Member Article

IPSA network welcomes new faces

The national association dedicated to providing the highest quality property searches across the country has welcomed four new members – as it continues to strengthen its nationwide profile.

Move Reports UK in Wolverhampton, Safe Search in Southport, Legal Brokers in Bury and Pavilion Property Searches in Brighton have all joined IPSA, the Association of Independent Personal Search Agents.

IPSA chairman Andrew Prismall welcomed the new members to the association’s growing network. He said: “IPSA has more than 70 agents working together to provide homeowners and conveyancers with the best possible service when it comes to property searches, and I’m delighted to welcome another four agents to the team.

“We know there are significant backlogs in the conveyancing system at the moment, largely caused by too many cases being held up in the offices of a small number of big companies.

“Our members can usually complete a search quickly and accurately in much less time than it takes the national firms. Wherever you’re moving to, your IPSA search agent will be able to work with a local colleague to get a high-quality search completed for you with the minimum of delay.”

All IPSA members have completed an online exam, are fully insured and must comply with the code of conduct. They can boast encyclopaedic local knowledge, are on hand to visit sites if necessary, often have decades of experience of the property landscape and searches in their area and always have their fingers on the pulse of the latest local developments as well as up-to-date national expertise through IPSA’s CPD work.

Richard Bray is the managing director of new IPSA member Move Reports, which is the largest independent search company and not part of any sister group relationships. He has been in the property search industry for more than two decades, providing searches and property data reports to property professionals.

He said: “Move Reports becoming a member of IPSA is long overdue - it is an association I have worked closely with over the years, either with its individual members or with the managing board on industry collaborations and working groups.

“We have many new challenges facing us all in this digital age of conveyancing and property data, especially with the arrival of major foreign players and the consolidation of the search industry. I feel that IPSA, along with the Property Codes Compliance Board and its Search Code, will be our vehicle of excellence to stand out from the rest.”

Richard was one of the pioneers in the evolution of a ‘personal’ local searches into ‘regulated’ lender-approved local searches, which are now the preferred choice of conveyancers. He sat on the government working group responsible for contributing information for the legislation of the now defunct Home Information Packs (HIPs).

For more information about IPSA and its members, visit www.ipsa-online.org.uk/

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Melanie Boulter .