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Want to improve your business development strategy? Talk to Clare Yates! She has over 25 years’ experience in the property industry and is more than happy to share what she knows to help you win new clients. 

Here, she explains how promoting good communication skills and a proactive service experience can help attract new clients and secure great recommendations.

As past research has shown, customers value proactive conveyancers with good communication skills – and are less concerned with price. This is evident in the Home Moving Trends research reports, which have shown year-on-year support for homemovers favouring these skills. 

This shouldn’t be a surprise! Clients typically need to be reassured throughout the property transaction to feel confident that everything is progressing. Yet many businesses still cry out about having the best deals – without focusing on what else future clients might need or expect. 

How do you showcase your proactivity? Outlining key milestones in the transaction and being forthcoming with new information – as well as offering useful advice on the risks of cyber crime – can go a long way in creating a happier client experience. 

Take a step back…

If you set aside just 20 minutes to review your marketing material, what would you find? Is your website shouting about how your proactive team deliver time after time – or is it just waffling on about getting a good deal? 

What about your customer experience? Would your most recent clients have good reason to recommend your services to their friends and family? Could you include testimonials on your website, in your marketing literature and client care letters? 

With thanks to Clare Yates, Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup. 

Got a question? Connect with Clare on LinkedIn. 

tmgroup has teamed up with E3 Compliance Training to help make GDPR compliance training more engaging and effective.

GDPR coming into effect on 25th May 2018 forced businesses across the country to rethink their data handling processes – from Marketing and Customer Service, to Human Resources. 

Yet, with fines of up to €20 million at stake for firms failing to comply, it is equally important that all members of staff understand what GDPR is and the changes they may need to apply to their day-to-day work.  

From 25th May onwards, achieving consistent compliance training across the business is probably one of the biggest challenges firms face – and this is where E3 Compliance Training’s app has the potential to make a real difference. 

Taking an innovative approach to compliance training, with methods more commonly found in mobile games, E3 Compliance Training’s techniques include:

• Use of game mechanics to engage players.

• Automated nudges to encourage course completion.

• Advanced analytics to support a firm’s compliance regime.

• The ability to play the courses anywhere, on multiple devices.

Clare Yates, Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup comments:

“Compliance training is not something people love to do, and can quickly become a tick box exercise – instead of a thorough educational activity. With something as critical as GDPR, there really is no margin for error.

With GDPR now in effect, many firms are beginning to feel the pressure when it comes to getting their teams ‘up to speed’. This is where a training app can make all the difference, helping to engage and thoroughly train your team before the deadline hits.” 

Want to find out how your compliance training could be more fun and effective? Please get in touch.

tmgroup are pleased to announce that they have joined a small group who will be Beta testing the new national Local Land Charges (LLC) Register. 

Building on their proven track record of assisting Land Registry in developing Business to Business (B2B) services, including “connect direct”; the precursor to the Land Registry’s business gateway, tmgroup are looking forward to this next phase of collaboration to help save even more time in the property transaction. 

The new LLC register marks an exciting step forward for efficiency and consistency 

Over the coming months, HM Land Registry will be building the foundations for a national Local Land Charges (LLC) Register and working with local authorities in England to migrate their LLC records to a centralised digital register. 

This is a positive step forward for everyone involved in the property transaction, as it will help to eliminate regional variations in the speed, format and costs of LLC searches, as well as provide online search results instantly. 

By improving efficiency and consistency across the LLC1 ordering process through digitisation, the industry will also begin to move away from the whims of the “postcode lottery”, transforming the home moving experience for both conveyancers and their clients. 

Users of tmconvey will be able to see their LLC1 results in seconds 

The development of the new national Local Land Charges (LLC) Register, through the digitisation of LLC data, is the latest in a series of datasets to be released. 

Conveyancers will now be able to make decisions by reading information on screen and in seconds, rather than having to open and interpret a PDF document – this is another exciting development for tmconvey users as well as the industry as a whole. 

