tm blog

HM Land Registry have confirmed that international law firm Bird & Bird LLP were the first law firm to receive a City of London LLC1 result through their new digital Local Land Charges Register. tmgroup are delighted to say that this order was placed via their tmconvey platform – and the result was returned within seconds at precisely 10:14am on Monday 8th October. 

Russell Dellar, partner at international law firm Bird & Bird comments:

“We are delighted to be the first tmconvey customer to receive an LLC1 result from City of London via HM Land Registry’s new digital Local Land Charges Register. At Bird & Bird, we are focused on helping organisations being changed by technology and the digital world. This new innovative platform is certainly something we are keen to promote as well as tmgroup services who we have had a relationship with for many years. The team have never let us down and we look forward to continuing our relationship.”

Paul Albone, Chief Operating Officer at tmgroup comments:

“It’s fantastic to be a part of HM Land Registry’s continuing success with their new digital Local Land Charges register, and we’re pleased to be supporting this new service on tmconvey. tm has a track record of working closely with HMLR on integrated solutions, and we look forward to continuing to work together to deliver further improvements in the future which will help to streamline the conveyancing process even more.”

City of London is the third Local Authority to have their Local Land Charges data digitised, closely following Warwick District Council (11th July) and Liverpool City Council (3rd September), and tmgroup will continue working closely with HM Land Registry throughout the rollout of their new digital Local Land Charges Register.

A further 16 Local Authorities are expected to have their Local Land Charges data digitised across 2018 and 2019, including Stevenage Borough Council, Carlisle City Council, and Peterborough City Council – although exact dates have yet to be announced. 

You can see the full list here.

We’re very proud and excited to announce that mio – our new sales progression and communication tool – has made the Shortlist of The Negotiator Awards 2018 for ‘Supplier of the Year (Technology) – Apps’. 

Organised by the residential property industry trade magazine, The Negotiator, the Awards programme has led the field in the celebration of excellence in the residential property agency sector for 12 years and, with 16 highly experienced judges, only the best agencies and suppliers are announced as the winners. 

The ‘Supplier of the Year (Technology) – Apps’ category recognises companies using innovative technologies to improve Estate Agents’ processes – and we’re delighted to see that mio has earnt a well-deserved place on the list.

Early adopters are already embracing a smarter way to manage home buying 

mio offers Estate Agents a smarter way to manage the home buying process, and empowers them to improve their customer experience by giving homemovers convenient, 24/7 access to updates.

Early adopters – including Allen & Harris, Connells, Brown and Merry, Peter Alan, and Taylors Estate Agents – are already embracing the benefits of mio; including speeding up transactions, reducing fall-through rates, and helping them win more business. 

Don’t just take our word for it…

• Adam Fray, Senior Branch Manager at Taylors Estate Agents in Bradley Stoke: “mio is a really good tool, easy to update, and the reporting and reminders features are particularly useful.”

• Jamie Brown, Branch Manager at Brown and Merry: “It’s great that mio now enables everyone in the team to see how a transaction is progressing – with clear, typed notes and visible milestones.”

• Nicola Brown, New Homes & Area Co-ordinator, Allen & Harris: “I have found it very easy to move over to mio – and find it a lot quicker to bring up reports, and determine which branches I need to be having conversations with that day to help keep things moving forward.”

Jon Horton, Product Director – mio, comments: 

“It’s fantastic to see mio in the running for such a prestigious industry award. It’s a testament to the time and effort our dedicated team have put into creating a sales progression and communication tool that takes sales progression in to the digital age and improves the home buying process.”

Join us at the awards ceremony on 30th November 2018…

The three finalists and winners of each category will be revealed at a grand gala dinner at the sumptuous Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London on 30th November 2018, where the champagne will certainly be flowing!

Tickets are available here. 

If you have any questions, please get in touch with our friendly mio team, or speak directly to your mio Account Manager.

This week marks the continuing success of HM Land Registry’s new digital Local Land Charges Register, with the digitisation of Liverpool City Council’s LLC data – and tmgroup are pleased to announce that, within minutes of it going live on Monday morning, they had already processed their first orders through tmconvey. 

Since integrating with the new service when it launched back in July, the tm team were primed to support the second phase rollout of Liverpool City Council’s data – and are delighted to announce that 3 orders were processed successfully through tmconvey before 9am on Monday 3rd September, with one of the first orders being placed at 8.22am by Devonshires. 

