Conveyancing searches are simply enquirers which your conveyancing solicitor or property lawyer raise with the relevant authorities, which provide more information regarding your property (on a purchase). The most common, and in most cases, mandatory search results are required by the Local Councils, Water and Utility Providers and the Environmental Agency.

The search results you receive from the above authorities play a pivotal part in any conveyancing transaction. The most common findings involve, any pending or refused planning or building regulations for work carried out on your property, enforcement notices, information on un-adopted drains and roads surrounding or servicing the property etc. Your Solicitor will of course carry out the required searches on your behalf, but conveyancing searches are a broad subject on its own, with a lot of possible pit falls.

Please contact us on 0203 375 2187 to speak to us for guidance on the subject in detail.

Conveyancing Searches

It is very important to ask the right questions from your conveyancing solicitor in order to determine the right course of action. During the process of conveyancing, your solicitor will conduct a variety of conveyancing searches in order to obtain information from local authorities and relevant entities about the property you wish to buy. Keep in mind that the conveyancing searches performed by your conveyancing solicitor aren’t the same as a home buyers survey conducted by a Chartered Surveyor.

Outlined below are some of the more common yet non-mandatory conveyancing searches we would advise you to carry out against your property. It is advisable you carry these out should you consider these necessary.

High Speed Rail 2 (HS2)

This high-speed rail network will connect both London & Birmingham and further extend to north of Manchester and Leeds. The construction is reported to begin in 2017 and certain Boroughs of London will be affected by this construction. It is very important that your property solicitor should inquire whether HS2 would affect your property and the proximity of the rail from your property. All this information will definitely affect the value of your property and it is important that your conveyancing solicitor communicates this information to you.

CrossRail Link

Expected to be opened in 2018, this rail will travel from Maidenhead and Heathrow to Abbey Wood and Shenfield. Almost 19 local authority areas will be affected by the CrossRail Link and is it vital that your conveyancing solicitor finds out whether the property you plan to buy lies within those 19 local authority areas. It is also important to determine whether the affect will be permanent or temporary.

Railway Tunnels

Although National Rail isn’t considered in the options offered by a specialist search provider, your conveyancing solicitor should be aware that Network Rail and Transport for London tunnels should be considered in all searches, which also includes London Underground.

Flooding

Up to 680,000 properties are at the risk of flooding which makes it one of the most pertinent dangers to property in London. It is important that your conveyancing checks are carried out thoroughly to deduce the likelihood of flooding in the area and also to further ascertain if your property falls in an area which has had flooding in the past 75 years. Please note that your insurance premiums, both buildings and contents will be adversely affected if your property falls within a flood risk area.

Contact our team of conveyancing experts should you wish to discuss any of the above searches in detail.

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