• When Should A Pre-completion S

    By Guest on 28th Oct 2014

    When should a pre-completion search be made in relation to the actual completion? I.E. Should this be done before the day of exchange / completion and what guidance in terms of timings to request this search should be adhered to by the solicitor in order to make sure the exchange and completion is not hampered in anyway and that the clients interest is adhered to?

  • 1 Answers

    By Guest on 29/12/2014


    National Conveyancing Protocol says that the searches should be done no later than 5 working days before completion, or immediately following exchange, if later. Strictly speaking the OS1/2 should not be done before exchange since at that point the buyer has no interest which he is entitled to protect though in practice it is often preferable to do the search immediately before exchange. The sear his only valid for 6 weeks so the conveyancer has to strike a balance between carrying it out early enough to allow time to resolve any issues revealed but late enough to ensure the matter can be completed and registered before expiry. The bankruptcy search is typically done immediately following exchange though it can be done before. It is valid for 3 weeks and must be valid on completion. There is a school of thought that says it should be done at the outset and repeated after exchange, though this would mean an extra fee of £2 per name for the client and consequently it is rarely done.

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