We are pleased to announce our partnership with Armalytix, the open banking platform which streamlines the collection of data for the professional and financial service industries.
Armalytix’s Source of Funds technology will now be available to OneSearch clients, helping to support them by providing best in class solutions that enhance their business. Through the partnership with Armalytix, OneSearch clients can have access to Armalytix’s Source of Funds analysis, questionnaires and reports which provide a simple, visual way for lawyers to gather the correct source of funds information from their clients to manage compliance and money laundering risks.
The relationship comes at an important time with both the SRA & CLC stating at the recent Legal Eye Risk & Compliance conference in Birmingham that the regulatory focus on AML is not going away anytime soon. The partnership will support conveyancers moving to electronic digital methods, rather than using paper and manual processes, helping to mitigate the reputational and financial risk that companies are currently placing themselves under, as shown by the SRA’s recent fine of a firm for wrongly saying it had a proper AML risk assessment.
Robin Wells, Head of Sales Operations, OneSearch, comments:
“Working with Armalytix represents another positive step in with which OneSearch Is assisting conveyancers with due diligence in a more dynamic and efficient way. The decision for us to partner with Armalytix was an easy one, we feel it’s the most comprehensive and most effective solution in the market”
Tom Lyes, Head of Legal and Property at Armalytix, stated:
“Our vision to create a form free future fits in perfectly with OneSearch’s mission to offer a complete solution to the property transaction. Our Source of Funds tool ensures that clients can meet AML and fraud checks for compliance and regulatory purposes, and digitises the process, allowing for a better client experience. We’re excited to be supporting OneSearch as one of the most trusted brands in the conveyancing world.”
To launch the new partnership, OneSearch and Armalytix are delighted to invite you to an upcoming webinar.
‘Tackling Source of Funds with Armalytix & OneSearch’ will take place on the 27th July. You can sign up for this webinar for free by clicking here, or find out more information here.
If you can’t make this date, but would like a recording afterwards, email us here.
To find out more about Armalytix via OneSearch, download their product card, sample report, alternatively please call the OneSearch Service Introduction Team on 01782 433 270 or email intro@onesearchdirect.co.uk.
Changes are afoot in the Conveyancing Quality Scheme’s (CQS) Core Practice Management Standards.
From 1 May 2022, accredited conveyancers will be required to comply with changes relating to Part 2 of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders Handbook for conveyancers acting on behalf of lenders in residential conveyancing transactions. Part 2 of the handbook sets out the specific instructions for each lender – of which more than 120 in England and Wales alone.
What’s changed?
The updated Core Practice Management Standards (CPMS) state:
“Practices must have a policy for dealing with Lenders which must:
6.4: b. Contain a procedure to ensure that Part 2 of the UK Finance Handbook is checked by a fee earner to ascertain the lender’s standard requirements, as well as those specific to a transaction, and for verifying that all of those requirements have been satisfied, prior to exchange and recording on the file that the check has been carried out.”
With lenders able to update their Part 2 requirements at any time, the challenge for conveyancers will be keeping track of lenders’ changes (which, overall, can exceed 100 in a single month) when ensuring and demonstrating compliance with the updated CPMS. Currently, the UK Finance website flags the date of lenders’ last updates, but not the specific questions or changes. If conveyancers fail to meet the lenders’ very latest requirements under the CPMS, they risk insurance claims, panel and accreditation status and reputational risk.
Making compliance easier – and quicker
Conveyancers can ensure compliance and delegate time-intensive checking and re-checking of lender requirements over the transaction period by adding a Navro LC-5 Lender Check report for the lender in question to their OneSearch order.
The report flags changes clearly by showing updates side by side, which enables fee earners to quickly spot new and additional requirements and ensure that these are met in the conveyancing process. What’s more, conveyancers can run time-stamped updates on their report up to five times during a transaction to ensure and demonstrate compliance throughout the process.
The key benefits include:
- Old and New answers shown in summary for instant comparison
- Easy to use – simply complete the relevant details
- Updated at the click of a button, 24/7
- Refresh your results up to five times per case
- Available for any lender listed by UK Finance
- Standardise Practice procedures
- Protect your PI insurance
Getting ready for the Conveyancing Quality Scheme’s (CQS) Core Practice Management Standards couldn’t be easier. Find out more about the LC-5 Lender Check report here, and watch our quick video on how to order on our portal here.
