What does a conveyancer do?
Posted on 26/09/2023 by David Kearsley
On instructing a Solicitor to carry out the conveyancing process on your behalf, your Solicitor will need to undertake various conveyancing and property searches prior to the purchase of the property, these searches may identify issues that you need to be aware of, or which may affect your use of the property. Searches are location-specific checks and depend entirely on the local area that the property is situated. Searches are a legal requirement by Mortgage lenders, because mortgage lenders want to be certain there is nothing adverse which may affect the property’s value.
It is important that searches are carried out accurately and comprehensively as the risk of buying a property subject to any undiscovered defects falls with the Buyer. Therefore, there is a higher risk if a Buyer purchases a property without conducting any searches, but there is no legal obligation on cash buyers to undertake searches.
Once the results of the searches are established, your Solicitor will provide you with a substantial report detailing the results of these searches which will highlight any areas of concern and any further steps/actions. Your Solicitor will highlight any apparent issues and it is important that you understand exactly the information provided to you.
What searches will my solicitor do?
Prior to exchange, the typical searches your Solicitor will conduct are:
- Search of Land Registry
- Local searches
- Water and Drainage
- Environmental
- Title
- Chancel repair
- Highways
If your solicitor identifies that the property is in a higher risk area such as in close proximity to a canal or flood plain, a specific search will be undertaken which directly relates to the issue identified. These searches may include Mining Search, Flood Risk Search, Commons Land Search, and Index Map Search.
Prior to completion, your Solicitor will undertake a variety of post-completion checks to ensure that there are no further interests or encumbrances present since they last investigated the title. These searches include an Official Search which ascertains whether there have been any further registrations since your Solicitor last obtained your title documents from the Land Registry. If your Solicitor is acting for both the Buyer and the lender, a Bankruptcy Search is undertaken to determine the buyer’s solvency status and to ensure that they are able to sell the property.
What survey may my solicitor recommended?
In addition to the searches your Solicitor will recommend that you have a survey undertaken by a RICS accredited surveyor.
It is your choice whether a survey is conducted but it is often advised that these are undertaken to identify any evident issues in the buildings condition. Your Solicitor will not undertake any checks on the physical condition of the property.
What are local searches?
Local searches consist of two key searches which are undertaken by your Local Authority: specifically, LLC1 and CON29.
A LLC1 is a search of financial charges or restrictions on the land which have been imposed by a local authority. For example, tree preservation orders, smoke control orders, compulsory purchase orders, planning permissions granted, conservation area status and listed building status (non-exhaustive list).
A CON29 is a search of information held by the local authority which directly relates to the property. Results obtained from this search include: planning consent, building regulation approvals, road maintenance and adoption liability, local road, footway and footpath status, local breaches building regulations, any contaminated land notices, land effected by radon gas, local community value assets.
Wholly, these searches constitute the local search with one fee payable. Your Solicitor will advise you as to areas of concern and significance and those that may directly impact your proposed use of the property. If any specific results are produced such as planning permissions, your Solicitor will usually provide you with copies of said permissions.
If any additional enquiries arise from these search results, your Solicitor is able to request these from the Local Authority or make additional enquiries.
What are personal local searches?
In some cases, it can take several weeks for the results of an official LLC1 and CON29 to be returned by a local authority. When time is of the essence in a transaction, a personal search can be undertaken by an agent who will attend at the local authority offices personally, an additional fee is payable for this direct service.
It should be noted that some mortgage lenders do not accept personal searches, or they specifically state that they will only do so at the solicitor’s risk. Your Solicitor must therefore ensure that the agent is properly trained and that the results obtained are supported by adequate insurance.
Please note:we advise that Buyers should always carry out a personal inspection of the property in addition to these searches to identify any additional concerns which may not be apparent from any electronic search. Any concerns should be raised with your Solicitor immediately.