PostcodeCheck Buyer Report vs Conveyancing Searches (UK 2026): Same Data, Different Stage
They are not interchangeable. The £3.99 Buyer Report is for the offer stage. The £250-450 solicitor search pack is for exchange. Here is what each one actually delivers and where they overlap.
Quick answer
The PostcodeCheck Buyer Report does not replace solicitor searches. It rules out red-flag properties cheaply before you commit to the survey-and-solicitor stage. If you proceed, your solicitor will commission the formal search pack at exchange, and you still need it for the legal indemnity wording.
What each one is for
PostcodeCheck Buyer Report (£3.99)
For: before you offer
Decision-making tool. Tells you if the property has a flood, mining, planning, crime trajectory or catchment problem worth caring about. If yes, walk away or negotiate. If no, proceed to survey.
Solicitor search pack (£250-450)
For: at exchange
Legal tool. Provides indemnity wording, drainage and water search, local authority search, chancel repair check, and Groundsure or Landmark environmental search. Required by your lender and to complete the transaction.
Where they overlap
| Risk category | PostcodeCheck Buyer (£3.99) | Conveyancing pack (£250-450) |
|---|---|---|
| Flood risk | EA zones + history | Groundsure / Landmark Flood |
| Coal mining | Indicative regional estimate | CON29M coal search |
| Radon | Indicative regional estimate | Within environmental search |
| Subsidence / shrink-swell | Indicative regional estimate | Within environmental search |
| Contaminated land | Historic landfill sites within 1km only | CON29 + environmental search |
| Local authority planning | Recent apps within 500m | CON29 LLC1 local search |
| Drainage and water | - | CON29DW |
| Chancel repair | - | Chancel search |
| Crime trend | 12-month direction | - |
| School catchment | Likely catchment by distance | - |
| Price projection + yield | 3 and 5-year | - |
| Stamp duty + mortgage check | For this address | - |
| Legal indemnity wording | - | Required by lender |
For the official British Geological Survey ground and radon bands and the Coal Authority mining check on the exact address, the £4.99 Premium report runs those lookups, with planning designations, company ownership and tribunal history.
Check this address before you make an offer
Free address report first: sale history, EPC rating, flood zone, crime, schools and planning nearby. Premium (£4.99) adds ground stability, radon, coal mining, listed and conservation status, company ownership and property tribunal history.
Free, then Premium£4.99
Why running both makes sense
Run the £3.99 Buyer Report on every property you are seriously considering offering on. If it raises a red flag, walk away, you have saved yourself the £400-800 survey and the £350+ in solicitor search fees that you would have committed to. If it passes, you offer with confidence and your solicitor commissions the formal pack at exchange knowing what to expect.
Run the £3.99 once per shortlisted property. The conveyancing pack is per transaction.
Common misconceptions
“Solicitor searches will find everything I need.”
They will, but at exchange, months after offer. By then you have paid for a survey and committed to the chain. Pre-offer screening is what saves you the wasted spend.
“The estate agent must disclose everything.”
Material Information rules require some disclosure (council tax, tenure, restrictions), but flood history, planning applications nearby, crime trajectory and catchment probability are not on the disclosure schedule. You verify those yourself.
“The structural survey will find risk issues.”
Surveys cover the building, not the area. A surveyor checks subsidence symptoms in the property but not whether the postcode is in shrink-swell clay. They check damp inside but not the area's flood history.
Run the £3.99 Buyer Report before you offer
Saves you the survey-and-solicitor cost on properties that should not have made the shortlist.
Related: 12-point pre-offer checklist · Cheapest area report · vs PropertyChecker · FAQ