In an industry first offer, digital homebuying platform, OneDome, has announced unlimited free digital KYC and AML compliance checks.

This initiative brings banking-grade compliance tools, used by financial players like Barclays, Starling Bank and Revolut, directly to the estate agents, at no cost.

The service, encompassing identity verification, document authentication, live video face matching, and comprehensive AML screening, is available to all client onboarding processes.

It promises estate agents a significant reduction in compliance costs, potentially saving thousands annually, and simplifies the onboarding process with a detailed digital report and risk assessment.

CEO, Babek Ismayil, (main picture) said: “The cost of KYC and AML checks disproportionately affects smaller agents due to volume. Through our platform’s high volume of checks, we benefit from favourable rates, enabling us to offer them for free to the agents we collaborate with.”

OneDome’s Transaction Management services extend beyond just AML checks to provide comprehensive support throughout the purchase and sales process. Their fully digitised transaction management platform and Property Moving Assistants, enhance efficiency and provide a faster, smoother completion.

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Estate agency software provider, Alto, has revealed the details of its ‘next generation’ lettings progression functionality, which existing customers can access for free.

This new feature will speed up and simplify the onboarding of new tenants, enabling them to easily complete tasks such as signing documents, paying deposits and ensuring their details are up-to-date.

A more intuitive sales progression experience is due to follow too, that integrates agents and conveyancers, for a faster, less frustrating and more profitable transaction. This is in addition to new reporting dashboards that are unique to the user and can help them identify where they should focus their time e.g. on a particular vendor, applicant or transaction.

Investment in valuations

Alto is also investing in functionality to help agents prepare for valuations. The newly launched property valuation tool provides agents with insights and information on both the property and the surrounding area. Agents will also be able to access this information while out and about via Alto’s ‘on the go’ offering.

Riccardo Iannucci-Dawson, Alto

Riccardo Iannucci-Dawson, Chief Operating Officer at Alto comments: “We’re very excited to share visibility of our product roadmap for 2024 following direct conversations with our customers about the biggest areas for improvement in the Alto software. We’re investing heavily this year to dramatically improve our core functionality, improve Alto’s UX and also add a raft of new features that our users have voted for.”

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Top spot in the 2023 Kerfuffle Awards has been won by conveyancing firm, AVRillo.

The winners of the proptech marketing platform’s supplier of the year awards are selected based on over 7,000 estate and letting agent reviews and Net Promoter Scores collected in the dashboards.

Joining AVRillo on the overall finalists’ podium was Reapit, with Silver and One Utility Bill which took Bronze.

Angelo Piccirillo, CEO, AVRillo

Angelo Piccirillo, CEO & Co-Founder, AVRillo, added: “Our mission is to marry the conveyancing and estate agency industries, which have struggled to collaborate, to reach the Danish system of 30 to 60-day property exchanges rather than the 5-month UK standard.

There’s also an interview with the founders of AVRillo, where they talk about what they did in 2023 to warrant such consistent feedback from their clients.

Whole market recognition

The Kerfuffle Awards recognise suppliers across more than 40 categories including tenant referencing, mortgages, franchising, accountancy and finance and property management and maintenance.

Simon Whale, Chief Kerfuffler

In total, over 100 property industry suppliers were given awards, including The Negotiator, which received the Silver award in the Events & Awards category for The Negotiator Conference & Expo and The Negotiator Awards.

A full list of winners can be seen below.

Simon Whale of Kerfuffle, commented: “Massive congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone for taking the time to share their feedback.”

