2 minute read. Practical research method for use with public property records.
Lead with the decision and the subject
State the property, the decision being considered and the date of the evidence snapshot. Include the subject address, asking or agreed price only if its origin is labelled, broad property type, tenure and the attributes already verified.
A professional should not have to infer which numbers came from public records, an agent, the buyer or a model.
Attach a short evidence register
List the selected transactions with source links, completion dates, property type, tenure and the reason each remains in the comparison. Preserve the recorded price separately from any adjustment and explain every adjustment as a hypothesis.
Include the planning-screen coordinates and returned designations, while stating that the result uses a postcode centroid rather than the title boundary.
Turn gaps into questions with owners
A useful handoff is not a large folder. It is a controlled list of questions, the evidence already available and the person expected to resolve each item. Distinguish ‘document requested’, ‘document received’ and ‘professional conclusion recorded’.
- Solicitor: title, tenure, covenants, lease and searches
- Surveyor: condition, measurements, defects and works
- Broker: finance assumptions and lender criteria
- Tax adviser: buyer-specific tax treatment
- Buyer: risk tolerance, reserve and decision threshold
Export the record, then freeze the date
Open My report and choose Print / Save as PDF before a key decision meeting. Export the sales as CSV for a spreadsheet. Saving retains the dated source snapshot and your budget on this device; open My research to continue. Check for newer records separately and review them before replacing the snapshot.