How our reports are made

1. Finding the home

The free area check works from a postcode. The full report finds the exact location of the house from its address, so checks such as flood risk and noise are made at the house itself.

We work out which country and council the home is in, because England, Scotland and Wales publish different records. Each check uses the right country’s source, such as the Environment Agency, SEPA or Natural Resources Wales for flooding.

2. Checking the records

Each check asks one official or open source a specific question, such as whether the house is in a mapped flood area, or which planning applications have been made within 1 km. The answer is shown with the source’s name, and a link where the source has one.

Some records describe the house or its plot, such as its energy certificates, its sales history or whether it’s listed. Others describe the area around it: radon potential covers the surrounding 1 km square, and ground hazards come from a grid of hexagons. The report says which is which.

3. Facts and estimates

Most findings are facts from a record. A few are our own calculations, such as price per square metre, or spotting that a house seems to have grown when its energy certificates are compared over the years. Calculated findings are always labelled as estimates, and say how they were worked out.

4. Gaps

Sometimes a source is down, doesn’t cover the area, or has no record for the house. We never treat that as good news. Every check we couldn’t make is listed, so you know what still needs asking.

5. No scores

We don’t give homes a score, rank them, or say whether to buy. A flood zone or a conservation area means different things to different buyers. Instead, each finding comes with the questions worth asking the agent, your solicitor or your surveyor.

6. Keeping it current

Reports are built when you run them, from the records available then. To keep costs down, some answers are reused for a while after they’re first fetched. Town and postcode guides show the month they were checked.

With Buyer Watch, we check the home’s records again and email you when something changes, such as a new planning application nearby.

7. What a report doesn’t replace

A report comes before your offer. It doesn’t replace your solicitor’s searches, a survey, or legal, survey or financial advice. It helps you decide whether to spend on them, and what to ask when you do.