2023 Kerfuffle Award Winners

Accountancy & Finance Software

1. Payprop
2. LettsPay
3. SME Professional

Auctions

1. LetsBid
2. Pattinson
3. Network Auctions

Automated Marketing & Nurturing

1. Agent Extra
2. Estate Track
3. Property Deals Insight

Boards, Displays & Refurbishment

1. Intouch Display
2. SPE Property Signs
3. Kremer

Branding Strategy

1. Dataloft
2. Agent Extra
3. Estate Track

Business Legal & Compliance

1. Dawsons
2. Smart Compliance
3. Elite Consultancy

Concierge

1. Rello
2. The Property Portal

Conveyancing

1. A.V.Rillo
2. Simply Conveyancing
3. ASAP

Copywriting & Content

1. Estate Track
2. Homewords

CRM

1. Reapit
2. Veco
3. Loop

Debt Recovery

1. Sinclair Taylor

Deposit Protection

1. Flatfair
2. The Depositary

Digital & Social Media Marketing

1. Dataloft
2. Agent Extra
3. Estate Track

Events & Awards

1. Women In Estate Agency
2. The Negotiator
3. Propertymark One

Franchise

1. Belvoir
2. Ewemove
3. Winkworth

HR & Recruitment 

1. Crux
2. DeverellSmith
3. LCA

Hybrid Model

1. EXP
2. Property Experts
3. Yopa

Insurance

1. Reeds Financial
2. HM Referencing

Inventory & Inspection Software

1. Inventory Base
2. No Letting Go
3. Inventory Hive

Management Consultancy 

1. Stephen Brown
2. The Estate Agent Consultancy
3. The Baldock Brothers

Management Information

1. TwentyEA
2. Dawsons
3. Modus

Market Research

1. Dataloft
2. Estatetrack
3. Sprift

Mortgage

1. Reeds Financial
2. MAB

Network

1. Women In Estate Agency
2. HMO Network
3. Women In Residential Property

Outsourced

1. Face for Business
2. Agent Extra
3. No Letting Go

Photography, Photo & Video Editing

1. Auto Social
2. DCTR

Printing

1. Spectre
2. Propalt
3. Homesearch

Proactive Appointment Generation

1. Agent Extra
2. Moneypenny
3. SME Professional

Progression Tracking

1. Propoly
2. Rello

Property Management & Maintenance

1. Reapit
2. Keyzapp
3. The Depositary

Property Safety Certificate

1. No Letting Go
2. KPR
3. SME Professional

Property Portal

1. On the Market
2. Zoopla
3. Rightmove

Property Surveys

1. The Property Portal
2. SDL Surveying

Agency Review Management

1. Google
2. Trustpilot
3. Estate Track

Telephony, Networking & IT

1. Face for Business
2. Moneypenny
3. SMS Speedway

Tenant Referencing

1. SME Professional
2. HM Referencing
3. Let Alliance

Training

1. Crux
2. Dawsons
3. Able Agent

Utility

1. One Utility Bill
2. KPR

Valuation Presentation

1. Dataloft Inform
2. Sprift
3. Property Deals Insight

Website Design, Content & SEO

1. Agent Extra
2. Estate Track
3. Estate Apps

Website Functionality (Search, Chat, Valuation) solutions

1. Moneypenny

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Iceberg Digital has announced the launch of Uzair, the first Microsoft-approved AI tool specifically designed for the property sector.

Uzair will significantly change the way estate agents interact with their CRM systems, autonomously performing time-consuming tasks like generating property descriptions, blogs, and other essential content.

Unlike traditional AI solutions requiring manual prompts, Uzair uses existing data both inside and outside of the Lifesycle CRM to generate property descriptions with a simple click. Depending on the property, Uzair will do this with no user input required because Lifesycle allows the owners of new instructions the ability to complete the PIQ online, which Uzair will access and combine with additional information to craft a title, short or long property description into the required fields directly inside the Lifesycle CRM.

Similarly, Uzair’s features include content creation ideas for prospect nurturing, enabling agents to craft engaging articles and marketing emails that already have a title, introduction, and body content that can be reviewed and published instantly. Agents can also create and schedule all their monthly content, including blogs and social media posts for Facebook, LinkedIn, and other platforms, including building email templates, in just a few minutes.

Communication and conversion

Another automated feature of Uzair is its ‘Vendor Care’ tool, which extracts crucial information such as how long the property has been on the market, how many people have looked at the full details online and if there have been any offers to suggest next steps that agents can present to the clients.

The Uzair Engage optional client-facing plugin also guides visitors through interactive conversational experiences to aid conversion, taking them from property valuations to assessing the specific demand from buyers on an agent’s database.

Future developments on the horizon include the ability to respond to buyer and tenant enquiries, register them, match them to properties and understand best-performing valuers and portals.

Mark Burgess, CEO of Iceberg Digital (pictured), said: “The Uzair revolution is an ongoing journey, and as developments unfold, you can expect to witness even more innovative features that redefine efficiency and client engagement, lowering the outgoings and increasing the customer experience of your estate agency.

“Lifesycle makes anything possible and without it everything we have done and will do would not be possible either. Uzair isn’t just an artificial intelligence tool; it promises progress and efficiency and now takes its place alongside the hundreds of other innovative tools around the Lifesycle platform.”

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OneDome, the homebuying platform and challenger portal, has unveiled a new express conveyancing service.

