Property Practice - Freehold Flashcards
Pre-contract Searches and Enquiries
What six searches and enquiries are required for every property?
The buyer’s solicitor is at the heart of conveyancing process. He must find out as much about the property as he can before exchange.
a. Survey and personal inspection.
b. Local search.
c. Water and drainage search.
d. Pre-contract enquiries of seller.
e. Environmental searches
f. Flood search
Pre-contract Searches and Enquiries
Provide 8 searches and enquiries for particular properties and transactions.
(a) Chancel repairs search
(b) Mining searches
(c) Canal and River Trust search
(d) Commons search
(e) Railways
(f) Highways
(g) Unregistered land searches
(h) Company search
Pre-contract Searches and Enquiries
What is the local land search comprised of?
Three searches/enquiries
- Local land charges search
- Standard enquiries of the local authority
- Optional enquiries
Pre-contract Searches and Enquiries
What does the local land charges search (LLC1) show?
Details of any financial charges or restrictions on land imposed by public authorities under statute.
E.g. planning consents, tree preservation orders and conservation orders.
Pre-contract Searches and Enquiries
What do the standard enquiries of the local authority (CON29) show?
Information on planning permissions and restrictions on permitted development. Also: whether the land has been designated as contaminated land, and liability for road repair.
Pre-contract Searches and Enquiries
What is the main purpose of the Water and drainage search?
If the property does not drain into a public sewer, who will be liable for the costs of maintaining the drains and sewers?
To establish whether drains and sewers are ‘adopted’ by the water company, therefore not the owner’s responsibility.
The buyer.
Buyer may also be required to bring the drains/sewers up to adoption standards if the water authority decides to adopt them.
Pre-contract Searches and Enquiries
Why is it important that environmental searches are carried out?
The buyer’s solicitor could be found negligent if property is found to be contaminated.
Pre-contract Searches and Enquiries
If property is adjacent to a river or canal, what search is required and why?
Searches/Enquiries for particular properties and transactions
The Canal and River Trust search because:
(a) buyer needs to be aware of liability for repairs/maintenance of waterways, banks and tow paths.
(b) it will show if the property has been affected by flooding in the past.
Pre-contract Searches and Enquiries
What two land searches are necessary for any purchase of unregistered land?
Index Map Search, Land Charges Department search against seller and previous owners.
Pre-contract Searches and Enquiries
A company search will be relevant where…
It is carried out at…
It will confirm:
…the seller is a company.
…Companies House
- Whether seller has capacity to enter the contract;
- Identity of current officers of the company;
- Whether any fixed/floating charges need to be discharged on completion.
Pre-contract Searches and Enquiries
For whom and against whom is a bankruptcy/insolvency search conducted?
Where the borrower is an individual, what form is used?
For the lender, against the borrower.
Form K16.
Pre-contract Searches and Enquiries
Why would a highways search be conducted if CON29 already provides information about roads adjoining the property?
- Enquiries about verges and pavements.
Preparation for and Exchange of Contracts
What are the two sets of standard conditions
- Standard Conditions of Sale (SC)
- Standard Commercial Property Conditions (SCPC)
Preparation for and Exchange of Contracts
In both the SC and SCPC it is necessary to specify all ____ otherwise the ____ will be in breach of SC 3.1.2 (or SCPC 41.1).
Incumbrances; seller.
(such as restrictive convenants, easements and obligations)
Which incumbrance must the buyer’s solicitor ensure is not included?
Seller’s mortgage.
Preparation for and Exchange of Contracts
(1) A seller should sell with full title guarantee if…
(2) A seller should sell with limited title guarantee if…
Title Guarantee
(1) …they own the entire legal and equitable title.
(2) …they have limited knowledge of the property (e.g. as an executor or trustee)
Preparation for and Exchange of Contracts
(1) With both full title guarantee and limited title guarantee, the seller impliedly covenants that: (3 guarantees)
(2) With only the full title guarantee the seller impliedly covenants that:
(3) Contrast this, to the limited title guarantee version which guarantees only that:
Title Guarantee
(1)
a. They have the right to dispose of the land;
b. They will do all they reasonably can to transfer title; and
c. In case of leasehold, the lease is subsisting at the time of disposal and there is no breach of covenant making it liable to forfeiture.
(2) The land is disposed free from incumbrances other than those the seller does not know about and could not reasonably know about.
(3) the seller has not incumbered the property and is not aware that anyone else has done so since they acquired the property.
Preparation for and Exchange of Contracts
Full title guarantee is a guarantee that the land is disposed free from incumbrances other than those the seller does not know about and could not reasonably know about. However, s.6 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1994 limits the covenant to exclude:
Title Guarantee
3 matters
- matters to which the disposition is expressly made subject;
- matters which the buyer knows about at the time of disposition;
- matters which were entered on the registers at the time of disposal.
Preparation for and Exchange of Contracts
The contract rate is the rate of interest that will be…
The interest is charged on…
Contract Rate
…charged if a party is late in completing.
…the purchase price, excluding any deposit already paid.
Preparation for and Exchange of Contracts
Both the SC and the SCPC provide that a 10% deposit of the purchase price is payable on exchange of contracts to the seller’s solicitor as… This means that…
However, if using the SC, the seller is allowed to…
Deposit: Stakeholder and agent
…stakeholder. This means that the seller’s solicitor cannot hand it over to the seller until completion.
…use the deposit as a deposit on a related purchase of a house for the seller.
Preparation for and Exchange of Contracts
The parties can vary the default arrangement of seller’s solicitor as stakeholder. They can agree that the solicitor holds as agent. This means that…
Deposit: Stakeholder and Agent
…the deposit can be released to the seller immediately after exchange and can be used by the seller for whatever purpose.
This is riskier for the buyer, as if either party fails to complete the seller may not be able to return the deposit (e.g. where seller is insolvent).
Preparation for and Exchange of Contracts
Under both the SC and SCPC, risk of damage to the property passes to the ____ on exchange.
Insurance and Risk
Buyer.
Preparation for and Exchange of Contracts
VAT is not normally chargeable in …
Meanwhile, contracts for the sale and purchase of ____ should deal with whether the buyer will have to pay VAT in addition to the purchase price. VAT is payable when the building is ____ or because the seller has ____
Basics of VAT in a contract
…residential transactions.
…commercial property.
…less than 3 years old.
…exercised the option to tax.