What does Searches mean?

In mortgage related terms, searches are called those researches related to the property you are going to buy, which will ultimately show you all aspects you should know about it. It is a particularly important phase in home buying, as there might pop up problems which will prove that buying the respective property is not that appealing to you.

One important aspect related to the local authority search is that it will only inform you regarding aspects pertaining to the property and only; any issues/problems pertaining to the property in the immediate vicinity of the one you are buying are not being displayed. But it is always good to know whether on the property you wish to buy there are some financial obligations existent, such as an outstanding loan; or, the existence of a covenant which could prevent you from building any additional constructions, and in general aspects regarding your property.

An environmental report will inform you whether the property is in a high risk area (such as flood for example), which immediately leads you to contract flood insurance for example, or even reconsidering buying the respective property. Then, underground workings searches may reveal the potential of your garden becoming subject to an underground railway for example, especially in the London area.

All these investigative reports are needed in order for you to have peace of mind that there won’t hit you great surprises when you want to have an additional building on your property for example. Knowing the restrictions will help you keep to the rules and in general to know very well the potential and the value of your property.

Some other points of high importance, which you should definitely be aware of, are the following:

• Make sure you know exactly the area on which your property extends; you don’t want to wake up with claims from different neighbors that you should move your fence


• Make sure you have exact information on which parts of your property are subject to common usage, if there any (such as the driveway for example)


• Make sure you know about the existence of any restrictive covenants and what these specify