The UK housing market is continuing to enjoy a period of increased buoyancy. More than 105,000 residential transactions took place last month, an increase of nearly 10% compared with September. Mortgage applications are at a 12-year high, and house prices continue to rise. But the hyperactivity is creating its own challenges that could make it difficult to keep your transactions on track, and not only because of the possible impact of the strict tier system adding further uncertainty.
The combination of a backlog in transactions caused by lockdown, along with buyers taking advantage of the stamp duty holiday, has resulted in some local authorities struggling to keep up with the volume of demand for searches, with some areas seeing turnaround times of seven to eight weeks. And anecdotally, some delays are set to be even longer, with Hackney Council announcing that due to their system being hacked, they will not be able to return searches before the Stamp Duty holiday deadline at the end of March.
But our useful Search Delay insurance cover will protect your client and keep things moving. The policy is designed to help conveyancers overcome any delays that are caused by waiting for the results of searches and, in the current climate, it’s a timely solution.
Our policy provides cover to the buyers and their lender against any adverse entries that may be revealed once a search is received after completion, and which were otherwise unknown. And for urgent transactions, as an alternative to searches, you might also consider our No Search policy.
Whatever the situation, we’re confident that we can provide a solution. Go to the products page at isis-icon.co.uk and take a look at the search policies we have. You can get an online quote while you're there, or call us on 01603 761515, or email enquiries@isisconveyencing.co.uk.