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OFT to ease search for UK mortgages

Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2005

The Office of Fair Trade (OFT) has called for local authorities to make property information more available to people looking to buy or sell properties, in a move that will certainly benefit anyone looking to take out a mortgage.

The OFT believes that many consumers are paying local authorities too much for the property searches they provide, and that certain councils are concealing information from homebuyers.

It has told these local authorities to make property information available in a way that does not discriminate against independent property finders.

It has also suggested making the National Land Information Service software, the single electronic source of property searches in England and Wales, more freely available to homebuyers.

OFT chairman Sir John Vickers explained: "Property buyers must have all the relevant information that might affect their choice of property.

"Developing electronic provision and the introduction of the home information pack mean that there is an ideal opportunity to set the conditions for a dynamic market that serves consumers well in the future."

The OFT has also told the government that it should regulate the way local authorities set prices for providing property information to consumers.

More than 1.5 million property transactions are carried out in the UK annually, with the national property search market said to be worth around £190 million a year.

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