Pre-completion searches Flashcards
What is the purpose of pre-completion searches?
To check and protect the buyer’s (and lenders if appropriate) ability to obtain title to the property.
What are the pre-completion searches relating to registered land?
The buyers solicitor carries out a search with priority (Form OS1 or OS2 for part of land) at the Land Registry against the title number.
What is the purpose of an OS1?
It updates the official copies that were initially provided, and identifies any changes that have been made.
Additionally, it confers a priority period of 30 wording days in favour of the person searching.
What happens if the buyers solicitor submits the application to register the transfer within the priority period?
The buyers transfer will take priority over any other application, even if lodged before the buyer’s application.
In relation to unregistered land, it is only necessary to complete the purchase (not submit the Land Registry application) within the priority period to take priority.
What is a priority period?
It prevents adverse interests from being registered on a property.
What are the pre-completion searches relating to unregistered land?
The buyers solicitor carries out a land charges search of the Land Charges Registry (Form K15).
What is the purpose of a Form K15?
It identifies any incumbrances or other adverse matters registered against the owner/seller of unregistered land.
It also confers a priority period of 15 working days.
It is only necessary to complete the purchase (not submit the Land Registry application) within the priority period to take priority.
In relation to the pre-completion searches, what is the `search from date’?
The date of the official copies.
If nothing has changes since that date, then the search will come back clear; otherwise updated official copies will be sent to the searcher.
How does priority work in operation (think about SCS and SCPC)?
Under SCS and SCPC, the seller should disclose any adverse issues that may have resulted in changes to the official copies originally provided.
If the seller does not, the buyer may have a claim for damages for breach of contract/or misrepresentation, or even to rescind the contract.
However, a buyer should never rely on this and should always ensure that registration is protected by priority at the Land Registry. Additionally, if the search is not carried out, it is likely to cost time and money to put right any entry. This would be professional negligence on part of conveyancing solicitor.
What is the priority period for a land charges search?
15 working days, but priority is obtained by the buyer completing the transaction within that time.
When must a bankruptcy search be carried out?
When acting for a buyer and lender, the buyer’s solicitor must carry out a bankruptcy search against the buyer to protect the lender (K16).
When should insolvency searches be carried out?
If the buyer is a company, then a lender will want a company search carried out against the buyer to check that there is no pending insolvency or crystallisation of a floating charge.
A company search gives no priority period, so should be carried out as late as possible and updated if necessary.
If the seller is a company, then the buyer’s solicitor should carry out a company search immediately before completion.
This checks that there is no pending insolvency or crystallisation of a floating charge.
