When buying a retail location, office or another piece of property, the true end of the sale is not when the price is agreed between buyer and seller, but instead, this sets off a sales process that can take several weeks to complete.
Once there is an agreement, the sale enters a process where commercial property solicitors on behalf of the buyer will find out as much information as possible about the property and ensure there are no factors that affect the sale.
These searches are the most central part of conveyancing, often required by lenders, and can be sorted into three main categories.
Local Authority Searches
Local authority searches are among the most crucial checks to make, as these relate to the actual ownership of the property, highlight planning issues, potential road works and other issues such as pollution.
These are often undertaken by the Land Registry and explore the history of the property, whether there are any orders in place to protect the building or the nearby area, as well as whether there are any plans for road schemes nearby.
Environmental Searches
Whilst some elements of this search connect to local authority searches, environmental searches specifically look at whether local conditions could affect the future value of the property.
The biggest and most relevant search is likely whether the land has any issues with flooding, but In some places, it can also include any issues involving contaminated land, subsidence or even landslides.
Water And Drainage Searches
This final search is made specifically to the local water company and looks into the ownership, location and connection to public water supplies, drainage pipes and sewers, whether the water is metred and whether there would be water issues if you wanted to extend the property.