Before you become committed to buying a property (by exchanging contracts), you need to know as much as possible about it.
Especially anything that may affect its future value or your enjoyment of it.
Enter ‘searches‘.
These are enquires made on your behalf by your solicitor / licensed conveyancer to various authorities that hold information about your property, the land it sits on or factors that may directly (or indirectly) effect it.
Are searches necessary when buying a house?
In our opinion, yes!
But they’re not always compulsory…
Buying with a mortgage
- When a property is bought with a mortgage, you as a buyer own that property with the lender.
- If something happens and the lender needs to repossess and sell the property on, they will want to make sure that they do so without any lingering issues attached to the property.
- As a result, your lender will tell your conveyancer what searches need to be ordered and checked before they will release your mortgage funds.
Buying with 100% cash
- If you are buying with cash, you don’t have a lender calling the shots. You’re free to order as many or as few searches as you like.
- That said, saving a few hundred quid by not purchasing the searches recommended to you by your conveyancer, only to later find out about problems which could cost you thousands – if not tens of thousands – is just not worth the risk.
Bottom Line
When buying a property, you’re not just buying a building…
You’re buying something, which may have debt secured against it, changes made to it illegally or high risk of potential problems such as flooding or subsidence affecting it.
“Searches = Vital information highlighting potential unseen risks attached to a property purchase
Without searches you could end up with a property which:
- Regularly floods, meaning insurance is difficult, if not impossible, to secure
- Has a debt attached to it which you will take over if you continue to buy the property without having the debt rectified before your purchase
- Ends up with a sudden hole in the back garden due to a mineshaft collapsing
- Has a new road, train, tramline, housing estate, wind farm planned nearby, which could adversely – or positively – affect the price you finally pay for the property
- Sits on land which was previously used for industrial purposes and may be contaminated with arsenic, asbestos, solvents or gases that could cause harm or pollute surrounding water
Although you may have found the home of your dreams, not having the right checks on the property through searches could mean you end up with a property which:
- Is difficult or impossible to insure
- You paid too much for
- Is unsaleable if the next buyer carries out the correct due diligence
What searches do you need?
Ultimately this depends on the location of the property you’re buying.
Most searches are location specific and your conveyancer will advise what searches are required for your property in it’s specific location.
Some locations are well known to have issues with mining, so need a coal search; others may have had issues with local churches having to be funded by nearby homeowners; while new areas now subject to flooding mean maps are constantly changing.
The 3 main searches done when buying a house
No matter where your property is located, here are the three main searches you’ll need as a minimum:
1. Local Authority searches
This search highlights:
- Planning issues
- Building control issues
- Highways issues
- Pollution issues
2. Environmental searches
This search highlights:
- Flooding issues
- Landslide issues
- Subsidence issues
- Contaminated land issues
3. Water and drainage searches
This search enquiry is made to the local water company and highlights:
- Who owns and maintains the sewers, drains & piping
- If the property is connected to a public water supply and sewer
- Whether the water supply is metered or rateable
- The location of public sewer and drainage pipes
- Whether you’ll need permission from the water company to extend the home
When are searches ordered?
Most searches are ordered / requested as soon after you’ve had your offer formally accepted.
This is assuming you’ve already instructed conveyancing solicitors to represent you, and you’ve sent them your search deposit monies (approx. £250-£300).
Some specific searches such as HS2 or more in-depth flooding searches may not be requested until later in the legal process when it becomes apparent that additional information is required over and above the norm.
Pre-completion searches are ordered after exchange of contracts has taken place.
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