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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?

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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. 

Recent research from TM Group suggests that for many the issue of Capital Allowances has snuck in under the radar.

From research conducted in February 2015, when asked ‘How easy are you finding it to carry out your requirements as set out in the Law Society Practice Note on Capital Allowances?’ 52% percent of respondents answered ‘What Practice Note?!’ and less than 10% were finding it easy to fulfil their obligations. Read the original poll here.

To try and explain these findings, if we cast our minds back to the release of the Contaminated Land Warning Card in June 2001 and more recently the Flood Practice Note in May 2013, both had been widely discussed and were making headlines before they came into effect. However, the Practice Note on Capital Allowances has come into effect with much less fanfare.

"So what?" you may think, "this is a complex tax area, so isn’t it dealt with via tax specialists?"

The answer is yes but actually, later in the process, conveyancers are involved and are required to be proactive from the very start, thanks to the Practice Note.

Since April 2014 - so, nearly a year ago - whether you are acting for a buyer or a seller you should be raising the issue of Capital Allowances with your client as early as possible in the transaction. Why? Well, it can take time to put all of the documentation together but, more importantly, failing to advise the client could result in delays or financial loss to them.

Also, to reinforce the point, after 1 April 2014 if you sell a property but haven’t identified the available allowances and the client then claimed them via their tax return the unclaimed allowances are lost for the seller, the buyer and any future owner of the property.

Without unnecessary scaremongering, non-compliance of the Practice Note and subsequent loss of the Capital Allowance could lead to some quite high claims from clients, potentially running into tens of thousands of pounds.

So, what can be done? The best place to start is to read the Law Society Practice Note and some information from HRMC.

You should also look to add some information into the client care letter. But how can you easily demonstrate that you have advised your client and discharged your duties in this area?

My answer would be in the same way you do with the contaminated land and flooding: with a search that can be passed onto the client to help them in this matter and get them underway with some information which they can pass onto their tax advisors.

TM have launched a commercial search at £50 and a residential one at £15 which, with some additional information from the client, can be returned in hours.

Not only can your client start their claim early in the transaction, or cost-effectively show that there isn’t a claim but, as a solicitor, you can very easily demonstrate that you have carried out your duties as set out by the Law Society.

If you would like some more information on this new search please contact your account manager or the TM Group helpdesk on 0844 249 9200 and helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk. 

Local Authority searches are a fundamental part of a buying or selling a property – perhaps even the fundamental part. When purchasing a property it's vital to know certain information before proceeding: Is it a listed building? Are there any developments planned? Is the property in a conservation area?

Not knowing this information could seriously hamper any future plans you might have for the property.

About Local Authority searches

The Local Authority search consists of a standard LLC1 result and a CON29 result.

The LLC1 form contains information relating to:

• • Listed buildings
• • Conservation areas
• • Tree protection orders
• • Improvement or Renovation grants
• • Smoke control zones
• • Future developments

The CON 29 document consists of two separate parts, CON 29R (Required):

• • Building control history
• • Nearby road schemes and motorways
• • Contaminated land
• • Radon gas

And CON 29O (Optional), which deals with a number of optional extra enquiries, depending on the property circumstances.

• • Road proposals by private bodies
• • Public paths or byways
• • Advertisements
• • Completion notices
• • Parks and countryside
• • Pipelines
• • Houses in multiple occupation
• • Noise abatement
• • Urban development areas
• • Inner urban improvement areas
• • Simplified planning zones
• • Land maintenance notices

There are a total of 348 local authorities in the UK with a further 24 county councils and, although some will offer additional information upon request, the majority will simply provide LLC1 and Con29 results.

How long does a Local Authority search take?
Between 48 hours and 42 days, based on 2015 performance.

Much is made of the notion of searches delaying property transactions but, in reality, the average length of a property transaction is 88 days and the slowest Local Authorities are currently operating on a 42 day turnaround, based on performance so far in 2015.

Conversely, we work with some Local Authorities who can return search results within just 48 hours. Much depends on an individual Local Authority’s method for the receipt of search requests and the return of search results – through our online portal, via email or post.

Many Local Authorities face increasing pressure to further reduce spending, therefore it is inevitable that staffing levels are reduced in many departments, one of those being Land Charges. We work with many local authorities who have a Land Charges department that consists of just 1 person.

How could they be quicker?
The obvious answer is additional staffing, however, there are ways in which TM assist in the receipt and delivery of LA searches.  The use of the TM portal as an alternative to postal or emailed requests reduces considerably a Local Authority’s turnaround time, postal costs, and administration resource.

How much do they cost?
The price varies according to each Local Authority and there is no standard pricing.

Our in-house mapping and spatial expert Russel Tinnion ruminates over the issue of what is in an 'address' and why is it an issue to be managed in the business world?

The humble address has remained a “bone of contention” in business processes for many years, whether it be in conveyancing transactions or simply what you call 'home'.

Royal Mail, the national postal service, may have a characterisation of an address which differs to how the Land Charges department at a local authority might describe it. The idiosyncrasies in the use of an address within other administrative systems can create misunderstandings between organisations.

