If you're buying your first home, there are quite a few conveyancing terms you'll probably hear for the first time. One of the most common is “enquiries.”
You might receive an update from your conveyancer saying that enquiries have been raised, replies are awaited, or that further enquiries are required.
But what does that actually mean? What is your conveyancer asking? And, perhaps most importantly when you're waiting to move into your new home, why can enquiries take so long?
Here's what is actually happening behind the scenes.
What are conveyancing enquiries?
Enquiries are questions or requests for further information or documentation raised by the buyer's conveyancer with the seller's solicitor during the legal investigation of a property.
Once your conveyancer receives the contract pack from the seller's solicitor, they begin reviewing the legal documentation relating to the property.
Depending on the transaction, this can include:
The registered title and title plan
The Property Information Form
The Fittings and Contents Form
Planning and building regulation documents
Guarantees and warranties
Documents relating to rights, restrictions or covenants
Your search results
Your mortgage offer and any lender requirements
For a leasehold property, there will usually be additional documentation to consider, including the lease and information provided by the freeholder and/or managing agent.
If something is missing, unclear, inconsistent or requires further investigation, your conveyancer may raise an enquiry with the seller's solicitor.
What can enquiries be about?
There isn't a standard number of enquiries that should be raised on every purchase.
Every property is different, and the enquiries required will depend on what your conveyancer discovers when reviewing the legal documentation.
For example, enquiries might relate to:
Rights of way or rights of access
Restrictions or covenants affecting the property
The property's boundaries
Extensions, conversions or other alterations
Planning permission and building regulations
Guarantees or warranties for works carried out
Issues revealed by the property searches
Differences between the title and information provided by the seller
Missing documentation
Occupiers of the property
Arrangements relating to shared access or private roads
There can be additional considerations when buying a leasehold property.
Your conveyancer may need to investigate matters such as service charges, ground rent, buildings insurance, the terms of the lease, planned major works, management arrangements and requirements that must be complied with when ownership changes.
The enquiries raised on one property can therefore look completely different from those raised on another.
What does an enquiry look like in practice?
Imagine you're buying a house and the seller's Property Information Form states that an extension has been added to the property.
Your conveyancer may need to investigate whether the relevant permissions and approvals were required and, where applicable, whether the appropriate documentation is available.
If the necessary evidence hasn't been provided with the contract papers, an enquiry may be raised requesting it.
The seller's solicitor might then need to obtain further information from the seller before responding.
If the documents cannot be produced, that doesn't automatically mean the purchase cannot proceed. However, your conveyancer may need to investigate the position further and advise you on the implications and any appropriate next steps.
One piece of information can therefore generate several stages of legal investigation.
What happens after enquiries are raised?
Once your conveyancer has sent their enquiries to the seller's solicitor, the seller's solicitor will review them and obtain the information required to respond.
Some questions may be straightforward and can be answered relatively quickly.
Others may require the seller to locate documents or contact somebody else.
Information may sometimes be required from a third party, such as a:
Freeholder
Managing agent
Local authority
Management company
Developer
Previous conveyancer
Other relevant third party
Your conveyancer doesn't control how quickly those parties respond, which is one reason some enquiries take longer to resolve than others.
A reply doesn't necessarily mean an enquiry is resolved
This is one of the most important things for first-time buyers to understand.
Receiving a reply to an enquiry and being satisfied with that reply are not necessarily the same thing.
When replies arrive, your conveyancer needs to review them alongside the other legal information relating to the property.
A response might completely resolve the original question.
Alternatively, the response might be incomplete, conflict with information contained elsewhere in the contract papers, fail to provide the evidence requested or reveal something that requires further investigation.
In those circumstances, your conveyancer may need to raise a further enquiry.
The process can therefore look something like this:
Enquiry raised → Reply received → Reply reviewed → Further enquiry raised → Further reply received → Issue satisfactorily resolved
This is why hearing that “replies to enquiries have been received” doesn't necessarily mean that your purchase is immediately ready to proceed to exchange.
Why do conveyancing enquiries take so long?