Want to discuss how the LC-5 Lender Check report can benefit you and your firm? Call the OneSearch Service Introduction Team on 01782 433 270 or email intro@onesearchdirect.co.uk
Please be advised of the following price updates for Official CON29DW products, effective from 1st May 2022:
| Residential | Price Increase |
| CON29DW Geodesys (Anglian Water) | + £2.50 |
| CON29DW Northumbrian Water | + £2.50 |
| CON29DW Safemove (Yorkshire Water) | + £2.50 |
| CON29DW Severn Trent Water | + £2.50 |
| CON29DW South West Water | + £2.50 |
| CON29DW Southern Water | + £2.50 |
| CON29DW Thames Water | + £2.50 |
| CON29DW United Utilities | + £2.50 |
| CON29DW Welsh Water | + £2.50 |
| CON29DW Wessex Water | + £2.50 |
| Commercial | Price Increase |
| Geodesys (Anglian Water) – Commercial | + £5.00 |
| Northumbrian Water – Commercial | + £5.00 |
| South West Water – Commercial | + £5.00 |
| Southern Water – Commercial | + £5.00 |
| Thames Water – Commercial | + £5.00 |
| United Utilities – Commercial | + £5.00 |
| Wessex Water – Commercial | + £5.00 |
| Commercial Extra/ Plus | Price Increase |
| Severn Trent – Commercial Extra | + £18.00 |
| Safemove (Yorkshire Water) – Commercial Plus | + £9.00 |
Please note: this price increase only applies to Official CON29DW searches. The OneSearch DW will remain at its current cost.
Our Drainage and Water search is a key report in residential transactions, supporting your due diligence. The OneSearch DW clearly identifies the connection status of the Mains Water, Foul Sewer and Surface Water Sewer of your property.
To view our product card, click here. You can also view our current sample report here.
If your bundles include any Official CON29DW products, your account manager will be in touch. If you have any questions or comments, please email intro@onesearchdirect.co.uk or get in touch with us on 0800 052 0117 and we will be more than happy to assist you.
No personal search service at London Borough of Hackney
Since the cyberattack at London Borough of Hackney Council in October 2020, the Local Authority have been unable to access or provide information in the Local Land Charges register and CON29/0.
OneSearch Direct have received an update from the Local Authority advising that they have been able to retrieve some information on the Local land Charges register and CON29/0 and will be able to provide a partial search report. This report will provide elements of the LLC1 and CON29/0 but will not cover a full search.
The Local Authority have also advised that they will no longer provide a personal search service for the foreseeable as they currently have no public register available.
Regrettably, this means that OneSearch Direct will be unable to provide a regulated search service in in the London Borough of Hackney Council for the following products.
- OneSearch Prime
- OneSearch Duo
For clients with an outstanding order for either of these products, we can provide the following options:
- Cancel your order, free of charge.
- Change your OneSearch Prime or Duo to our OneSearch Express product, which is a comprehensive No Search insurance policy of £1Million, combined with real-time Local Search Enquiries (CON29R Data). This can be returned in 2-5 working days.
- Leave your order outstanding indefinitely and obtain a Search Delay insurance policy. For a Search Delay Insurance quote, please click here.
We have contacted everyone affected by this, however, if you require assistance, please email delayedsearches@onesearchdirect.co.uk, stating your order number and we will endeavour to action your request as quickly as possible.
Referral panel or introducer work: Please ensure you liaise with the originating referral panel or introducer prior to amending any search pack.
We apologise for any inconvenience and will provide further updates as soon as London Borough of Hackney are able to commence their personal search service.
Today marks our one-year anniversary of joining the Landmark family. At the time of our acquisition, we steeled ourselves for a period of adjustment and growth. When we published our blog “How to fix these 4 conveyancing mistakes in 2020” we said our word for 2020 was expansion. Little did we know how accurate this would be!
When lockdown arrived in March we were in a fortunate position, as we’d already spent the previous year enabling remote working for our staff. When the time came to implement our business contingency plan, we simply rolled out this initiative to the rest of our people. The advantage of using all Cloud based applications enabled a smooth continuity of service to our customers, and we cannot emphasise enough our gratitude to all OneSearch employees for adapting with such ease.
