Ready, Set, Move! Government re-start housing market

Our Express range now includes Commercial transactions!

Today marks the tentative return of the housing market, with the government giving the green light on the immediate reinstatement of estate agencies, show homes, removal firms and surveyors.

Of course there is optimism that a wave of new transactions will resuscitate our industry and the economy as a whole, however, we must first attend to those who have been waiting patiently for completion over the last seven weeks. Since lockdown restrictions were implemented, more than 450,000 people have been unable to progress their plans to move house. For you, the conveyancer, this could present a real bottleneck as you now face issues with other firms and local authorities who are similarly congested.

We are here to help
We have today grown our Express range to include Commercial transactions (indemnified by Stewart Title for up to £2 million), alongside Existing Residential, New Build Plots and Remortgages (indemnified by Aviva for up to £1 million). Express is an insurance policy which provides an alternative to No-Search Insurance, as it also includes a data report pertinent to a client's property, typically returned in just 24 hours.

Indemnified by cover of up to £1 million (£2 million for Commercial), along with our £10 million Professional Indemnity policy, OneSearch Express includes cover for:

A Search of the Local Land Charges Register form LLC1
A Search of CON29R and/or CON29O records
A Search of Water and Drainage records on CON29DW
A search of the Coal Authority’s records on form CON29M
An environmental risk assessment (excludes Commercial Express)
A full Chancel Repair Liability search

The data report includes information which could arguably be considered dealbreakers if flagged up, including (but not limited to):

Road, Rail and Traffic Schemes
Planning applications and Local Development Plan policies
CIL question 3.10a
Building Works, Environment, Health & Safety, Housing, Highways and Public Health
Enforcement Notices, Stop Notices, TPOs, Listed Building Repairs etc.
Conservation Areas (proposed or pre 1974)
Compulsory Purchase

If searches are causing unacceptable delays and the transaction is at risk of collapse…
Express gives you the best of both worlds. You have all the security of a No-Search Insurance policy, with the majority of data (over 70%) that you would typically obtain from local authorities. Express means that you and your client can complete with more confidence, by identifying red flags which might otherwise slip through the net.

Not just a data report
We’ve been able to populate our Express data report due to our in-house data team capturing and storing data since our inception in 1992. We capture local enquiries data at every stage, from initial proposals, public consultations, and committee hearings, to advertisement. By the time any action is authorised, we have a comprehensive backstory in our unrivalled database. And it truly is unrivalled – we’re the only company to hold a national database of most of the available local authority data on every property in England and Wales. No other company has this unique dataset.

Lender Friendly
We know lawyers and lenders like to cover as much risk as possible. Many mortgage lenders will only accept No-Search Insurance providing it “adequately protects” them, and that you are able to certify that the title is good and marketable. This is why our data is crucial in supporting your own risk management practices. The accuracy of our data, and quality check methodology, means our claims history is impeccable.

*where lenders accept searches on the basis the search insurance adequately protects them, and where you are satisfied that you will be able to certify that the title is good and marketable.

View residential sample report

View commercial sample report

Your account manager will be in touch with you shortly to discuss this further. If you would like more information about OneSearch Express in the meantime, please email intro@onesearchdirect.co.uk.