TM Search now in competition with NLIS

From today, TM Search Choice will break the NLIS monopoly on electronic land searches by providing electronic official searches direct from all the local authorities in England & Wales, thereby significantly reducing the cost of land and property searches. TM Search Choice is part of TM Group, which orders nearly 200,000 searches per month, including searches for around 40% of all Home Information Packs (HIPs) in England & Wales. Since the launch of the National Land Information Service (NLIS) in April 1999, TM Group has ordered nearly 2 million searches per year. John Carolan, managing director of TM Search Choice said “The annual cost of an NLIS licence plus a £20.60 per search charge has been cost-prohibitive, and has delayed the UK Government’s vision of national e-conveyancing. Ultimately, it is the consumer who has been suffering from a lack of a cost-effective service to date.” “Our vision is that official searches should be conducted online; efficiently, quickly and cost effectively,” says John Carolan. “We’ve been working in close partnership with local authorities in England & Wales and are constantly refining our service to meet the needs of each individual local authority. What’s more, if discounts are given by a local authorities, we will pass them on to the consumer.” www.tmsearchchoice.co.uk