Sara Snook, Solicitor at Devonshires comments:

“We are delighted to be the first firm to receive an LLC1 search result from Liverpool City Council via the HM Land Registry’s new digital Local Land Charges Register. The result was received in an impressive 38 seconds. This is an exciting new development with the potential to make the process of receiving LLC1 searches practically instantaneous, more consistent and a better experience all round.”

Paul Albone, Chief Operating Officer at tmgroup comments:

“Having supported the initial Local Authority a couple of months ago, I was in no doubt that this would be a seamless transition for tm customers.  As we migrate away from the direct dealings with Liverpool City Council to using the LR Business Gateway, we are able to deliver the LLC search result in a number of seconds from our customers pressing the send button.  We look forward to working with Land Registry over the coming months as they go live with more Local Authorities and also look to extend the value added services through their Business Gateway connection.”

tmgroup will continue to support the rollout of the new digital register 

Liverpool City Council closely follows the digitisation of Warwick District Council’s Local Land Charges data. Liverpool and Warwick are two of around 350 Local Authorities who will have their Local Land Charges (LLC) data digitised across 2018 and beyond. 

tmgroup will continue working closely with HM Land Registry throughout the rollout of their new digital Local Land Charges Register. 

Click here to find out more about how tmgroup are supporting the new digital Local Land Charges Register – and stay tuned for further updates.

Calling all practicing conveyancers, Heads of Residential, Heads of Commercial, and Professional Support Lawyers… The tmpropertyhub Autumn series is just days away, bringing together local property professionals to discuss whether the Government is doing enough to address the Housing Crisis.  

With limited places remaining, please book now to avoid disappointment. 

• Solihull: 11th September: Click here to register 

• Harrow: 11th September: Click here to register 

• Manchester: 12th September: Click here to register 

• Kingston-Upon-Thames: 12th September: Click here to register 

• Nottingham: 13th September: Click here to register 

Facilitated by tmgroup, tmpropertyhub roundtable events are bite-sized, 2-hour sessions that bring representatives from all parties involved in the property transaction together for roundtable table discussions about their local property market – without compromising their busy schedule.

Can’t see a location near you?

A further 6 roundtable discussions will be taking place from 9th October onwards.

Take a look:  

• Leeds : 9th October : Click here to register

• Bristol : 9th October : Click here to register

• Liverpool : 10th October : Click here to register

• Southampton : 10th October : Click here to register

• Northampton : 11th October : Click here to register

• Cardiff : 11th October : Click here to register

For more information and to register, click here.

If you have any questions, please contact Hannah Dukes on Hannah.Dukes@tmgroup.co.uk or call 0800 840 5571

Reapit, the leading cloud platform for estate agents, has announced a partnership with mio, tmgroup’s new sales progression and communication tool that offers a smarter way to manage the home buying process. The integration of mio into the Reapit RPS cloud platform enables Reapit and mio customers to bring all their data involved in the home selling process into one place, keeping agents and the clients across the chain updated at all times. 

Powered by tmgroup, a PropTech company with almost 20 years’ experience in streamlining the property transaction, the mio tool creates transparency for estate agents and consumers by joining up the dots when building property chains, fulfilling sales progression and sharing information with other agents and clients involved in the chain.  

Developed specifically to address the challenge of high fall-through rates of property transactions across England and Wales, mio brings data from multiple parties together to create a shared view of the property chain and improve the experience for everyone involved. Initially, Reapit’s RPS cloud platform will feed information from property transactions including details of the seller, buyer and solicitors of both parties into mio using an API, saving agents the time and hassle of manually entering them. mio is already proving to be an effective tool for all sizes of agents from small independents up to corporates that are involved in a chain and invested in keeping it together. Greater information sharing reduces the time between sold status and the exchange of contracts and payment, helping lessen the chance of a deal falling through from a break or delay in the chain.  

Joe Pepper, CEO at tmgroup, the PropTech company that has recently launched mio to market, said “The mio product is a hugely exciting development for the industry, and the agents that have been using the platform over the past 12-months have all reported a significantly improved sales progression experience, with fall-through rate averages down by over 30 per cent. By integrating with the Reapit platform we will make it easy for estate agents to start to use and get the benefits of mio seamlessly, and it will help agents level the playing field in the current climate where online agents get paid in advance of selling the property. The combination of Reapit and mio is an ideal proptech solution for estate agents.” 

