Buying a house in Cornwall involves two searches that puzzle buyers from elsewhere. The first is a mining search, because much of the county west of Truro is riddled with old tin and copper workings, and a lender wants to know what lies under the garden. The second is a mundic test on houses built in the first half of the twentieth century, when mine waste was used as aggregate in concrete blocks; a bad result can make a house unmortgageable. Add radon, private water supplies, septic tanks and rights of way across fields, and a property solicitor in Truro has earned their fee before the contract is drafted.
Second homes complicate everything. Cornwall Council now charges a council tax premium on them, some parishes, St Ives among them, restrict new homes to full-time residents through planning conditions, and holiday-let buyers need advice on the tax and planning position before completion rather than after. For sellers, a holiday-let business attached to the house changes the whole shape of the sale.
Most Cornish homes are freehold, but leasehold flats in Truro, Falmouth and the resorts need the usual checks on lease length and service charges, and park homes and chalets have rules of their own. Landlord and tenant work is busier than ever now that winter lets and holiday lets compete for the same houses, and the county court in Truro deals with possession and deposit claims.
Commercial work ranges from seasonal leases on harbourside units to farm sales, agricultural tenancies and planning for diversification. Boundary and access disputes between neighbours are common in a county of narrow lanes.
Conveyancing fees are nearly always fixed; ask for a quote that shows the mining search, mundic test and Land Registry fees separately.
Property firms within reach of Truro are listed below, with verified firms at the top and the rest by distance. See what conveyancing involves, the legal fees for buying a house, landlord and tenant law and neighbour disputes, or the general guide to property solicitors.
