressor in a chain to move it on nicely. Abortive work is the thorn in the side of any decent cash flow prediction and should be avoided at all costs. 

Your hard working high street agent could also tell you that this valuable service sets them apart from any inexperienced upstarts, who may be contributing to this extremely high fall through rate. Or if you have an online agent in the chain or a conveyancing factory who have a very different attitude to traditional Sales Progression, it is often up to the vendor and purchaser to progress the sale for themselves. Or the high street agent on either side of their link, to assist and plug the gaps. I am “Gen X” and not a big fan of call centres, and I find waiting on the line to be worse than the “take a ticket” scene from Beetlejuice!

Your hard working conveyancer on the other hand could tell you that the Sales Progressor calls are a constant interruption and a necessary evil. I heard in conversation recently from a property lawyer that on a particular case he had taken 6 calls in the day providing information to different people in the chain! His point was that, without all of those calls, he could have actually got on with the conveyance! 

Another solicitor told me that they make it their business to always take the estate agents calls because at the end of the day the agent is the only player who can work the chain up and down, consequently holding it together. 

So who are these angels in disguise that keep the chains of England together?

Well they could be a dedicated Sales Progression colleague, often Maureen or Jean. Time served, experienced, often part time, dedicated to the role and that role alone.

They could be a centralised service, maybe Lizzie and Jo, who have an open plan space upstairs in the back room and use the clunky CRM and some home-made spreadsheets to put together a picture of the area’s sales pipeline and therefore free up time for the front line sales team to do what they are good at.

They could be a dual role Negotiator called Tim who after working hard to put their sale together is not about to hand it over to Maureen!

Nowadays they could even be outsourced.

So why is it a dying art?

Current challenges mean estate agents are making tough decisions on a daily basis, creating efficiencies across their business or making tough decisions based upon fluctuating profitability. Often the salary line is under scrutiny and a dedicated Sales Progressor becomes a luxury not to be afforded. In a complicated chain, it may only take one decent Sales Progressor to hold it all together, but it is a time consuming and an often complicated step by step process. Saving a chain can consume a whole day, running up and down the chain negotiating a completion date with multiple parties and the costs for this time investment are not shared with all agents. The costs sit with the single traditional high street agent who is desperately trying to get his fee income in before month end. 

Or maybe it is dying because the tacit knowledge of Maureen and Jean simply retires to be replaced with less experienced talent. 

Or the rise of the DIY offering which means that some of the links in the chains of England are basically winging it!

Or despite #proptech being invented at an ever increasing pace, the busy high street agent cannot see the wood for the trees and pick out the new tech that will enhance his Sale Progressor to do their job even more efficiently, saving both time and money.  

Whatever the reason for this high fall through rate and extensive time to exchange of contracts, the current state of Sales Progression has to be a contributing factor. 

Whatever you do to enhance your own Sales Progression, take a look. Effective Sales Progression has got to be the route to getting paid quicker and on more deals.  

Give your Sales Progressor a hug… and a message to property lawyers; Take their calls, you never know when the angel in disguise is going to keep the deal together for you. 

References

*1 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-house-price-index-summary-june-2018

*2 https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2019/1/shock-fall-through-figures-show-almost-50-of-sales-collapsing

Reporting into the Chief Commercial Officer, this is a full-time senior position that will give the successful candidate the opportunity to play a key role in the future success of tmgroup.  

The position is focused on the management of a team of field-based account managers who are responsible for a portfolio of approximately 600 law firm accounts, ranging from Residential Conveyancing Specialists through to Magic Circle Law firms.   Spend per account will range from a few thousand pounds per annum up to in excess of £1m.     

The successful candidate will form an integral part of the tmgroup sales and marketing team and will be expected to work effectively with Business Development, Marketing, Product Development and Client Services to ensure that we achieve financial targets and continue to develop the tmconvey and tmconnect conveyancing platform propositions in line with client requirements. 

Applicants must have a track record of managing a successful B2B account management team and retaining and growing high value accounts, ideally in the legal sector.  Strong leadership skills are essential as is a good understanding of the deployment of sales and marketing to deliver growth from existing accounts.   

Key Responsibilities:

• Designing, developing and delivering an effective account management strategy to deliver growth targets.  

• Working collaboratively with Marketing and Business Development to ensure that strategies are aligned to deliver both new business and growth targets. 

• Cascading performance objectives and managing the recruitment, training and reward structure to support the successful delivery of the account management strategy. 

• Ensuring the team works effectively with Client Services to deliver outstanding customer service. 

• Working effectively with colleagues throughout the business to design a programme that ensures the effective management of clients at every stage of the buying cycle. 

• Introducing new accounts and working effectively with Business Development to ensure prospects are converted into clients.

Skills, knowledge and experience required:

Applicants must have: 

• A proven ability to manage a team to deliver growth 

• A proven ability to manage complex key accounts generating in excess of £500k income per annum

• A proven ability to influence at Director / Partner level, preferably within law firms. 

• A robust understanding of the legal services sector and the application of technology within the sector  

• A good understanding and a genuine interest in Residential and Commercial Real Estate

• Strong leadership skills

• Strong commercial acumen as evidenced by an ability to translate customer requirements into product / service delivery  

• A strong professional presence with polished presentation skills

• Superb written and verbal communication skills including prior experience of developing responses to tenders/RFPs.  

External relationships you will be required to manage:

• Directors, Partners and Heads of Department within Law Firms with a heavy focus on Residential Property and Commercial Real Estate 

• Key stakeholders external to tmgroup’s traditional client base. This might include regulators, lenders, property consultants and residential surveyors, estate agents, trade bodies and regulators. 

• tmgroup shareholders 

• tmgroup suppliers 

Internal relationships:

The successful candidate will need to effectively manage multiple internal stakeholders from Executive Directors to Marketing and onto Heads of Product. 

Travel:

Extensive travel within England and Wales will be required.

How to apply:

Please email hr@tmgroup.co.uk with an up-to-date CV and covering letter explaining why you think you could be our Head of Account Management.

We look forward to hearing from you. 

After Thursday 7th February, you’ll notice a new section in your mapping preferences System Settings called ‘Map Data Layers’, which will give your TM Administrator more control over which data layers you see on your mapping. 

How do I update my mapping preferences?

Your TM administrator will be able 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; 

• Default: Showing Local Authorities and Country Boundary indicators

• Distribution: Showing Local Authorities and Country Boundary indicators, as well as distribution (water, gas and electric companies). 

• Custom: Allowing you to select the data layers you’d like to see from the options on the right-hand side. 

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

Why are we making these changes?

As you may already be aware, more and more mapping data sets relevant to the property sector are becoming publically available from various central and local government organisations. We’ve been listening to our customers and adding them into tmconvey to further improve our mapping experience.

We also know each of our customers has different needs and priorities when it comes to their choice of data layers, so we’ve made our mapping more configurable with our new ‘Map Data Layers’ section. 

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 

First Title are adding new insurance provisions to their Residential Title Insurance - available from Friday 1st February.

Each of these can only be selected on its own as a standalone policy. They should not be selected alongside other risks as part of a multi-risk quote.

There are 4 new risks:

• Contaminated Land 15 Years - Failed Search (for single residential premises)

• Contaminated Land 15 Years - No Search (for single residential premises)

• Contingent Building Insurance (for a single residential flat or maisonette)

• Environmental No Search (for single residential premises)

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