Conveyancing: what are legal enquiries?

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When you’re buying a house, your solicitor will mention legal enquiries as part of the conveyancing process. But what are these exactly?

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Legal enquiries are a formal way of dealing with the various queries that emerge during a house buying process. This process can seem confusing and slow, so this final stage is carried out thoroughly before the exchange date is set, to ensure everything is boxed off beforehand.

The solicitor will need various pieces of documentation to raise queries. These include draft contracts, the buyer’s mortgage offer, the buyer’s ordered property searches, and the seller’s leasehold information pack (if this applies).

The conveyancing solicitor acts to ensure that the property is both sellable and mortgageable, on the open market. They come to this conclusion by analysing the information above to see if any red flags or concerns exist. For conveyancing solicitors London is very well served.

If any concerns are present, they will be raised to the seller for resolution. This is often done via the buyer and seller’s solicitors. This stage of the conveyancing process can take some time and lead to delays, depending on the solicitors and the speed that they take, and the property itself.

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Typical enquiries

These can include a review of any restrictive covenants, a check of LA searches, a review of the mortgage offer, an assessment of gas safety checks and boiler servicing, a review of the environmental report and a review of the title deeds.

Satisfactory enquiries

If the enquiries are deemed to be satisfactory, it means that no issues are found and that the buyer has instructed the conveyancing solicitors London to go ahead. The report on title will be provided to the buyer in order for this to happen, showing the information that the solicitor has reviewed, along with any issues.

This report can be sent by email or post and will include legal documents for signing in order for contracts to be exchanged. The completion date is agreed so that the contracts can be exchanged, and then the sale completes and becomes legally binding

When enquiries are unsatisfactory

Some situations occur when a legal enquiry cannot be satisfied. For example, if building control sign-off hasn’t been obtained for building work. An indemnity policy may be suggested in this instance to offer protection against any future liabilities.

 

 

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