HOME buyers are being reminded of the importance of searches carried out during property purchases.

Amy Leslie, solicitor in the residential conveyancing team at regional law firm Napthens in Kendal, says that when searches are received by a solicitor, it does not mean the job is finished.

"Solicitors will then carry out a range of checks to ensure the searches show what is expected, and if there is anything unexpected highlighted which needs to be dealt with," she said.

“A water and drainage search, for instance, can take a couple of weeks to be received and will check whether the property is connected to mains drainage and water systems. New builds may not be connected until an estate is complete, with an agreement in place from the developer to connect properties at this point.

"A local search is usually the last to be received, and will usually contain a vast amount of information from whether a road is adopted to planning permissions and building regulations to tree preservation orders and if the property is listed."

Napthens says that in most cases there are no major concerns. But if issues are revealed, it is the solicitor's responsibility to raise questions with the seller's lawyer and, in some matters, rectify the issues raised. Action required can vary from a simple email to lengthy investigations, to ensure buyers and their mortgage lenders are protected.

"It’s important to be aware this process is an important one and can take some time but is necessary to protect all parties," added Amy.

Searches can include a local search, water and drainage search, environmental search and flood search. The process can take anything from a few days to a number of weeks. Following the results of a flood search, for instance, a lawyer will look for a ‘passed’ certificate and will raise further questions if any significant risk of flooding is highlighted. An environmental search will highlight whether a property falls within an area with a contamination risk.