Bolton buyers facing longest wait for local authority searches

Homebuyers in Bolton are waiting as long as 21 weeks for local authority searches new research shows.

Analysis by upfront information pack provider Moverly has found that while the average waiting time for a homebuyer submitting a local authority search is just three weeks across England and Wales, those buying within Bolton Metro Borough Council are having to wait as long as 21 weeks, having seen a 15 week increase since the start of the year.

Moverly analysed data from Property Searches Direct to find out which local authorities are currently forcing buyers to wait for the longest time, and which have seen their average wait times increase the most since January of this year.

The average local authority search time is currently 15 working days or 3 weeks, marking a reduction of two working days since January, according to the research.

But while this national average is encouraging, the reality for many buyers is that it takes far longer. 

Bolton Metro Borough Council had the longest average turnaround time.

After Bolton, the local authorities with the longest average turnaround times are currently London Borough of Camden, East Staffordshire Borough Council, Lichfield District Council, and Tamworth Borough Council, all of which take an average of 8.6 weeks.

The other local authorities to see the largest increase in turnaround times were Carlisle City Council (+4 weeks), Hertsmere Borough Council (+3.4 weeks), Powys County Council (+3.4 weeks), South Ribble Borough Council (+2.8 weeks), West Lancashire Borough Council (+2.4 weeks), and West Northamptonshire Council (+2.4 weeks).

Ed Molyneux, co-founder of Moverly, said: “The conveyancing process is one of the biggest holdups when it comes to home buying. Without efficient conveyancing, the buying timeline can be dragged out by weeks, if not months. 

“At the centre of conveyancing is the local authority search, essential and unavoidable, it’s immensely frustrating that the turnaround time can be so long and that it can vary so drastically between one local authority and the next. 

“Why such a difference? It’s essentially a case of resource availability and management, as well as quantity of requests submitted, not to mention the fact that local authorities are painfully manual where their systems are concerned. 

“What’s more, while utilising an accredited third party to complete ‘regulated’ or ‘personal’ searches can be quicker, they are also at the mercy of local councils due to the fact they need to book an appointment to use a council computer or to access paper files. 

“Unfortunately, like many archaic aspects of the property transaction process, there’s not a great deal that can be done.

“However, by having a good idea of just how long it could take in your local area, you can, at least, get a jump on proceedings, as well as having a more concrete idea on timeline without being in the dark.”