Jon Horton, Product Director for mio said “Reapit has an enviable reputation in the market for its agency software and services and I’m delighted that we are now working together and helping to improve the home buying and selling process for everyone involved.” Reapit’s RPS platform has a proven track record with estate agents, helping them expand and operate to their full potential. Its customer base includes many leading property brands with 1 in 5 UK property listings managed through the platform.     

Gary Barker, CEO of Reapit, said: “In today’s rapidly progressive property market, it is important that our partners do not feel technologically limited when adapting their business models to suit demand and changing customer expectation. Our platform allows them to explore various models, without having to compromise their existing operations. We are looking forward to working closely with our partners at tmgroup to advance the proptech market and provide continuous innovation to support chains.”     

Reapit’s partner programme not only enables technology companies to integrate into the RPS platform, but also become part of an agent’s workflow from within the platform.

About mio

Powered by tmgroup, mio is a sales progression and communication tool created by property experts for property experts. It speeds transactions forward, reduces fall-through rates, and helps estate agents win more business. 

For more information, visit www.mio.co.uk   

About The Reapit Group  

Founded in 1997, The Reapit Group is a CRM and Client Accounting software provider specialising in the residential real estate sector. Bringing 20 years of innovation to the property market, the award winning RPS cloud platform provides everything estate agents need to run and grow their businesses, from sales to lettings, front office to back office, and everything in between. The driving force behind Reapit’s ethos is a commitment to bring all an agencies data together for a single customer view and its strong service and training model, which has helped to grow leading brands such as Savills, Knight Frank, Romans, Marsh & Parsons, CBRE, Countrywide and Winkworth. The Reapit open platform partner program is at the hub of a proptech ecosystem delivering tested solutions and increasing choice of tools for agents.    Together, the group provides software solutions to over 20,000 users worldwide and employs 150 people across its five offices in the UK and Australia.

For more information, please visit www.reapit.com.

Here are just some of the conversations conveyancers, lenders and other property professionals have been having at our tmpropertyhub events in Liverpool across 2018…

1. “Second-time buyers are the ones really disrupting the housing market”

“I think it’s the people on their second moves that pose the real challenge to the housing market. They want to move up to get into the next location, but the differential cost is sometimes prohibitive. 

Many of them are at a time in life where they’ve got children and high outgoings, which makes it harder to move up the ladder. For the most part they don’t get any assistance – but if they don’t move, the first-time buyers can’t move either.” 

2. “Help to Buy is being used by a lot of wealthy people – not those it was really intended for”

“We’ve had some clients with exceptionally wealthy parents who are still going down the Help to Buy scheme route. I’ve also seen wealthy clients buying up new builds, not because they need to, but because they get to take advantage of Help to Buy, as well as Help to Buy ISAs to a certain extent.

I do find myself thinking that it really wasn’t designed for them – yet they are the ones able to take advantage of it.”

3. “Landlords are selling up due to tax and regulation changes – and adding to the housing supply”

“We’re seeing a lot of landlords selling up due to tax changes and new regulation coming in. It’s not for the amateur anymore. It’s just too expensive, and you can’t cover costs – so they are getting out.  

There are some positives to this. Now’s probably the right time for Landlords to get out, as they’ve made their capital return, so they aren’t losing out. This is also adding to the housing supply and helping the property market.” 

4. “The rise of ‘The bank of mum and dad’ is forcing conveyancers to adapt their process to manage the extra work”

“The bank of mum and dad is not a new phenomenon, but in terms of volumes right now, it’s almost one in two.

We can’t just let the mortgage offer expire because of the extra work either. We just have to adapt our processes and our workforce, so that we can deal with the actual work. 

We don’t charge for it. As far as we’re concerned, you just have to make sure you service the needs of the clients.” 

5. “‘The bank of mum and dad’ is supporting second-time movers too”

“First-time buyers are getting a lot of help right now – from the government with Help to Buy ISAs, as well as their parents with ‘the bank of mum and dad’.

However, we do see second-time buyers also making use of ‘the bank of mum and dad’. Probably not as many, but it does happen. It depends on whether they’ve generated any equity their first house.”

Are you noticing these trends in your local area? 

Want to join the next conversation in Liverpool? Our autumn tmpropertyhub is taking place on 10th October. 

Click here to register and find out more

Not based in Liverpool? Don’t worry! Our tmpropertyhub events are also taking place across a further 10 locations this autumn - from Leeds to Southampton.

Click here to find out if we’re coming to a town or city near you

Source : Liverpool Property Hub : 16th May 2018 : Attended by property professionals – including conveyancers and lenders. 

