Plain-English guides on local authority searches, council quirks, turnaround times and running a search business — written with 20+ years of frontline experience.
Are personal search firms part of the regulated AML sector? No. Here's where the AML duty really sits, and how your firm can still add value.
How to automate local authority search requests, parsing, council formatting, LLC1 routing, invoicing, while keeping the human judgement that protects you.
Technically yes — council records are public. But a mortgaged purchase needs a regulated personal search or an official one. Here's why DIY doesn't work.
A conveyancer's buyer checklist for choosing a personal search provider: Search Code registration, PI cover, real turnaround and a clean redress route.
A coal mining search (CON29M) is needed for property in a coalfield. Here's what it covers and how a search firm handles it without missing it.
CON29 vs LLC1: what each part of a local authority search covers, where errors creep in, and what the HM Land Registry LLC1 migration means for firms.
Conveyancing searches explained for professionals: the core set, who produces each one, which are expected vs situational, and typical turnaround times.
Orders arrive as emails, responses land in a shared inbox, nothing has a status. Council search email automation turns that chaos into tracked orders.
Every council in England and Wales works differently. Holding that knowledge in people's heads is a business risk. Here's how to manage it properly.
The CON29DW drainage and water search is a separate workstream from the council search. Here's how the provider landscape works and where firms lose time.
The HMLR LLC1 migration, explained: where it stands, how to route the LLC1 per council, and how not to pay a council fee for a migrated area.
How long do local authority searches take? Official searches run 2 days to 6 weeks; a personal search firm should return most in 24–72 hours. Here's why.
How much do conveyancing searches cost? It varies — the council-set local authority fee drives most of it, plus drainage, environmental and add-ons.
Running a personal search business looks manageable. The back office is where firms quietly break. Here's what goes wrong and what good looks like.
InfoTrack helps solicitors order searches. A personal search firm fulfils them — and needs different back-office software. Here's the honest difference.
INSPIRE Index Polygons show indicative freehold extents, not legal boundaries. Here's how search firms attach the right plan to each council.
IPSA membership and the Search Code do different jobs. One is your trade body, the other your commercial gateway. Here's what each gives your search firm.
Local search indemnity insurance explained for conveyancers: what no-search cover does, when it helps before exchange, and its limits.
Most software sold to personal search companies is built for solicitors. Here's what to actually look for in back-office software — and what won't help.
Spreadsheets run a search firm fine at low volume. Here's exactly where they break as you grow — and what a connected system does instead.
Personal search vs official search for conveyancers: coverage, lender acceptance, liability and speed — plus how to reassure a worried client.
Why PI insurance backs every regulated personal search, what adequate cover really means, what claims look like, and where to find search-specific cover.
Some councils need a prior appointment, an admin ward, or a specific format before they'll process anything. Here's how those quiet quirks cost you days.
How The Property Ombudsman fits the Search Code, what a search firm must have in place for redress, and what happens when a complaint reaches TPO.
A good property search chasing process tracks expected return dates per council and flags overdue orders — so you chase before the solicitor calls.
A radon report estimates the chance a home exceeds the 200 Bq/m3 Action Level. Here's what it shows and when it matters in a property search.
Most search firms blame slow councils for turnaround. The real delays sit inside the firm. Here's where the time goes — and how to get it back.
Regulated personal search vs official council search: what differs, how lender acceptance and liability work, and what search firms must get right.
What does a realistic search turnaround SLA look like? Official searches run 2 days to 6 weeks; a good provider commits to a per-council date.
SearchFlow is built for solicitors ordering searches. A personal search company needs fulfilment software. Here's the difference, and what to use.
Subcontracting property searches lets you take work you can't fulfil directly. Done right it's a strength. Here's how to do it without losing control.
UPRN matching anchors every property search. Here's why the wrong UPRN breaks it, why ~10% won't auto-match, and what good matching tooling looks like.
A local authority search is the CON29 plus the LLC1. Here's exactly what each one reveals about a property, and the important things it does not show.
A chancel repair search checks whether a property carries chancel repair liability. Here's what it is, and why it still matters after October 2013.
A personal search company fulfils local authority property searches for solicitors. Here's what the job involves — and why the back office is so hard.
An environmental search screens a property for contaminated land, flood risk and ground stability. Here is what it covers and when conveyancers need one.
"Search Code compliant software" doesn't exist — the Code binds the firm, not the tool. Here's what the Code requires and how software should support it.
No conveyancing search is legally mandatory for a cash buyer. Where there's a mortgage, the lender sets the rules. Here's the expected set, explained.
A live demo, tailored to how your firm actually works — not a generic tour.
