Whether you're a layman looking to understand your own transaction or a lawyer needing assistance with a client's conveyancing our step by step sale and purchase guides will lead you through the process while our mini guides will break the whole thing into manageable chunks and give a deep insight into the key issues and stages. Leasehold, freehold, unregistered, registered – we've got it all covered.
Need help with a remortgage or transfer of equity / deed of gift? Our guides will walk you through the process and highlight some of the common pitfalls. Mortgages and transfers can be very simple procedures but complex issues can sometimes arise and mistakes are easily made. These guides will help you deal with them.
So you want to have a go at your own conveyancing? First you should read about the risks, then if you're still happy to proceed, our guides will take you through each stage of the process telling you what to look out for and helping you avoid falling into expensive traps. Our subscription service will give you access to all of the documents you should need for your conveyancing and we can even supply you with the Land Registry Official Copies you'll need. Our general guides will cover all the obstacles you are likely to face and offer a practical solution. Have a look at our sale and purchase guides too.
A big part of the conveyancing process is the conveyancing searches. This section tells you all about them. What they are, how and when to order them and how to interpret the results. Each search has its own guide and you'll see they are separated into Standard (should be done in every case), Regional (area specific) and Optional (not essential but often useful tools for the would be purchaser). All buyers should beware that when you buy a property, the law assumes that you have seen the information that would have been revealed by searches whether or not you have actually carried them out, so you buy the property subject to the results.
Using a conveyancer to handle your conveyancing will greatly reduce the risk to you and sometimes, particularly if you are taking out a new mortgage, you will have no choice but to instruct a conveyancer. The good news is it doesn't have to break the bank. Get a free, instant quote here. We can also help with quick easy quotes for other moving related services.
Are you looking for the documents you'll need for your conveyancing transaction? Or official copies of the title or other documents from Land Registry. We can help you. Follow the links below.
Also called an Index Map Search, or SIM for short, this is a search of the land registry's mapping records. It is done in order to identify whether a particular piece of land is registered. How is a SIM Done? The search is done by written a...
This is a search of records relating waterways (rivers, canals, streams etc) which will reveal such things as ownership of and responsibility for the riverbank, fishing and mooring rights, licences to extract water and drainage rights. It is sometime...
When acting in the purchase of a property it is important to ensure that the correct conveyancing searches are carried out. Different searches are required depending on the geographical location of the property therefore on this page I have made a li...
This is the liability of a property owner to contribute to the cost of repair of the chancel (or steeple) of a church. It dates back to medieval times when the local parish church owned large tracts of land. It would sell off land within its par...
This is a search of the water authority's records to check whether the property is connected to mains drainage and to the mains water supply. This information used to form part of the local authority search but it has not been included for many years...
The local authority search is a search of the local authority's records, including planning, building control, highways department etc. It is a search of the subject property only and does not cover neighbouring properties, so for an example it would...
This is a search of the coal authority's records of past mining activity to establish whether the property is on land which is at risk from mining subsidence. Click here to see an example coal mining search result. Why request a Coal M...
As anyone who watches the news will know, problems caused by flooding in Britain are on the increase. As a result, insurers are becoming nervous about covering properties in areas known to be at high risk from flooding. To assist with the situation, ...
This is a search to establish whether a property is built on or near to a former Gypsum mine. Gypsum is a mineral used in the production of plaster, plasterboard and cement. Why order a Gypsum search? Abandoned opencast gypsum mines are often backfil...
Lead mining is concentrated in the Derbyshire Peak District and in north Wales. I cannot locate a provider of a search, however if acting in the purchase of a property in these areas you should consider raising enquiries of the local authority planni...
This a mining search to establish whether the property might be affected by past limestone mining activity. Why order a Limestone Search? A search should be considered for properties in the West Midlands, where limestone mining was common until the 1...
This is search to see whether a property is in an area which may be adversely affected by past tin or copper mining activity. Ordering the Search The search can be ordered in writing from Cornwall Consultants. They will require the address of th...
A planning search is not one of the standard conveyancing searches and is not required to be carried out by conveyancing lawyers to satisfy CML requirements however a planning search can be a very useful tool for property buyers when looking to find ...
An environmental search is a desktop survey of past uses of the land in order to ascertain whether any past use is likely to have led to contamination. It does not involve a physical inspection. Ordering an Environmental Search There are several diff...
This is a search to establish whether the land which is being purchased is registered as common land in accordance with the Commons Registration Act 1965. Why request a Commons Registration Search? If the property is in a rural area or if access is g...
HS2, or “High Speed 2” is the proposed new rail link between London and the North. It will initially connect London Euston to the West Midlands and will then connect the West Midlands to Leeds and Manchester. The official line is that it ...
This is a search of the Cheshire Brine Compensation Board's records to ascertain whether the property has been adversely affected by brine mining. Why Request a Cheshire Brine Search? This search should be done if the property is in Cheshire. Similar...
This is mining search, to establish whether the property is on land with known clay deposits which may be worked in the future, or whether it has been mined in the past. Why order a China Clay Search? For properties in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset a se...
Conveyancing Searches FAQs What follows are some of the most frequently asked questions regarding conveyancing searches in general. We will then go on to discuss particular types of search individually. What are "conveyancing searches"? The searches ...