It marks another step forward in tmgroup’s journey of streamlining the property transaction for the benefit of all, as the PropTech company continues to innovate and collaborate to save time for property professionals. 

Paul Albone, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at tmgroup comments:

“To be invited to be part of such a select group of Beta testers is a testament to our ongoing commitment to streamlining the property transaction, as well as our proven track record for supporting previous HM Land Registry initiatives. 

We are pleased to participate in driving this new initiative forward through collaboration and innovation, and look forward to sharing the benefits with our customers.” 

Paul Albone

Paul is tmgroup’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), working alongside tmgroup's CEO to save even more time across the property transaction.

 

Post-Completion services have launched on tmconvey. Designed to diminish the chance of manual error, this latest addition to tmgroup’s growing services helps conveyancers rise to the increasing pressure to submit their SDLT and AP1 forms more efficiently. 

Watch a quick demo of our Post-Completion services below:

Prepopulated fields make it quick and easy to submit SDLT and AP1 forms

By being fully integrated with tmconvey, users can process their SDLT and AP1 submissions without wasting timing logging in and out of multiple websites. Users also benefit from shared information and prepopulated fields across their SDLT and AP1 submission forms, as well as their cases – reducing the chore of double entry and saving time.

Anna Connett, Legal Secretary at Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP comments:

“Submitting SDLT forms is much easier on tmconvey, as it pulls through information from the case such as the property address. I like the layout of the SDLT form too, which makes it easier for our fee earners and our clients to understand, so they can approve the information easily. 

It’s then good that by the time you get to the AP1 form, and have already completed your searches and your SDLT, it copies across the agent details, property address, and copies across the SDLT5 too – so you don’t have to scan and save.”

Validation and error checking helps users get it right first time

Easy to navigate, electronic SDLT and AP1 submission forms enable every user to progress quickly by only showing the questions that need to be answered. Whilst the online SDLT calculator makes it easy for even the newest members of a team to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax fees with confidence.

To reduce the chance of mistakes, the SDLT and AP1 submission forms come with built in validation and error checking. Accompanied by clear summary pages, users can also jump to any section that requires their attention.

tmgroup are also a compliant software vendor for HMRC and Land Registry, so the SDLT and AP1 forms are always up to date, and submitted directly to them – without incurring any delays or additional costs.

Audit trails provide improved visibility and proof of compliance 

With clear time stamps and status updates within tmconvey, automated audit trails enable Heads of Department to track every SDLT and AP1 submission status across their team – and even multiple offices – for improved visibility and proof of compliance. 

Users can also login and reply to requisitions – without having to check their emails. Whilst ‘impending cancellation date’ reminders prompt to close an unanswered requisition and complete AP1 submissions, so they don’t waste time resubmitting. 

Jane Towner, Customer Experience Director at tmgroup comments: 

“The addition of Post-Completion services to our tmconvey platform will help our customers save even more time in their conveyancing work. Not only this, but as we’re an approved software partner of HMRC and Land Registry, our customers will have peace of mind that our SDLT and AP1 forms will always be up to date with the latest legislation changes. Overall, this is an exciting development for our new tmconvey platform, marking another step forward in further streamlining the property transaction for the benefit of our customers – as well as their clients.” 

Post-Completion services AVAILABLE NOW on tmconvey 

Complementing the existing SDLT submission service, our new AP1 submission is now available on tmconvey. 

To be switched on today, or request a demo. Get in touch!

The government consultation on Improving the Home Buying and Selling process has called a lot of our industry processes into question and prompted the need for real change – as evidenced by the recent summary of responses issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) in response to the government’s Call for Evidence late last year.

Here tmgroup share their predictions for what may lie ahead – alongside expert commentary from Bold Legal Group Founder, Rob Hailstone, and tmgroup’s new CEO, Joe Pepper.

Consumers will demand visibility across the entire property chain

The information tied up in a property transaction is often only shared across disparate emails and telephone conversations, which can result in delays and confusion for those involved – especially the consumer. 