After years of providing conveyancing panel management to estate agents, OneDome Conveyancing Premium Express aims to deliver a swift conveyancing experience for clients with an in-house team of expert conveyancers. Similar to Amazon Prime, the focus is on delivering both high-quality and expedited services to clients.

At the core of OneDome Conveyancing is DealRoom, an award-winning property transaction management platform, and a team of trained sales progressors known as Property Moving Assistants. These professionals serve as dedicated monitors for the entire transaction process, including chain management. They play a dual role as project managers of the transaction and single points of contact, facilitating communication between home buyers, sellers, and all professionals involved in a transaction.

The DealRoom and Property Moving Assistants collectively bring together all stakeholders in a property transaction onto one platform, streamlining tasks from KYC to completion. This integrated approach not only significantly reduces transaction times but also eliminates complexity and wasted time.

The launch follows a successful 12-month trial period, during which OneDome achieved an average transaction time of 7.1 weeks, compared to the national average of 15.6 weeks.

OneDome Conveyancing Premium Express caters to estate agents seeking effective pipeline management while also benefiting from a referral fee.

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L to R: Daniel Moyo – CDS, Propflo, Ying Tan – CEO, Habito, Luke Loveridge, CEO, Propflo

Digital mortgage broker, Habito, has joined forced with AI-drive proptech, Propflo, to support homeowners in making their properties more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.

The partnership will introduce GreenVal to existing Habito customers, a ground-breaking tool in the mortgage intermediary sector.

The solution provides a cutting-edge business case that outlines in detail all the benefits and costs associated with making a property more energy efficient.

Features include a resilience rating that factors in thermal comfort, air quality, and financial stability, direct quotes leading accredited national suppliers and low-cost and do-it-yourself improvement opportunities, available for direct purchase.

Intermediaries play a trusted role in advising homeowners and are forecast to be responsible for 90% of mortgage distribution by 2024, up from 84% in 2022.

Habito will be the first major mortgage intermediary to use such a tool and will be working with Propflo and lenders to get homeowners the most suitable finance options.

William Rhind, VP Mortgage Advice and Growth at Habito, said: “We know that rising mortgage costs and energy bills are having a real impact on people’s lives, and this partnership will enable us to help our customers to potentially reduce both.”

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UniHomes

The student accommodation advertising platform and utility management service achieved a ranking of 42nd nationally and 1st in the Yorkshire and the North East region, with 643% revenue growth between 2019 and 2022.

Phil Greaves, Co-Founder of UniHomes, commented: “To be recognised as one of the fastest growing technology companies in the UK and the fastest growing in our region is an incredible accomplishment in what has already been a standout year for UniHomes.

“This is an exceptionally proud moment. Technology is and will continue to be the driving force of our business, it is the heart and soul of what we do, and I would like to thank our letting agent partners and student community for their continued trust and confidence, as well as everyone within the business that has worked so tirelessly to make this possible.”

Founded in 2015, UniHomes helps the student community find their all-inclusive university ‘home from home’, by connecting them with its ever-increasing network of letting agent partners. The 50 fastest growing UK technology companies, as ranked by Deloitte, generated £808mn in total annual revenues in the year 2022/23 and employed almost 15,000 people. The Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 recorded an average four-year growth rate of 5,473 per cent.

With rankings based on revenue growth over the last four years, this is a major endorsement.

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Agency Express, the UK’s only nationwide estate agency board service provider, has won Gold Franchisor of the Year at the 2023 BFA HSBC British Franchise Awards.

Founded in 1998 by experienced estate agent, Stephen Watson, the company has a network of 113 franchisees spanning from Inverness to Penzance. They erect, maintain and store residential and commercial advertising boards for more than 7,500 estate agency branches, which is claimed to be 60% of the market.

The award ceremony, often referred to as the ‘Oscars of the franchising world’, 2023.

Commenting on their win, which was collected at The Vox Conference Centre in Birmingham in November, Managing Director, Ben Brookes said: “To win this award means absolutely everything to us. The culmination of the tireless hard work from the Agency Express network and HQ team, we are truly overwhelmed to be recognised by the BFA as the best in the business.”

Pip Wilkins, Chief Executive of the BFA, added: “Our huge congratulations to Agency Express, on this tremendous win. We had some fantastic entries this year but theirs really stood out from the crowd. We would like to thank them for being such great ambassadors for the BFA and for representing the very best in UK franchising.”

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