Sarah is here to help house buyers and sellers get to grips with the conveyancing process. This month, she digs deeper into the searches carried out on property purchases…
When you buy a property in England and Wales, there is a huge amount of information to be obtained.
Firstly, all the legal documentation needs to be considered and approved, then the status of the property has to be assessed by a surveyor. Finally, a whole gamut of information, provided by various agencies, has to be gathered and checked by your solicitor. This is known as searches.
What kind of searches do you carry out?
There are four types of searches undertaken on every residential property purchase and they will be detailed on the quotation you receive from your solicitor. Please be aware, you can only tell us a search is not necessary if you do not require a mortgage. All lenders will insist they are carried out.
Local authorities have a statutory duty to retain all sorts of information about properties in their area, so the main search will be done with your council. It will deal with, for example, the adoption of public highways, details of planning applications and any outstanding charges. You will receive a report based on the results that relates to the property you are buying. If you want to check matters concerning neighbouring homes, you need to do a different search.
Next, we carry out a water and drainage search to ensure the property has a water supply and is connected to the public sewers. It will also reveal if there are any sewers running through the property that might affect alterations you wish to make or have been made, and who deals with the water supply and billing. You will be advised if any issues arise.
The third search is necessary if the property is in an area where coal mining was undertaken historically. It is important to know whether mining activity has caused any problems with ground stability and if there are any shafts within the locality. If there are, it might be necessary to have a Mine Shaft Entry Report carried out to check they have been dealt with appropriately.
Finally, we will undertake an environmental search. As the potential new owner of the property, you could become liable for costly remediation work if the land is contaminated, even if it was caused a long time ago. The environmental search provides you with a certificate, indicating a level of risk. It will be sent to you to consider with a surveyor, if necessary, and decide what steps need to be taken before you proceed with the purchase.
Are there any extra searches I am likely to need?
There are several additional searches that may be carried out in some instances, for example, a chancel repair search. This became more relevant following a recent court case in which the owners of a cottage were deemed liable to assist with the repair of a church building and had to pay their local parish council £185,000 plus VAT.
Every property in the country falls within a parish and therefore, has a minute, but actual possibility of having some responsibility for repairs to the chancel. Unfortunately, information about affected properties is difficult to obtain and often, can only be done so at great expense.
The application of chancel repair charges is random and grossly unfair, so efforts are being made by the Law Society to change the legislation and prevent this becoming an issue. In the meantime, every property in England and Wales has a theoretical risk of being liable to pay for repairs to the local parish church. Your solicitor can look into this for you, or put an indemnity insurance in place, to ensure you are not affected.
Other common searches that may need to be carried out depend on the location of the property, but can include:
- A commons land search, which gives you details of any local common land or village green.
- The Cheshire brine extraction and Cornish mining search, if you are buying in either of these areas.
- A Plan Plus search, which can be useful if you are moving to a new area. It offers information about a surrounding area, for example, planning applications since 1977, local authority policies and plans, details about telephone masts within 250 metres and information on local housing and population.
- A flood risk report to check the history of flooding.
- An HS2 search, which deals with the proposed rail link.
What happens when you have completed the searches?
Your solicitor will send you a report detailing any action that needs taking in respect of the searches and making you aware of any issues.
Once all the searches are in place and any additional information obtained from the seller’s solicitors, you can move forward with the property purchase, assuming you are still happy to go ahead.
Having searches carried out is a very important part of the conveyancing process, even if you do not need a mortgage. They give you a full picture of what affects the property, so you can make an informed decision about becoming its legal owner.
If you would have any questions about buying a property or the searches involved, don’t hesitate to contact me or my conveyancing colleagues on (0114) 218 4000.
If you have a question about moving home, our residential property expert, Sarah Gaunt, would love to hear from you. Email: marketing@tayloremmet.co.uk
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