With poor communication already being blamed by all parties involved for property transactions falling through, and other sectors (including banking) providing improved visibility and control through self-service apps, consumers will inevitably come to expect more from their conveyancers and estate agents. 

…And PropTech will enable collaboration and transparency

Fortunately, the market is already rising to the challenge, with practical solutions for providing transparency across the entire property chain already being piloted, such as tmgroup’s mio solution.

By sharing data across the property chain, everyone involved will benefit from a single view of the transaction, from seeing how long the chain is, to identifying (and chasing) whoever is contributing to creating delays. 

Consumers will also be able to keep an eye on any updates using an app, giving conveyancers and estate agents more time back in their day to progress the transaction – instead of fielding questions from anxious homemovers. 

PropTech solutions – such as tmgroup’s mio solution – will also help to create greater transparency, as well as educate consumers, so they feel more empowered, informed and have a better experience.

Blockchain will make property transactions faster and safer 

Cyber crime, fraud and money laundering will continue to challenge the property sector – but Blockchain technology will play a key role in making transactions faster as well as safer. 

ID verification is an area where Blockchain technology could really excel. By creating a centralised system of authentication, for example, everyone in the property chain could have access to the same, secure information – from scanned passports to AML checks. 

Joe Pepper, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at tmgroup comments:

“Whilst at Propteq Europe 2018, I heard many innovative ideas about what the future may hold for the property sector. Yet I think it is equally exciting to ask ourselves what technology can achieve tomorrow – not in 2028 – and how today’s business community can help to shape these ideas into practical solutions.

Blockchain is a great example of making the most of today’s capabilities. We are already seeing blockchain-supported cryptocurrencies hitting the headlines – with some people even using them to purchase property. As we all progress towards a safer, more efficient home buying and selling process, I expect blockchain technology will play an increasingly dominant role.”

Creating a pre-sale report will become the norm – and be quick and easy with the help of technology 

As steps are taken to improve the home buying and selling process, there will be increased focus on what can be done to make the property “sale ready” before it goes on the market. 

A pre-sale report is one possible solution. Echoing back to Home Information Packs (HIPs), these are unlikely to be everyone’s first choice, but could have the potential to reduce the time spent gathering information whilst the transaction is in progress. 

Rob Hailstone, Founder of the Bold Legal Group comments:

“When the property is on the market, this is the ideal time for preparation - especially as this is typically at least 3 months. The creation of a pre-sale report will help to ensure that every property is presented openly to potential buyers – and that there will be no nasty surprises later on. 

The challenge will be in managing the time and cost of generating this report, so that they are welcomed by estate agents and don’t unintentionally prohibit the sale of the property by adding additional costs and delays to the home selling process.” 

The latest technology offers time-saving possibilities for pre-sale reports 

Thankfully, technology has moved on a lot since Home Information Packs (HIPs) were abandoned in 2010, offering great potential for smarter and faster pre-sale reports that benefit everyone.  

• Could a digital pre-sale report be generated at the click of a button? 

• Could the conveyancer, estate agent and seller have a single live view of the report that could be easily shared with potential buyers? 

• Could a quick scan of available data sources highlight where there may be need for further investigation? Or give a property “the green light”?

Searches will be ordered much earlier on in the process 

Searches have a reputation for delaying the property transaction, as they are typically ordered later on in the homebuying process – and can create complications when issues need to be resolved before the sale can progress. 

It therefore stands to reason that if searches are ordered sooner and reviewed in a more timely fashion, then any issues could be identified earlier – reducing the likelihood of “surprises” hindering the progress of a transaction. 

If pre-sale reports do harness the potential of technology and quickly become the norm, search results could be generated as part of the report – helping the buyer to make an informed decision about any known risks when putting in an offer (instead of getting a surprise later on that could compromise the sale and the entire property chain). 

New initiatives to help improve the turnaround times of search reports could also help to speed up the home buying and selling process - such as the Government’s recent announcement to “set a timeline for local authority searches, so buyers get the information they need within 10 days”.