There isn't one answer.
Sometimes there are only a small number of straightforward enquiries and satisfactory replies are provided quickly.
In other transactions, the legal position is more complicated.
Delays can arise because documents need to be located, information needs to be obtained from third parties, replies are incomplete or further questions arise from the information provided.
Leasehold transactions can involve additional parties because information may be required from a freeholder, managing agent or management company.
There can effectively be a chain of communication:
Your conveyancer → Seller's solicitor → Seller/third party → Seller's solicitor → Your conveyancer
Your conveyancer then has to review what has been received.
So when you're told that your conveyancer is “waiting for replies to enquiries,” it doesn't necessarily mean that nothing is happening with your purchase.
It can mean that information required to complete the legal investigation is still outstanding.
Why can't my conveyancer just accept the seller's answer?
Because the purpose of raising enquiries isn't simply to obtain an answer.
Your conveyancer needs to consider whether the response satisfactorily deals with the legal point that was raised.
For example, if evidence relating to works carried out at the property has been requested, a response simply stating that the seller believes everything was dealt with correctly may not provide the documentation or evidence required.
There may also be requirements imposed by your mortgage lender.
When you are purchasing with a mortgage, your conveyancer will usually also be acting for your lender and must ensure that relevant lender requirements are satisfied.
This means there can occasionally be an issue that you personally aren't particularly concerned about but which still needs to be investigated because it affects the lender's security over the property.
Can I exchange contracts while enquiries are outstanding?
Your conveyancer will generally want the necessary legal investigations to be completed and satisfactory responses to relevant enquiries received before advising you to exchange contracts.
This is because exchange of contracts is the point at which the transaction becomes legally binding.
Before you commit to purchasing the property, your conveyancer needs to be in a position to report to you on the legal aspects of your purchase and highlight matters you need to be aware of.
The purpose isn't to delay your purchase unnecessarily.
It is to make sure that, as far as the legal investigation is concerned, you understand what you are buying before you become legally committed to it.
Does having lots of enquiries mean there's a problem with the property?
Not necessarily.
There is no magic number of enquiries that a property “should” have.
A transaction with 30 enquiries isn't automatically more problematic than one with 10.
The number itself tells you very little.
What matters is what those enquiries relate to, the significance of the issues identified and whether they can be satisfactorily resolved.
Some enquiries may simply request documents or clarification. Others may concern more significant matters requiring detailed investigation.
This is why comparing the number of enquiries on your purchase with somebody else's transaction isn't particularly helpful.
Can buyers help speed up the enquiries process?
You can't control how quickly the seller, their solicitor or a third party responds, but you can help keep your side of the transaction moving.
Respond promptly when your conveyancer asks you for information, complete your ID and source-of-funds requirements as early as possible, progress your mortgage application and arrange any survey you want carried out.
If your conveyancer sends you documents or asks you to consider a particular issue, dealing with these promptly can also prevent unnecessary delays later.
Most importantly, ask questions if you don't understand something.
Buying your first home is a significant financial and legal commitment, and you should understand the information you're being given.
The key thing to remember
Enquiries are not simply an administrative box that needs to be ticked before you can collect your keys.
They form part of your conveyancer's investigation into the property you're proposing to buy.
So the next time you receive an update saying:
“We're awaiting replies to enquiries.”
You'll know there's a little more happening behind the scenes than that sentence might suggest.
The aim isn't simply to get a reply.
It's to obtain the information needed to investigate the property properly, address relevant legal issues and put you in a position to make an informed decision before you become legally committed to your purchase.
Buying your first home?
At Dawson & Co Conveyancing, I believe the legal process should be explained in a way that actually makes sense. I provide a personal, straightforward approach to conveyancing, keeping you informed and helping you understand what's happening throughout your transaction.
If you're planning to buy your first home and would like a conveyancing quote, you can get in touch with Dawson & Co Conveyancing to find out more.
This article provides general information only and should not be treated as legal advice. Every property transaction is different, and advice will depend on the individual circumstances of your purchase.