The return of the housing market in May created a flurry of new transactions, jostling for space alongside the 450,000 people who’d been unable to progress their plans to move house. The bottlenecks appeared quickly as conveyancers contended with COVID-related congestion at every stage of the property transaction. Our Express indemnity policy has been invaluable for keeping transactions moving during these times, and will become more prevalent as we get closer to the Stamp Duty holiday deadline.
In June we celebrated 10 years of our Drainage & Water search, having surpassed over a quarter of a million sales. We’re delighted to see OneSearch DW become an integral part of the homebuyer transaction, as more conveyancers recognise its value and make it a standard part of their search bundles.
By October we were reporting record high volumes across the board. In September 2020, we processed 93% more regulated local authority searches and an astonishing 127% more drainage & water reports than in September 2019. Celebrating another milestone, we also surpassed 5 million local, drainage & water, and environmental searches.
As we near the end of 2020, we can look back with pride, and look forward with optimism. Simon Brown, CEO of Landmark, commented: “What you have achieved in the last 12 months has been incredible, and we are delighted to see you all settle in. Acquisitions and integrations can be complex and challenging, but this has been a resounding success.“
Now it’s time for a breather.
Never has our industry been so in need of some downtime, and we hope you are able to enjoy a spot of respite before we launch ourselves into another unpredictable year. As much as the world may change, some things will stay the same: we’ll still be fighting against cybercrime; people will still move home and, until we hear any different, we still anticipate the cliff edge of the Stamp Duty holiday deadline on 31st March.
At OneSearch, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way.
Thank you for all your support in 2020, and we wish you all the very best in 2021.
From all at OneSearch Direct
Please be advised we will be closing on Thursday 24th December at 1:00pm, and reopening on Monday 4th January at 8:30am. We’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
Hackney has become the first local authority to announce that searches will now miss the stamp duty holiday deadline. As a result of a cyber attack which has left the council unable to process searches, Hackney recommend indemnity insurance as the only way to ensure completion before the 31st March 2021 deadline. The latest update on their website has been reproduced below:
Land searches and planning applications
“The systems that the Council uses to process new planning applications and the land searches needed for property sales are affected.
“We are hoping to offer a partial land search service in the coming weeks, but we don’t expect to be able to offer full land searches to any resident before the end of the stamp duty holiday. We are therefore advising residents who need to complete a property purchase to speak to their lender or mortgage broker about taking out indemnity insurance. We will be contacting current applicants next week to tell them which elements of the land search we will be able to complete.”
At OneSearch, we can support you with OneSearch Express, our indemnity policy which provides a data-rich alternative to standard No-Search Insurance, as it also includes a comprehensive report pertinent to a client’s property. Typically returned in just 2-5 working days, Express provides the majority of data (over 70%) that you would typically obtain from local authorities, meaning you and your client can complete quickly, and with more confidence.
Our clients have been using Express since 2015 for instances where search delays have put transactions at risk of collapse, and our claims record is exemplary: there are no claims resulting from our Express searches. This is due to the accuracy of our data, and triple quality check methodology. No other company exists with our dataset, comprised of real-time and historical CON29 data.
Click here to download sample report
Express provides cover up to £1m (£2m for commercial) in place of the following searches which are increasingly causing unacceptable hold ups:
- A Search of the Local Land Charges Register form LLC1
- A Search of CON29R and/or CON29O records
- A Search of Water and Drainage records on CON29DW
- A search of the Coal Authority’s records on form CON29M
- An environmental risk assessment (excludes Commercial Express)
- A full Chancel Repair Liability search
The Express report includes over 80 data points, including (but not limited to):
- Road, Rail and Traffic Schemes
- Planning applications and Local Development Plan policies
- CIL question 3.10a
- Building Works, Environment, Health & Safety, Housing, Highways and Public Health
- Enforcement Notices, Stop Notices, TPOs, Listed Building Repairs etc.
- Conservation Areas (proposed or pre 1974)
- Compulsory Purchase
Express allows you to transact with the most data currently available, and lets you tie matters up swiftly and get on with your next case.