House sellers 'stuck in limbo' over search delays

Land search delays caused by a council's transition to a new computer system are a "grave concern" for home buyers, the manager of an estate agents has warned.

House sales in Bracknell continue to be delayed because of delays in the searches providing information about a property and any potential issues that could affect its sale.

Seller Liam Hawes said he was "stuck in limbo" unable to proceed with his house sale, resulting in him paying for two mortgages. Estate agent Kevin Winchester said the situation was "ridiculous".

Bracknell Forest Council has apologised and said it was continuing to work with external data experts to resolve the issue.

According to the council there are about 700 outstanding land searches, which are a mixture of personal and local searches.

Hawes began the process of selling his house in December and said it "should have been a simple process" due to there being no chain.

"We're now spending into the savings, into extra money that we had not planned to have spent on this property," he said.

"I'm in a fortunate position that I can do this, but for others they could be less fortunate - they could be trying to move for absolute necessity and they can't because we're still waiting for these land searches to be done."

Estate agent Winchester said he had noticed a decline in people enquiring about selling their homes over the past couple of months.

He said he had some customers who were due to be emigrating but could not sell their home.

"It's a grave concern," he said.

"It's terrible, it's ridiculous - I've never known anything like it before."

Kuldip Bhatti, the founding partner of KB Solicitors and Notary Public, said house buyers outside Bracknell were affected by the delays "by default" if they were involved in a chain.

"As a solicitor, I'm now having to deal with people's emotions that are very high at the moment, and I can't offer them a solution in terms of how long the council will take doing this," he said.

"It is leading to a lot of stress and a lot of tension with clients."

Marie Anglim started the selling process at the beginning of February.

"Our buyer is a first time buyer and the house we're buying is a new build, so there's no chain involved and it should have been really straightforward," she said.

However, the land search delays meant the process stalled, despite everything else being completed.

"What should have been so simple is actually turning into a nightmare for everybody and there's hundreds of people in exactly the same situation as we are," she added.

Iskandar Jefferies, cabinet member for leisure, culture, public protection and democracy, said the council was still unable to process land charges due to an ongoing data mapping issue in its new ICT system.

He added: "We understand this is causing delays to property transactions.

"Customers are advised to speak to their mortgage lenders about proceeding without a search, or to seek advice from solicitors or conveyancers on available options."

He said fees for land searches submitted between 26 January and 30 April would be refunded.