Generally when a property is sold at auction a legal pack, which contain documents relating to the property being auctioned, is compiled by the vendor's solicitors and, whereas in the past these packs were only available as hardcopies, today the majority are available online which makes this part of due diligence much easier.

I opened with the word 'generally' because there is no legal requirement for the vendor to produce or compile a comprehensive legal pack.

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of legal pack due diligence I would like to point out that you won't need a solicitor/conveyancer within walking distance of the property. In fact, you don't need a conveyancer within a few hundred miles of the property but if you are buying in England, Wales or Northern Ireland you do need a non-Scottish conveyancer as Scottish law differs from the rest of the UK.

This chapter includes some technical information about legal packs but, as I am not a Solicitor, the technical information should be checked out with a solicitor experienced in reviewing the Legal Packs.

So to continue, most auction properties will have a legal pack of documents most of which are important. Probably the most important is a document called 'special conditions' in which the vendor states that they do not accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions that you find out about after the auction.