Don’t forget to pack your key searches this summer

You wouldn’t want to forget your swimming costume for holiday, so why would you forget an environmental search for a property transaction? Don’t be left in the lurch and be sure to follow our essential search advice.  

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Whether it’s for business or a new home, buying property is an exciting time in life. Avoid leading your clients into blind risks and prepare them for informed decisions.  

We have put together some of our best search recommendations to ensure your clients’ transactions go as smoothly as possible.

Residential

While we know every transaction is unique and comes with its own challenges, there are some searches that we consider standard to help reduce potential risks. To help you navigate the process with confidence, we’ve outlined the key searches to order for residential purchases. So your clients can focus on packing their boxes while you focus on delivering a smooth, well-informed transaction.

• CON29 Drainage and Water Search – investigates details concerning the water and sewerage connections for a property. Our CON29DW receives the information directly from the relevant water company, making it accurate and reliable.

• Local Authority – typically these searches will be carried out by the local authority and will highlight any planning, building control and highway issues. They will also point out any conservation areas, listed buildings or smoke control on or around the property. These can take the longest to get back, so order them as soon as possible.

• Land registry – this will prove that the seller is the legal owner of the property. The title register and title plan will be checked to confirm ownership, boundaries, mortgage charges, any covenants and right of way.

• Chancel Repair Search – checks to see if a property is tied to a medieval liability to fund local parish church repairs.  

• Environmental – these types of reports will cover any contaminated land, landslide risks, flooding or subsidence problems. We have a range of specialist providers who can carry out these reports.  

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Commercial

A commercial transaction is often much more complex and expansive than a residential one.  

Residential searches usually prioritise consumer protection, comfort and habitability for personal living. Which is really important to making a house a home. However, commercial transactions have a completely different purpose: to generate income or conduct commercial activities.  

While there will always be some overlap between the two, we’ve run through why some of the same searches above are imperative to commercial transactions.  

• The CON29DW Commercial and Local Authority Searches - still required and our CON29DW Commercial is tailored perfectly for purchasing or leasing commercial property.  

• Environmental – these reports are essential in commercial transactions and it can be a daunting task narrowing down which one to choose from. We advise focusing on what the land will be used for, will there be redevelopment, historical and current uses, brown or green site and much more. These reports are especially important due to climate change altering the landscape more drastically in recent years. No matter the requirements of the transaction, there should always be an environmental report included and we have a wide range available.

• Ground Stability and Mining searches – depending on the location, historic mining activity may have left a risk of ground instability, including subsidence caused by collapsing mine shafts. These searches apply to both residential and commercial properties, as they may have an impact on the value of the property. However, for commercial sites in particular, ground stability issues may also pose a serious health and safety risk for potential workers.  

• Transport, energy and infrastructure – these reports cover the impact of new infrastructure projects on and around a property. The result of new roads, paths, verges, rail lines or wind and solar sites will have a huge impact on a business.

What to do with search findings

The last thing to remember is to ensure you explain any findings, both positive or negative, to your clients clearly. The difference between a report identifying a risk vs confirming a problem could be the deciding factor.

Findings in reports may need further investigation and will affect insurance and premiums if issues are confirmed, and it's important that your client is fully aware of this.

Searches are a large part of carrying out due diligence, especially as sellers can have no duty to disclose problems and may not even be aware of them.  

So before you switch on your out-of-office this summer, make sure your search checklist is complete. We can help you decide which searches are best depending on your client and transaction needs. We also offer ‘Which Reports?’ training sessions, where we can review your current search pack and provide guidance on the most appropriate searches. Contact us today, we’re here to help.

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