…and digital property log books will be used to store planning permission applications and other useful documents

When a property transaction is completed, conveyancers are typically left with a bundle of documents (mortgage guarantees, planning permission applications, etc.), which would be useful in a future sale. However this information is typically sent to the homemover and can be lost over the years. 

A digital property log book could be the answer, allowing important documents to be scanned if necessary (or even photographed), saved and stored. When the property is sold on again, homemovers can simply give their conveyancer permissions to the log book, so they can retrieve the relevant documents to proceed the transaction. 

This will accompany any information generated by a pre-sale report and help to ensure the house is “sale ready” when it goes on the market, as well as reduce the time spent requesting copies of original documents. 

Rob Hailstone, Founder of the Bold Legal Group comments:

“Some companies are already experimenting with the concept of digital property log books. However, the main challenge will be selling it to the consumer.

Whilst registration fees are expected to be minimal – around £30 to register the property and £10 per year to keep the documents stored – additional features such as holding copies of passports and driving licenses could help to improve uptake.”

Having a mortgage in principle will be mandatory 

A prospective buyer presenting a mortgage in principle is currently best practice – and not mandatory. 

Whilst a good idea in theory, helping to determine how much lending power homebuyers really have when they put an offer on a property, some estate agents don’t ask to see one. This can cause problems further down the line – resulting in delays or even withdrawals of the offer due to lack of adequate funds. 

If the presentation of a mortgage in principle was made mandatory, it would help to ensure that every offer made on a property is genuinely backed by a lender. 

With funds better secured, it is also more likely that the Government’s recent proposal for voluntary reservation agreements will succeed, by removing some of the financial risk that can contribute to buyers pulling out and chains collapsing. 

Such reservation agreements echo the process in place in the Scottish property market, where homemovers are tied in once they have made an offer – resulting in a significantly lower fall-through rates. 

What do you think will happen?

Share your comments on Twitter and LinkedIn - and tell us how you think the home buying and selling process might change for the better.

We’re always listening to our customers and adapting our tmconvey platform around your needs. That’s why we’re pleased to announce that we’ve made some enhancements to tmconvey’s Map Search – based on your feedback – to help you save even more time in the property transaction. 

Here’s a quick overview of the differences you’ll notice the next time you login to tmconvey:

> Postcodes and towns against almost every title number 

We’ve updated our dataset with an additional 6 million records, so you’ll now find a postcode and town against almost every title number. 

Not only will this give you a better indication of where every property is located much sooner but, as we populate this information where it is most useful, it will also help to speed up the search ordering process.

For example, instead of seeing ‘find address’ under ‘Create Case’, you’ll notice that this has been pre-set to ‘enter address’ and is already populated with the town and postcode – so all you have to do is add the house number and street name. 

You can see an example here:

> NEW pop-up box reminds you to ‘save and exit’

To help make Map Search more intuitive and easier to use, we’ve added a new pop-up box to remind you to save your case before you leave the page and return to the case dashboard. 

You can then either choose to “discard” the information you’ve entered so far, or go “back” into the map, where you can continue with your order or click “save and exit”. 

You can see an example here:

> Enhanced functionality of ‘save and exit’ button

We’ve also enhanced our ‘save and exit’ button, so by clicking ‘save and exit’, a title plan will now be saved automatically under ‘plans’ – so you’ll be able to return to the case later on and continue ordering your searches. 

It’s just another way we make time for you. 

You can see an example here:

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

As part of their annual product review, Argyll have advised us that they will be increasing prices across 6 of their reports on 11th May 2018. 

They will also be retiring their Estate Solutions Brief report. 

These changes will be implemented automatically on the tmconvey platform, and will be reflected in any new orders from 11th May 2018.

