Local authority searches question

firsttimesellerldn

Does anyone know if recent local authority searches for another flat within the same block would satisfy lenders/solicitors? Reason for asking explained below.. 

I’m in the process of selling a flat and buying a house, with just my first time buyer and the vendor selling the house in the chain (the house is empty). We’re very keen to move, or at least exchange, before Christmas. However it looks like my buyer hasn’t got their searches back yet, and my local council has recently been victim to a cyber attack which has taken all their services offline including searches. They’re being totally non committal about when they will be available again and are slow at the best of times. So not ideal.

However, a flat one floor below mine is also being sold at the moment and their buyer did get their searches back, within the last two months. If it is possible to get their searches either from their solicitor (obviously would need permission to contact etc) or to see if the Council can forward them on, are the searches going to include everything necessary for the lender/solicitor? I’m not sure if they are flat specific or same for the whole block. Just trying to think of ways around this issue! 

Thanks

pphillips

I'm not sure that searches on another property would be sufficient, besides if you instructed your solicitor on the basis of these searches then it may create a conflict of interest between them and the lender.

firsttimesellerldn

I’m not sure what you mean about a conflict of interest? The searches would need to go to my buyers solicitor rather than mine of course, I’m just trying to ascertain as to whether this might be a way to get around the current issue with the local authority. 

pphillips

I see, but you would only be able to approach you buyer's solicitor through own your solicitor. So the question is how can the buyer's solicitor advise their client(s) on information obtained from an unidentified source?

firsttimesellerldn

I’m in direct contact with the buyer and am aware there are some practicalities which would need addressing - but I’d imagine best thing would be to put their solicitor in touch with the other buyers solicitor. Mine won’t want to be involved I’m sure. But I’m hoping someone here might know if it’s worth me trying to link up the various parties, or if the searches definitely wouldn’t be acceptable. But am aware it’s a bit niche! Will suggest my buyer asks their own solicitor if potentially viable and go from there. 

greatcrested

If the buyer is a cash buyer, he could instruct his solicitor to accept the searches you give him. Indeed, he could instruct his solicitor to ignore LA searches completely. His solicitor might advise him not to do this, and to obtain proper searches, but at the end of the day, the buyer is his client and provided no law is broken (and it would not be) he will do as instructed.

However if the buyer is getting a mortgage, the solicitor will be acting for the mortgage lender as well. The lender is also his client. He would therefore advise his lender in the same way and the lender would instruct him to undertake proper searches. (though in practice the lender leaves legal decisions such as this to the solicitor - which comes to the same thing)

firsttimesellerldn

Thanks.  They’re getting a mortgage. I’m still not clear on whether the actual search ‘results‘ would be exactly the same in different flats in the same block but will report back if I get anywhere with this! 

firsttimesellerldn

(To be clear I do not want to be involved in seeing or handing over any searches myself) 

davidmcn

firsttimesellerldn said:

They’re getting a mortgage. I’m still not clear on whether the actual search ‘results‘ would be exactly the same in different flats in the same block but will report back if I get anywhere with this! 

They probably would, but each flat is a different property so in theory you could have something affecting one flat and not the others. So I doubt it would be acceptable to any solicitor doing things by the (lender's) book.

lika_86

It might not be a bad idea if they could have sight of it pending getting their own search back, so if there is anything there they can raise enquiries and you can be getting on with those, but they would probably want sight of theirs prior to exchange to confirm nothing was different. However a seller doesn't usually get copies of the searches and so that would mean their buyer providing them.

firsttimesellerldn

Thanks very much for that - sounds like a bit of wishful thinking on my part then but I’ll see where it gets to..