Can you explain Landmark Information Group’s core services and how they directly benefit the mortgage lending industry?

Landmark Information Group provides technologies and data services to all parties engaged in the property transaction process, from estate agency, conveyancing, brokerage and mortgage lending and property valuation. Landmark Valuation Services is the market leading provider of property survey and mortgage valuation software for the UK’s chartered surveying and mortgage lending industries in the UK; we provide technologies and services which connect lenders to surveyors and valuers, enabling faster and more efficient mortgage valuations.

These services range from assisting lenders in evaluating property risk, allowing them to make safer lending decisions, through to facilitating physical property valuations on the surveyor side via case management software and mobile applications which allow property inspections and site notes to be completed on a mobile tablet. Landmark’s Secure Panel Network (SPN) product – SPN and SPN+ – directly connects lenders with surveyors, facilitating the secure exchange of mortgage instructions. SPN and SPN+ allow richer data to flow between lender and surveyor, speeding up the process, driving efficiencies and enabling more accurate valuations.

How does Landmark’s data integration help streamline the mortgage process for lenders?

In today’s heavily regulated environment, and the increasing amount of ‘things to do and check’, property risk and lending decisions are critical to both the lender and the consumer.  Being able to identify a property’s current or future risks earlier in the process or achieve an instant valuation on a property without having to instruct a physical valuation, means mortgage offers can be made more quickly and hence speed up the process. When an instant valuation is not sufficient, a physical valuation conducted by a surveyor is required on behalf of the lender. For these valuations, having as much data provided upfront about the property is the key to speed and efficiency, as is the integration of that data into the tools that the surveyor uses. Landmark’s SPN+ connects lenders to valuers securely and allows rich data to flow between parties to enable accuracy, speed and efficiency as well as supporting nearly two million property valuations a year.

How is Landmark using technology to stay ahead in the property data space, and how does this impact lenders?

Landmark has access to over 700 datasets, covering everything anyone in the property transaction process needs to know about a property or the land around it. The key though is making this data meaningful and digestible for the various parties involved and knowing that it can be trusted. In the mortgage valuations space this means lenders being able to trust this data and its accuracy and provenance, so that they can be assured that the lending decisions they make are the right ones. On the surveyor and valuer side, the accuracy of the mortgage valuation report results in less post valuation queries (PVQs) and potential future PI claims. Our upgraded SPN, known as SPN+, means not only that more data can flow between lender and valuer – including media and photos, title information, leasehold information, risk data, etc. – but that the returned report can be digested into lender systems and manipulated more easily.

Do you see advancements in AI or machine learning playing a role in how Landmark supports mortgage lenders in the future?

Absolutely, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning has a huge role to play and at Landmark we have several proofs of concepts which could help transform how data is consumed and interpreted for the various parties involved in a property transaction process. In the mortgage lending space, we are seeing and uncovering a number of opportunities using AI to rapidly accelerate the valuation journey.

What trends do you see shaping the mortgage lending landscape, and how is Landmark adapting to those trends?

I think in relation to all the above, the market is moving and will continue to move towards the digitisation of the mortgage and mortgage valuation processes. We are already seeing this and there is no reason to believe it won’t continue to accelerate. Providing trusted data to the right parties at the right time, which is accessible through automated technologies that can easily interpret that data, means that more mortgage valuations can be done without the need for a physical inspection. This trend is expected to continue, and eventually, even more complex properties may be evaluated in this way.

However, it’s essential to highlight that this shift will create a crucial role for qualified surveyors, who will be needed to apply their expertise in supporting complex cases and directly assisting buyers with condition and defect surveys. These cases will continue to demand the insight and experience of skilled professionals, ensuring surveyors remain at the heart of property transactions. Landmark is leading the way on this front and will continue to drive innovation in the sector, with a range of developments in the pipeline aimed at supporting both automation and professional expertise.