Due to the varying organisations undertaking activities relating to the property, ambiguity and confusion can transpire, impacting business processes and therefore service delivery to the public and private sectors alike.

It is important to remain aware that Royal Mail data, often utilised in business processes, contains “addresses” to which letters and parcels are delivered. Many businesses, for example Utilities or Emergency Services, undertake operational activities that require location to be described by the use of an “address”.

AddressBase Premium: Ordnance Survey's flagship address database. Image copyright Ordnance Survey.

However, even more importantly, spatial location is required for land and property to which Royal Mail do not deliver.

Non-Royal Mail addressable objects may include:

• Property developments (new build)
• Bus shelters
• Bridges
• Telecommunications masts

Historically the requirement to locate “addressable” and “non-addressable” objects has been accomplished through implementation of technology services that access two distinct “address” characterisation datasets - these datasets being the Royal Mail Postal Address File (PAF) and the Local Authority Local Land & Property Gazetteer (LLPG).

In the past, one of the main deficiencies of using both these datasets was an inability to cross-reference or mine the equivalent address in one or the other dataset.

Each dataset has a unique set of extended address attributions but, by combining LLPG and PAF, one can access two sets of extended attributes in a single source. This brings about many advantages for businesses, allowing for services to be expedited and improving accuracy of information exchange relating to the address of the property.

AddressBase Premium, managed by GeoPlace, provides such a single source for “address” characterisation based on PAF and LLPG data.

GeoPlace® is a public sector limited liability partnership between the Local Government Association (LGA) and Ordnance Survey (OS). GeoPlace's remit is to create and maintain the National Address Gazetteer and National Street Gazetteer for England, Scotland and Wales.

Information in AddressBase Premium is consumed and collated from organisations such as:

• Royal Mail
• ~ 75,000 changes every 6 weeks
• Local Authorities in England and Wales
• ~1,382,000 changes every six weeks
• Valuation Office Agency
• ~95,000 changes every six weeks
• Improvement Services Scotland
• ~147,000 changes every six weeks

The “link” between PAF and LLPG has been achieved through the use of a Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN), an overview of the UPRN can be found here “The UPRN – your golden thread”. By utilising the UPRN in business processes, as opposed to the address description, ambiguities in the land and property being referenced or described can be avoided.

As address-related technology services extend to take advantage of the UPRN and its extended attributes, enriched and more efficient workflows will evolve for numerous business practices; refining Client-facing applications as well as “business-to-business” address information exchange.

As the UPRN “link” becomes established, I envisage other datasets such as Ordnance Survey MasterMap Topology Layer or perhaps the Land Registry Title information partaking in “link” exposure.

It's possible that the humble address will not be such a “bone of contention” in business processes anymore...

If we cast our minds back to last winter, which was the wettest in 250 years, the scale of the flooding that was suffered and the resultant damage can still be seen. According to the Environment Agency (EA) 7,000 households, along with a similar number of commercial and industrial premises, were flooded and over 150 severe flood warnings were issued. The Thames Barrier was raised nearly 50 times during the winter and, according to the National Farmers Union, 49,000 hectares of agricultural land was flooded which is very similar to the losses experienced in 2012.

Image: £2.3bn worth of investment into flood defences has been promised as part of the National Infrastructure Plan 2014.

With the recent Government announcement on infrastructure spending in the Autumn Statement, the discussion about these projects has been added to the national agenda. It would seem that one of the cornerstones of the Government's plan for economic recovery are these large projects but what of the impact that they can have on specific areas, home owners and house buyers?

Proximity to London's sprawling underground rail network can be a real and serious problem for homebuyers. Not only can it impose planning restrictions on a property, but it can also cause vibrations and noise pollution -- and even lead to subsidence.

The topic of infrastructure continues to keep our politicians busy with discussions around the budget for HS2, where and when a new runway should be added in the south and if there should be more projects to improve the economy, but what about homebuyers?

Clearly many of these projects are both high profile and long term, and it would be naïve to suggest that anyone buying a house near an airport or railway line is going to be ignorant of its presence and the fact that it will impact upon the property in some way, for better or for worse. What is challenging is that these issues are usually subjective and the reaction to them will vary from individual to individual but, as a conveyancer, how can you tell unless you can inform them?

When the SRA published their Risk Outlook 2014-15 in July of this year to assess the key risks to firms in carrying out their regulatory objectives there was a new entry in the Risk Outlook chart compared to 2013, namely bogus law firms.

The other four including misuse of money, money laundering controls, a failure of service and diversity within the workplace remain, so where has this new threat emerged from?

Law firms need to be aware of their attractiveness to criminals who seek to launder the proceeds of crime through conveyancing transactions. Image copyright Images Money.

The Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA) is stepping up its efforts to ensure that law firms do not become embroiled in money laundering activity and are compliant with the various regulations and legislation associated with anti-money laundering compliance.

In their Risk Outlook 2014-15, published in July, the SRA highlighted how law firms are an attractive vehicle through which to launder the proceeds of crime, such is the magnitude of funds being transferred by legal practices.