Don't even think about skimping on a proper environmental search when buying a house, says Helen Salt, a conveyancer for Buss Murton Law.

When buying a property it can be pretty daunting when you find out about all the different types of searches that can and will be carried out during the conveyancing process.

But when it comes to environmental searches, they can be optional but are frequently required by a mortgage lender.

A buyer might consider that there is no need for an environmental search by looking at the property and the surrounding area and they might consider that environmental issues are highly unlikely to affect the property they are buying.

But all property buyers are well-advised to invest in the small cost of the environmental search, especially due to the history of different types of mining across the county, as you never know what may have taken place on or under the land which your home is built on.

An environmental survey will show what lurks beneath a property and purchasers could be surprised by the results.

Recently one of my clients who was purchasing a property in Tunbridge Wells was amazed to discover that their environmental search had highlighted historical underground work upon the land that the property was situated.

After further investigations, this actually related to a tunnel dating back to 1936, which was believed to be used as an air raid shelter and was thankfully unlikely to cause the new owners any problems. But if you may be planning to rebuild or extend a property, you want to make sure you can safely do this and the environmental survey is one way of doing this.

Land associated with tunnelling and mining cavities can cause ground instability problems such as subsidence, surface collapses and even landslides depending on the style of mining used.

Environmental searches also show up many other issues, for example, past land use or areas of potentially infilled land that can in some instances cause structural movement. It can also reveal contaminated land, flooding risks and natural ground subsidence.

With land being at a premium, many homes have been built on brownfield land and therefore it is really important to know what the land may have been used for in the past or what activity may have taken place underground. It is worth having as much information as possible, because it is you that must make the right, fully-informed decision, when purchasing a property.

Helen Salt is conveyancing executive for Buss Murton Law. For more information see www.bussmurton.co.uk