Property Searches Direct provides home movers with direct access to order Local Authority searches, Environmental Reports, and Drainage and Water searches without waiting for their conveyancer to place the order. CoPSO regulated, fully compliant with lender requirements, and accepted by conveyancers throughout England and Wales. Faster searches mean faster transactions - which matters to estate agents who want deals to complete.
Local Authority searches, Environmental Reports, and Drainage and Water searches are required for every residential property transaction in England and Wales. In the conventional process, the buyer's conveyancer places the order - often weeks after the sale has been agreed. Property Searches Direct enables home movers to order searches immediately, reducing the time-to-completion that causes fall-throughs and frustrates buyers, sellers, and agents.
Transaction length is the primary driver of fall-through risk. Every week a sale sits in the pipeline without progressing is a week in which the buyer finds another property, the seller finds another buyer, or a chain breaks above or below. Earlier searches mean faster completion.
Most home buyers have no idea that they can order their own searches independently of their conveyancer. Property Searches Direct exists to change that - and estate agents who refer their buyers to the service are actively accelerating their own pipeline.
Property Searches Direct sends results directly to both the buyer and their conveyancer as each report completes. Your agency can be copied in to maintain visibility of the search process without relying on the conveyancer to update you.
Recommending Property Searches Direct to buyers at the point of sale agreed is a concrete step your agency can take to accelerate the transaction. It differentiates you as an agent who actively helps deals complete.
Property Searches Direct provides the regulated search reports that every property transaction in England and Wales requires - ordered and delivered directly to the buyer, faster than the conventional conveyancer-ordered route.
Official search of the local authority's planning, building control, highways, and environmental records for the property. Required by every lender and conveyancer in England and Wales. Property Searches Direct orders and delivers these to CoPSO-regulated standards.
Environmental risk assessment covering flooding, subsidence, ground contamination, and radon. Sourced from the major environmental data providers (Groundsure, Landmark, FCI). Accepted by lenders and conveyancers throughout England and Wales.
Search of the water company's records confirming the connection status of the property to the public sewer and water supply network. Required for residential transactions and sometimes identifying issues that affect the transaction value.
For estate agents and conveyancers, Property Searches Direct provides AML reporting and ID verification solutions. Supporting compliance workflows for professionals involved in the transaction.
Access to indemnity policy products for transactions where a search result raises an issue requiring indemnity. Integrated with the major indemnity providers and available through the same ordering platform.
Property Searches Direct's systems are integrated with the largest search, indemnity, and reporting suppliers in the industry. Conveyancers and property lawyers can order through the platform for comprehensive, fast search results.
The Property Searches Direct ordering process takes minutes for a buyer. Results are distributed as they complete to both the buyer and their conveyancer.
The home buyer goes to propertysearchesdirect.co.uk and orders the required searches for their property transaction. The process takes minutes and does not require a conveyancer to have been instructed first.
The ordering system engages a network of suppliers for the required searches. Local Authority, Environmental, and Drainage searches are submitted simultaneously to minimise total turnaround time.
Each report is sent directly to the buyer and their conveyancer as it completes - there is no waiting for all three to arrive before distribution. Your agency can be included in the distribution if appropriate.
The conveyancer receives the search results ahead of schedule - without having placed the order themselves. The transaction progresses more quickly because the search reports arrive earlier.
Earlier search results mean earlier exchange readiness. The transaction moves faster through the conveyancing pipeline and the risk of the buyer going cold reduces as the timeline compresses.
Property Searches Direct is a verified Kerfuffle partner. Members who come via Compare The PropTech get the Kerfuffle account manager involved from the first conversation.
Standard route
Off-the-shelf pricing
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Searches are paid for by the home buyer at the time of ordering. Estate agents who refer buyers to Property Searches Direct are helping their pipeline without carrying the search cost. Your Kerfuffle account manager can walk through the referral workflow.
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A 30-minute session covering how the direct search ordering process works, what the buyer experience looks like, how results are distributed to conveyancers, and how estate agents can integrate early search recommendations into their sales process.
Covering the mechanics of early search ordering, CoPSO regulation and lender acceptance, how the distribution process works, and the practical steps estate agents can take to recommend Property Searches Direct at the point of sale agreed.
Property Searches Direct was incorporated in August 2023 and built around a clear purpose: UK home movers should be able to order their own property searches at the start of their purchase, rather than waiting for their conveyancer to do it weeks later. By removing this bottleneck, Property Searches Direct compresses transaction timelines and reduces fall-through risk across the market. The company is based in Oundle, Northamptonshire, and operates a 7-day service with a 5-star customer service team.
Property Searches Direct is part of the PropTech That Pays Back initiative - a Kerfuffle programme that rewards UK estate agents with kredits for actively using the tools they invest in, not just signing the contract. See Property Searches Direct's pay-back terms and what other agents are saying.
Faster searches, faster completions, fewer fall-throughs. Talk to Kerfuffle and get the introduction.
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