Property Hub Network events are engaging an increasing number of property professionals across the country – with a combination of NEW and returning locations taking the series up to 11 events this autumn.

Facilitated by tmgroup, Property Hub Network events are bite-sized, 2-hour sessions that bring representatives from all parties involved in the property transaction together for roundtable table discussions about their local property market – without compromising their busy schedule. 

Click here to find out more about our autumn Property Hub Network events

‘The bank of mum and dad’ got Property Hubs off to an engaging start

The series has gone from strength to strength since launching back in May 2018. ‘The bank of mum and dad’ took centre stage, as Property Hub Network events made their debut in Leeds, Liverpool and Nottingham. 

A number of key points were raised, from the choices (and compromises) parents are making to fund their children’s dreams of property ownership, to the wider impact and challenges of shared ownership options. All in all, fuelling the appetite for future debate – and demand for future events. 

Improving the home buying process sparked heated debate in July

The July series swiftly followed with heated discussions around improving the home buying and selling process – and the addition of Cardiff, Northampton, Bristol and Southampton locations. 

Key points included; Delays being caused by lenders who continue to use a mix of paper and electronic processes, technology having the potential to deliver time-saving solutions, but not replacing legal expertise or customer service, and overall highlighting the importance of managing home movers expectations throughout the process.

Autumn series adds another 4 NEW Property Hub Network event locations

Property Hub Network events are quickly building momentum and increasing their reach across the country – with 4 NEW locations being added into the autumn series, taking place across September and October 2018. 

Autumn series : Part One : September

• NEW Solihull : 11th September 

Click here to register

• NEW Harrow (London) : 11th September

Click here to register

• NEW Kingston-upon-Thames (London) : 12th September

Click here to register

• NEW Manchester : 12th September 

Click here to register

• Nottingham : 13th September 

Click here to register

Autumn series : Part Two : October 

• Leeds : 9th October 

Click here to register

• Bristol : 9th October 

Click here to register

• Liverpool : 10th October 

Click here to register

• Southampton : 10th October 

Click here to register

• Northampton : 11th October 

Click here to register

• Cardiff : 11th October 

Click here to register

Can’t see your nearest town or city on the list? 

Let us know and we’ll arrange a Property Hub Network event near you! Simply click here to submit your request. 

At tmgroup, we want you to get the very best from our tmconvey platform. That’s why we have a dedicated Helpdesk and experienced team of Account Managers on hand to support you every step of the way.  

We listen to you and your team to get your firm off to the best possible start 

We don’t make assumptions; we listen. From initial set-up and preferences, to enabling specific mapping options and non-standard products, we work closely with your team to adapt our platform around your firm’s needs. We also share best practice ideas and offer informed, practical suggestions to help you maximise efficiency. It’s how we make time for you. 

We know there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to getting your team up and running, so we also take the time to design a training programme that is right for your firm. From creating tailored training sessions to suit different roles across the business, to accommodating the most convenient times for your team to attend. 

Responding to feedback and evolving our services is part of who we are

From customer satisfaction surveys and feedback forms, to involving customers in pilot programmes as we develop new services, we are committed to creating opportunities for listening to and responding to our customers’ needs. We’re also replacing our 0844 phone number with a free 0800 number very soon to make it even easier for you to share your thoughts. 

We’re also interested in hearing your views on the property market. That’s why we’ve launched our new series of Property Hubs, to bring property experts together to discuss the challenges and opportunities in their local area. Events have already taken place across Leeds, Liverpool, Northampton, Southampton, Nottingham, Cardiff and Bristol, and the series is continuing to build momentum – with new locations Harrow, Kingston upon Thames and Manchester making their debut this September. 

Our friendly Helpdesk team and Account Managers offer ongoing support 

It doesn’t stop there. As you continue on your tm journey, your dedicated Account Manager will be on hand to answer any questions or queries, as well as introduce you to our latest time-saving services as and when they are added to our tmconvey platform. Recent examples include our New Build Managed Service, as well as integrated SDLT & AP1 submission. Our friendly Helpdesk team will also be on hand to assist you, whenever you need them. 

Don’t just take our word for it! Take a look at what some of our customers have been saying about our wonderful team… 

• “The support from the tmgroup team is fantastic and I can’t commend them highly enough. The Helpdesk is great and our Account Manager is superb. Everyone is just so willing to help.”

- Victoria Follows, Partner, Property Department, Hand Morgan & Owen Solicitors

• “We all think that the tmgroup team are very responsive, as there is always someone happy to help, from Helpdesk to our Account Manager.”

