The legal process behind buying a house can often be confusing and less than transparent. Buyers are often unaware just what their lawyer is doing to earn their fee, and exactly what searches are carried out and why they are so important. Overall you can expect to pay several hundred pounds for your searches to be done, so what are you getting for your money?
Local Authority Searches
One of the more costly search fees is that concerned with the Local Authority. Your solicitor or conveyancing professional will contact the local council in the area you are buying to give you more information about the property and surrounding area.
The information your conveyancer will find out includes:
Whether the roadway next to your house is maintained by the council
Whether there might be planning applications outstanding in areas close to the property
Any contaminated land nearby
Plans to build major roads
Whether there are any planning or building control issues outstanding on the property
The results of these searches might determine the offer to the vendor, and your legal professional will be able to advise about this, depending what the searches uncover.
Land Registry
Arguably the most important search is with the Land Registry. This establishes the legal owner of the property and ensures that the vendor has the legal right to sell the property under discussion.
The solicitor will check that the map of the property held by the Land Registry matches with the property the vendor is selling. The Land Registry searches will also show whether the property is thought to be a flood risk.
Water Authority and Environmental Search
The solicitor will search the local Water Authority to find out about the water supply to the house, and the location of drains. The location of the drains could affect any plans to build or extend on the property in the future.
An Environmental Search will help a vendor discover whether a property has been used for landfill in the past, or whether land contamination issues have been reported. Again, the results of this search might not mean you pull out of buying the house altogether, but could affect the price you agree with the vendor.
Location Specific Searches
Depending on the area of the country where the property is being purchased, there are other searches which might be needed. For example, properties in Cornwall will need an additional search to check on old tin mines close to the property, and in Somerset, searches will be made to see whether radon gas has been a problem in the immediate area.
Your conveyancer will be able to advise what additional searches might be required in your case.
Search Packages
Most conveyancing solicitors will recommend a Search Package, where the fee you pay for your conveyancing searches will include a number of search elements, such as Land Registry, Environments and the additional, relevant searches.
Your conveyancer will advise if this is something they provide, and will outline what is included in the package they offer.