When going through the conveyancing process, the buyer has to undertake two types of surveys. The first is the searches of publicly available personal information. The second type is official searches, which are compulsorily carried out by council representatives. In most cases only personal searches are carried out, but some mortgage lenders may also request official searches.
The following may be required to be done:
• Local authority search.
The results provide insight on:
- adjacent roads and sidewalks requiring upkeep
- planned changes for nearby roads
- the property being close to or on a contaminated area
- the property being in a conservation area
- tree preservation orders
- a mandatory property purchase order
- enforcement notifications for breaches in planning permission
- debts associated with the property, for example, Green Deal payments
• Water supply and drainage search, which identifies the condition of the water and drainage systems and the person responsible for its maintenance.
• Environmental search, which specifies all previous uses of the property and the level of pollution of the area.
• Flood risk research, which calculates the risks of flooding for the property.
• Chancel repair liability search, which establishes whether or not you are liable to make contributions for the local church upkeep.
These searches must be undertaken before:
• Land Registry priority search, which requests checking all the relevant documents on the property at the Land Registry Office.
• Bankruptcy search, which identifies whether or not an individual has ever declared bankruptcy. If yes, the results might substantially reduce the chances of borrowing money from a mortgage lender.
