OneMove Technologies Inc (TSX.V: OM)
VANCOUVER, Jan. 25 2007 – A technology-driven company signed an agreement with one of England’s pre-eminent insurance brokers to sell its Canadian-invented insurance to beleaguered British homebuyers.
OneMove Technologies Inc. of Vancouver penned the sales contract with Gresham Services Limited of London to sell OneMove’s insurance package that will protect English and Welsh homebuyers from losing money when real estate deals go sour.
Gresham will be promoting the product through its 1,200 brokers. In England, approximately 28% of home purchases fail leaving buyers with average losses of between $2,259 ((pnds stlg)900) and $3,765 ((pnds stlg)1,500).
OneMove stands to earn $37.65 ((pnds stlg)15) for every insurance package sold in a market where there are three million transactions per year. OneMove CEO Martin R. Johnson said, “By being the first to offer such an innovative product, we are confident that will have an enormous advantage in capturing a healthy share of that huge market.”
The insurance product offered through OneMove’s U.K. subsidiary – One Move Limited – will cost U.K. homebuyers $175 ((pnds stlg)69.99) and will pay out up to $3,765 ((pnds stlg)1,500) when a deal fails.
Brit Insurance Ltd. underwrites the insurance package and some of the failure factors covered by the policy are:
- The homebuyer makes a deal to purchase a home but the seller later accepts a higher offer after the prospective buyer has shelled out funds to complete the deal. In England, the latter process means the buyer was “gazumped.”
- The property is removed from the market.
- The property received a bad survey or valuation.
- One of the parties dies, loses their job or is relocated.
- The property is severely damaged during the negotiation period.
OneMove’s British subsidiary also makes home buying simple by providing buyers and sellers with all the services they will need, such as lawyers, mortgage lenders and furniture movers.
Neil Patel, CEO of the U.K. subsidiary, One Move Limited, states, “We are very pleased to be in partnership with Gresham and Brit Insurance Ltd. We have worked hard to design a product that truly protects the consumers from the up front financial risk every consumer must assume if they are entering into a real estate transaction in the U.K. Coupling this policy with the wide array of services that OneMove provides, we now are not only able to remove the stress of the transaction for the consumer, but can now also remove the financial risks associated with it.”
Chris Collier, Managing Director of Gresham states, “In a marketplace where almost one in three transactions fail, I don’t understand why everyone who enters into a real estate transaction wouldn’t take out a policy. It would be like going on an expensive holiday without travel insurance. We are extremely happy to be representing a product that will do so much to help protect the consumer in such a risky market.”
The British entity One Move will launch a nationwide media campaign to introduce the new insurance product beginning February 1, 2007.
About the Canadian parent company OneMove Technologies.
OneMove began life by creating a sophisticated software program that brought innovative advantages for all involved in British Columbia’s real estate market, a Canadian province where real estate transactions were already near perfect. OneMove then jumped into the British market offering a one-stop shop designed to simplify moving, from a paperwork and legal red tape standpoint. It currently operates in the British Columbia and U.K. markets. OneMove facilitates efficient communication between parties such as lawyers, conveyancers, realtors, lenders and buyers and sellers. OneMove’s U.K. operation also offers a one-stop online shop for home buyers to access real estate listings through the largest property search portal, its unique insurance product, and its association of service providers which include realtors, solicitors and lenders (www.onemove.com).