Find details below:

Price changes:

Estate Solutions Brief : Retired as of 11th May 2018:

Argyll will also be retiring ‘Estate Solutions Brief’, so we’ve put together some alternative products, also available to order on tmconvey: 

Argyll Site Solutions Residence

This product can be ordered for:

> Residential properties 
> Landed estates (only <10ha as size limit) 

Argyll Estate Solutions Farm

This product can be ordered for:

> Agricultural land/farms
> Any Landed estates

Groundsure Agricultural 

This product can be ordered for:

> Farming sites

If you have any questions, please contact our Helpdesk on 0844 2499200 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

Groundsure have advised us that they will be increasing the price of their Enviro Insight report on 1st May – with price changes across all bandings. 

These changes will be implemented automatically on the tmconvey platform, and will be reflected in any new orders from 1st May 2018. 

The price changes are as follows:

If you have any questions, please contact our Helpdesk on 0844 2499200 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

A reported shortage of estate agency staff is putting new pressure on branches, forcing many to explore innovative ways to save time and harness the benefits of the latest PropTech solutions. 

According to a recent article on Property Industry Eye, a long-established specialist recruiter has reported the worst shortage of estate agency staff in a generation. As Anthony Hesse, founder of Property Personnel, states; “The agency sector is experiencing the worst staff shortages at a point when the property market is going through a very challenging time.”

This is increasingly making PropTech solutions a necessity – rather than a luxury – as branches struggle to find ways to bridge the staffing gap and successfully progress their sales. 

PropTech can help teams feel like they’ve got an extra person in the office 

Embracing the latest technology, such as tmgroup’s mio solution, can help estate agents adopt a smarter approach to managing the home buying process – and increase overall efficiency. 

Designed to help estate agents speed up transactions, reduce fall-through rates, and win more business, mio is a sales progression and communication tool created by property experts for property experts. Referred to recently by an early adopter estate agent as: “Like having another person in the office.”

This is exactly what estate agents need right now; to be embracing the latest PropTech solutions to make sure their teams thrive in a challenging market place – even if their employee numbers aren’t at full strength. 

Jon Horton, Product Director – mio, comments:

“The days of having dedicated members of the team taking care of sales progression is over. In such a challenging market, there is an inevitable squeeze on resources. 

With this being compounded by the lack of estate agents available to hire, it’s down to the individual employees across the branches to pull together and deliver business as normal. Effective sales progression that puts the customer at the heart of the process is vital to quickly convert the hard work invested in winning the listing and finding a buyer into real income. Harnessing the benefits of PropTech solutions, such as mio, can help branches work more efficiently and stay ahead of the game.”

To find out more about mio, connect with Jon Horton on LinkedIn.  

Jon Horton

Jon is pleased to take a lead role in the next chapter of the journey for tm as we launch mio – a sales progression and communication tool designed to help Estate Agents.

 

Want to improve the reputation of your firm? Talk to Clare Yates! She has over 25 years’ experience in the property industry and is more than happy to share what she knows to help you get the best out of your business. 

Here, she explains how language choices can help to create customer confidence (or doubt!) during a telephone conversation. 

Never forget that customers are coming to your team because they can’t find a way to do it themselves. This puts customers in a very vulnerable position, and they can quickly become angry if they feel helpless, dissatisfied or patronised.

This is why it is so important that your team use words and phrases that help to instil confidence – instead of saying, “I’m not sure…”, “I’ll try to find someone to help you” and “I’ll have a go at sorting that for you…”. 

Here are some positive words and phrases that can make all the difference:

• “Yes, you are through to the right person to help you…”

• “I can definitely help with that…”

• “I’m sure I can do that for you…

• “Certainly…”

• “Let me assure you…”

• “I’m handling this for you today, and my name is….” 

• “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to my colleague and find the answer for you…”

Take a step back…

If all of your team members started using these positive words and phrases in every telephone call, would they have easier telephone conversations with customers? Would they be able to wrap up calls faster – rather than answer the same question 3 times to try to reassure the customer? What could this do for your efficiency, overall customer experience and reputation of your firm?

With thanks to Clare Yates, Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup. 

Got a question? Connect with Clare on LinkedIn.