Improved features of www.nlis.org.uk help property professionals.

Laser-Scan developed new facilities to enhance the service provided by TransAction Online to property professionals. TransAction Online is run by MacDonald Dettwiler Channel Ltd (MDCL) and is one of three competing channels that provide the National Land Information Service (NLIS). NLIS provides information to property professionals quickly and efficiently and has accelerated the turnaround for conveyance transactions. This has been achieved through making information from previously disparate sources singly available using secure Internet technologies via the NLIS hub (see www.nlis.org.uk).

Laser-Scan provides a map service as part of TransAction Online. The service enables users to create a property plan using Ordnance Survey Land-Line data. The property plan is an essential component of the conveyance process and is also used to initiate local searches. The recent enhancements to the Laser-Scan map service include:

Improved tools for outlining property boundaries.

The ability to highlight additional areas of interest relevant to the search; for example local sewage works or landfill sites.

These changes enhance the ability to search for environmentally sensitive data; the TransAction Online channel is linked to Homecheck, which provides environmental searches. Homecheck (www.homecheckpro.co.uk) delivers valuable information about properties such as: risk of flooding; levels of radon; risk of subsidence.

The TransAction Online service has been running successfully since July 2001. MDA have recently announced that Wards Solicitors in Bristol have signed up with TransAction Online, allowing all staff members at Wards' eight branches to access the service.