Before exchange, your conveyancer sends the report on title — their written explanation of everything the legal process found: what you are buying, what binds it, and what they need you to understand before you sign. It is dense, and it is the most important document you will read in the entire purchase. Read all of it.
What the report covers
Expect: the title itself (what the title deeds and register record — ownership, boundaries, tenure); anything binding the land, such as covenants (promises restricting use — no extensions, no business, no caravans) and easements (others' rights over your property — shared drains, rights of way, or your rights over neighbours' land); search results and how enquiries were resolved; lease terms if leasehold; and the mortgage conditions you must satisfy. It ends with what you sign: the contract, transfer deed and mortgage deed.
How to read it usefully
Read with your plans in mind. A covenant against alterations matters enormously if you bought intending to extend, and not at all if you did not. An easement giving a neighbour access to a shared drain under the patio is routine — unless your dream was a garden room on that spot. Flag every clause that touches something you actually intend to do with the property, and ask.
There are no silly questions this week
Conveyancers write reports defensively and answer questions clearly — but only when asked. If any paragraph is unintelligible, ask for plain English; if anything conflicts with what the agent or seller told you, that conflict is precisely what the report exists to surface. Every question is free now and unaskable after exchange.
Your action list
Practical tips
- Read it twice a day apart — dense legal reports reveal different things on second reading.
- Keep the report with your deeds forever; it is the map of your property's legal quirks.
What can go wrong
- Signing an unread report on title converts every 'I didn't know about that' into 'I agreed to that' — permanently.
- Restrictive covenants are enforceable long after everyone forgets why they exist; do not assume an old one is a dead one.
- PropertySquares provides education, not financial or legal advice. Verify current rules and obtain advice for your circumstances before acting.