Once you have instructed a conveyancing solicitor or licensed conveyancer to act on your behalf, they will take care of the legal side of things. One of their main tasks is to request conveyancing searches, which are also called property searches.
What Are Conveyancing Searches?
Conveyancing searches look for any potential risks that may impact the value of the property/land. Searches are carried out by different authorities based on the type and location.
Types of Searches
The main types of conveyancing searchers are: Local Authority searches, environmental searches, water and drainage searches, Land Registry searches and Chancel Repair liability searches.
Local Authority (LA) Searches
LA searches are compiled by the local council. These cover the history of the property/land and the area. These will highlight any planning issues, building control issues, highways issues or any issues with pollution. Typically, LA searches will take between two weeks and two months.
Environmental Searches
These searches look at data held by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to examine the risks of subsidence, flooding and contaminated land. They will also take into account things like wind turbines, landfill sites and gas hazards. These searches use a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ system and usually take around three weeks.
Fast Conveyancing
The average time to buy and sell a home is around six months. Speeding up the conveyancing process can help to reduce the overall time a property/land transaction takes.
There are a number of steps that can help, and there are many firms that can offer advice. Some of these also have useful online resources such as the example seen here: https://www.samconveyancing.co.uk/news/conveyancing/5-top-tips-for-fast-conveyancing-132.
Water and Drainage Searches
These searches are compiled by the local water authority and outline whether the property relies on private or public drainage and whether or not it has access to public water supplies. This can be important in terms of maintenance requirements and highlighting possible issues with extensions. These searches tend to take between 10 and 14 days.
Land Registry Searches
The Land Registry searches check the Title Register and Title Plan with HM Land Registry. The Title Register is used to confirm who owns the property as well as show details of any charges or debts that are registered against it. The Title Plan shows the location of the property and the general boundaries. These can be ordered and returned within just a few days.
Chancel Repair Liability Searches
These searches concern local churches and are important because they may flag up potential liability. If the property is on parish land, there is the possibility that some reparation costs are payable by the owner. These searches typically take between one and two weeks.