Solicitor enquiries and questions help please

[PoloMintHum]

I'm due to receive a 'pack' with details of searches and solicitors enquiries for the house I'm buying. What are the questions they will have asked of the sellers solicitors?

What questions did others ask at this stage? Not really sure if there's anything in particular I should be looking for. I understand this stage can take a few weeks with questions back and forth?

Thanks in advance.

You don’t need to worry about this as the buyer. Your solicitor will know what to look for and will ask all relevant questions

You will have various standard questionnaires that are created by the law society covering all kinds of stuff. There will searches checking for planning applications, environmental problems and all kinds of stuff you would never think to ask about.
Check through the documents looking for anomalies - we found a door that should be present between two parts of the house from the planning application and was listed as needing to stay had been sealed we asked for an indemnity that they bought.

Your solicitor will (should) explain everything in the pack. It will include the registry details and boundaries, the search results and any permissions, building reg sign offs, guarantees and the like. The inquiries are if any of these are missing, as your solicitor will know what needs to be provided.
After the search results there may be questions relating to access, drainage and so on, which needs clarification from the other side. There may be a covenant, rights of way, party wall agreements, a lease etc. your survey may also have raised some questions that the solicitor can ask about. Some solicitors are quick to respond, some aren't. There may be documentation missing and your solicitor will suggest what to do about that. Read everything and if you don't understand what you are looking at ask to have it explained to you. It's buyer beware in this country so you want to know as much as possible.

I work in a law firm and the questions your solicitor will ask follow a standard format - generally its form TA6 and TA7 if the property is leasehold. You can see pdf examples of these at www.lawsociety.org.uk/en/topics/property/transaction-forms

As others have said I wouldnt worry - your solicitor will then raise queries if the answers the sellers' solicitor/ have provided arent normal responses or the questions havent been answered adequately.

He/she should explain to you what they have done and talk you through any unexpected responses and what your options are. If after receiving these forms you have any further questions take them up with your solicitor - its what youre paying them for!

As a buyer I would advise you really carefully read what the solicitor sends you and ask any questions you have of them. It is OK not to know what you are doing through this process - they will help you.

I checked the boundaries on the deeds against what we had seen when viewing - there was a small difference - I raised that with my solicitor and they checked with the seller's solicitor.

I also asked some questions about things they were leaving/taking.

Your solicitor will know what to check.