They are necessary if you want to avoid Buyer's Remorse.
Buyer Beware applies to your property purchase and you must obtain searches, survey and inspect the property to protect yourself. You should also consider instructing an expert to check things like the electrics and heating.
Your lender will insist on searches being obtained. Even a cash buyer should obtain searches and a survey. You will be taking a huge risk otherwise.
Your Conveyancer will obtain searches for you. The searches will confirm thngs like connection to water mains / drains and whether the highway is adopted. They will also confirm whether there are financial charges or council grants to repay or if the property is subject to a government compulsory purchase order.
Your Conveyancer will review your searches and raise relevant enquiries with the seller's Conveyancer. They will also check that replies are satisfactory. They cannot guarantee the truth of any seller statements. It is up to the buyer to have these things confirmed by an expert.
Your seller is NOT required to do anything to the property before sale. They do not need to have the gas or electrics checked for you. The seller must not misrepresent when asked a question so it is advisable to obtain written confirmation through your Conveyancer if you have specific questions or concerns.
On completion the buyer takes the property subject to any title defects, faults or repairs. The buyer is liable for these. The seller is NOT (unless you can prove a misrepresentation and you have suffered loss). To avoid problems from completion you must investigate and searches are part of this.
SEARCHES
Your Conveyancer orders searches on your behalf and you pay for these. Usually a Local, Water & Drainage, Flooding and Environmental Search. In Wales and Cornwall a Coal/Tin Mining Search is needed.
Local searches reveal council maintained information such as road adoption, financial charges registered against the property, planning and building regulations (or lack of).
Environmental searches reveal if the property is built on contaminated land. Where land is contaminated, it is the current landowner's responsibility to remediate / resolve this and not the person who caused the contamination
Water and drainage searches indicate whether the property is connected to the water mains and sewers and whether the property is built over any sewers which could result in access issues for repairs.
Flooding searches indicate if the property is at a high risk of flooding as clearly this would be detrimental to your enjoyment of the property.
Coal/Tim mining searches reveal whether there are historic mines in proximity. If so, the property could potentially suffer from subsidence affecting property value and causing damage.
SURVEY
Your Conveyancer has nothing to do with arranging your survey. This is your responsibility.
Your lender's valuation is NOT a survey.
It is against legal advice to proceed without a survey.
Your survey will reveal the physical condition of the property. It should be carried out by a RICS Chartered Surveyor who is an expert in their field. A simple web search will reveal Surveyors in your area.
Your Conveyancer has no involvement in checking the physical condition of the property. They will NOT visit the property. Your Conveyancer's responsibility is in checking the legal title and search results.
However, your survey may reveal issues which your Conveyancer needs to be aware of so that they can raise appropriate enquiries with the seller's solicitors. A section of your survey will be headed "Issues For Your Legal Adviser". You should pass this to your Conveyancer.
Your Conveyancer is relying upon you to tell them about any alterations or physical issues such as whether you need a right-of-way over a piece of land used to access the property. Such as Land that is not public highway. Where the property has a shared driveway or private access road you should tell your Conveyancer so that they can check that you have the rights you need or raise enquiries.
LENDER VALUATION
Your lender will want their own valuation to ensure the property is sufficient security for their mortgage. This may be drive-by or desk top only. They are very limited.
It is not recommended that you rely on a lender’s valuation as they are not detailed and are only obtained to benefit your lender.
They contain very little detail and no real inspection. They would not involve a proper check of the physical condition of the property. No Conveyancer would advise you to rely on this alone.
HOMEBUYER SURVEY
This is far more detailed and would require a Surveyor to attend the property and physically inspect. They will highlight areas of concern. They will note alterations which needed planning or building regulations. They will point out structural issues and any concerns which could devalue the property. Surveyors have professional insurance cover you can rely upon and they are experts in their field.
It is recommended that you obtain the most detailed survey you can afford and you should pass a copy to your Conveyancer.
Your survey could reveal potential right-of-way issues or it could indicate that your Conveyancer should check for planning permission and/or buildings regulations regarding structural alterations at the property.
It would be impossible to cover all potential issues in this blog. Please bear in mind that this is very general guidance and cannot be relied upon as I have no knowledge of your specific circumstances.
MY SERVICES INCLUDE:
Acting for anyone Buying, Selling or Remortgaging In England or Wales
I am a:
• Solicitor of 23+ years
• SRA & CQS Regulated
• Help to Buy Accredited
• Recommended - Trustpilot & Yell.com
Instruct me for your:
• Transfer of names on deeds & mortgage
• Equity Release & Lifetime Mortgages
• Bridging Finance
• Auction Property
• Leasehold matter
• Freehold matter
• Trust Deeds & Declaration of Trusts
• ID1 Forms (HMLR)
• Statutory Declarations
• Independent Legal Advice
• Shared Ownership or Shared Equity