Short answer: Conveyancing searches are essential checks aimed to uncover any potential or hidden risks/problems with a property before you commit to buying it.
Buying a home, however big or small, is the biggest investment you’re likely to make in your life. That’s why it’s so important to make sure you know everything there is to know about it – not just the bricks and mortar but the local area and anything that might affect it, now and in the future. This blog post explores everything you need to know about conveyancing searches in the UK.
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Conveyancing searches check for evidence of potential or hidden issues with a property, such as flood risk, easements and unregistered land. They are a crucial step in the conveyancing process, as they provide key information to the buyer that can help them decide whether they want to go ahead with the purchase.
While conveyancing searches are not a legal requirement in the UK, if you are purchasing with a mortgage, it is more than likely that your lender will insist that you order them. Cash buyers will have no obligation to do so but your conveyancer will highly recommend that you do to protect your investment.
Top tip if you want to be extra cautious:
You can also find out a lot by visiting the area, walking around and chatting to people in the community. All this investigating is definitely worth the effort.
Please note, searches are not a survey, a separate step that is normally carried out during the financing stages of the purchases to ensure the building itself has no structural issues. You can request that your conveyancer ask the seller questions about any issues raised as part of a survey report during the conveyancing process, though these questions do not constitute legal enquiries and so your conveyancer will not normally be able to give you specific advice.
If you’re buying a home with a mortgage, your mortgage company is likely to carry out a valuation survey. This basic survey simply confirms for the mortgage company that the property is worth the money you intend to pay for it and therefore validates their security in terms of the money they have agreed to lend you should you default on the loan.
We also advise home buyers to obtain a structural survey which will flag up any issues with the property itself – whether there is damp, a problem with woodwork or the roof, that sort of thing.
Conveyancing searches cover a wide range of issues. Carrying out searches is the best way of obtaining information from the official organisations in charge of key areas that may affect your property. These could include…
Whether the road that the property uses for access is a publicly adopted highway:
If the road is not ‘publicly adopted’ and is a private road you may be responsible for the costs, or a share of the costs of keeping the road in a good state of repair.
Even in the 21st century, many properties aren’t connected to mains water or drainage – you’ll want to know this, and equally, what the provision is for your water wastewater and sewerage. This search can also reveal if there are any water pipes running under your property. This is important as it can affect any building work you might be planning, such as an extension.
Environmental searches are increasingly important. The results of these searches will tell you if the property is an area affected by contaminated land, or if it’s close to an area where a fracking license has been granted. Old mines in the area can be just as much of a risk to the stability of your home as new operations, potentially causing subsidence and other problems.
Local searches will reveal matters such as whether there is planning permission to develop land or other properties close to your potential new home. They will show if the property is in a conservation area – which could affect work you’d like to do to the property, or whether you will be prevented from cutting down trees in your garden because of a tree preservation order.
Flooding seems to have become common place in certain parts of the UK in recent years. You will want to weigh up the risk of buying a home in an area where there is a flood risk, not least because it may have an impact on insurance premiums.
The price of conveyancing searches will vary from firm to firm, but on average you can expect to pay between £325 and £400.
For a standard search pack, which includes the local authority search, the environmental search and the water and drainage search, we charge £315. We offer additional searches for those clients that want a more thorough investigation of any issues affecting a property. These searches are charged according to their cost in the locality together with an associated legal charge to cover our time and expertise in reporting to you.
It could take anywhere from 10 days to eight weeks for all of your conveyancing searches to come back. It will depend on how many searches you are waiting for and the turnaround time of your local authority.
Some searches, like the water and drainage search, can take just a couple of days to complete, but local authority searches can take much longer. This is because several departments within your local authority will contribute to the overall report.
Once the results come in, your conveyancer will review the results and prepare a report highlighting any areas which affect your enjoyment of the property or affect the future value of the property. Your property conveyancer will send their report to you together with a copy of the search results so that you can raise any additional points of interest you would like support with.
At this point, you may want to ask the seller if they have any more information about these areas before going ahead. You might also need to investigate whether the answers are likely to affect things like insurance premiums, and consider if you will be restricted in future, for example from building an extension.
Conveyancing searches do not expire; however most mortgage lenders will only accept results which are within 6 months of their date of issue.
If all this seems like a lot to handle, relax. Your legal team will carry out searches on your behalf as part of the conveyancing process. Given the importance of the information revealed by the searches, it’s worth getting it right.
Not all searches are created equal. There are a number of companies that offer searches and we at DezrezLegal have extensively researched search providers and work with those that deliver the most accurate and comprehensive results. This means our clients have the peace of mind they need before completing their purchase and moving in.
If you have any questions about the searches that need to be carried out in relation to the property you are thinking of buying, or if you’d like to know more about our specialist conveyancing service for buyers, get in touch!
DezrezLegal is regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers and two-time winner of the British Conveyancing Awards 'Customer Service Champions' title.