- Ruby Jennings, Legal Assistant at Ashtons Legal 

See for yourself how easy it is to get started…

Simply call our Helpdesk on 0800 840 5571 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

As you may already be aware, HM Land Registry launched their new digital Local Land Charges Register today – 11th July 2018 – and the first local authority’s local land charges (LLC) data to be available is Warwick District Council’s.

This is an exciting step forward for the property industry, and we’re pleased to be supporting this new service on tmconvey. 

What happens next?

Warwick District Council is one of around 350 Local Authorities who will have their Local Land Charges (LLC) data digitised across 2018 and beyond. While you’ll notice a few differences if you are ordering your LLC1 through Warwick District Council (more details below), it will be business as usual for other Local Authorities. 

We are working closely with Land Registry throughout the rollout of their new digital Local Land Charges Register – and will receive a minimum of 30 days’ notice from HM Land Registry about any Local Authorities being added to the digital Register. 

We’ll also be supporting you with regular emails and updates as the rollout progresses, and making sure you have any information you need in good time. 

What is happening with Warwick District Council?

For tmconvey customers, the process for ordering an LLC1 through tmconvey will remain exactly the same. 

You’ll notice some slight differences in the way your results are returned, but we’ll continue to work with you as these changes happen and seek to apply your feedback to further improve this service over the coming months.

> Your LLC1 result will be returned faster than normal (typically within 24 hours), as the report will be processed via the new LR digital Register. 

> The CON29 will continue to be returned as it always has been in accordance with the Local Authority turnaround time, as specified at the point of order.

> There will be some changes to the LLC1 report format, as the data will be returned from Land Registry – instead of your Local Authority.

> The LLC1 and CON29 will be billed separately and appear on separate lines of any invoices you receive. 

As the LR migrates over other Local Authorities, we will immediately support them through the tmconvey platform, providing our customers with the latest offerings in the provision of digital property related data.

How do I share my feedback about this new service?

We’ll be inviting customer feedback as we continue to provide this new service from Land Registry. If you have any questions or would like to share your thoughts, please email your Account Manager, or Helpdesk on helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk 

New Build sites can be time-consuming. This is often for reasons outside of a conveyancer’s control, particularly when it comes to the provision of information for location plans, developer and plot plans. This can also result in additional queries from suppliers, culminating in significant delays for conveyancing teams.

Designed to streamline the process, our New Build Managed Service COMING SOON is tailored to your needs to help save your teams time - and our early adopters couldn't praise it highly enough.

> Nicole Hancock, Legal Assistant, Residential Property Department, Clifton Ingram LLP:

“I used to find it really stressful to work with plans for New Build plots, but now I just send them onto tmgroup’s New Build Managed Service team and they take care of everything for me. I love it!"

> Amy Archer, Senior Paralegal at Gordons Partnership LLP:

"We especially appreciate the direct contact with the New Build Managed Service team, as we can send over our order and within 20 minutes receive confirmation that our searches have been ordered. It also helps that any queries come directly to us, so we don’t have to spend time checking up on things. Overall, it’s a very quick and smooth process.”

> Melanie Cox (Mrs)(FILS), Legal Assistant, Residential Conveyancing at Terry Jones Solicitors:

“I’ve been using the New Build Managed Service for a few months now and it’s absolutely brilliant. It’s helped to save me a lot of time, as all I need to do is fill in the template and send it off. Everything is then taken care of on my behalf – even the mapping! It’s much easier than all the to-ing and fro-ing I used to experience with New Build plots, especially as I no longer have to field queries and discuss plans over emails or phone calls – which can be challenging and time-consuming. I’ve also been very pleased with the customer service, as the New Build Managed Service team have consistently dealt with any questions or queries very efficiently.”

Let our experienced team manage New Build properties on your behalf 

Drawing on years of experience and long-standing relationships with suppliers, our experienced New Build Operations team are well-placed to process New Build searches on your behalf. All you need to do is fill in a simple template with the information you have – and we’ll take care of the rest.

Even when queries arise, our Operations team will do a thorough investigation to resolve the question. That will mean liaising with our search suppliers as well as the property developers on your behalf.

Results will then be emailed to any distribution list you require, as detailed within the search template. All of this saves your team time and energy, which may be better used elsewhere.

New Build Managed Service COMING SOON to tmconvey

For more information, please contact your Account Manager, or get in touch with Helpdesk on 0800 840 5571 or helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk