Is it compulsary?

kiwi07

I am in process of buying my flat. My solicitor wants to do some searches - like local, environmental, coal/brine, plansearch, drainage searches. Is it compulsary? I am a cash buyer, no mortgage. Please, advise asap.

pawpurrs

As you are a cash buyer ie requiring no mortgage finance, then no its not compulsary.

Nosht

& you may not have insurance for the property if searches have not been done. :eek:

Regards,

N.

mustang1

No it's not compulsory but some of these searches should really be done as standard for peace of mind. I would still carry out a local search (to check that there are no planning issues with the property or proposed development of the property itself!) I would also get a drainage and water search done just to check it's connected to mains drainage and the sewer system.

Where is the property? That will determine whether it would be a good idea to carry out a coal search.

To be honest, whilst you're a cash buyer, you may at some stage want to mortgage the property and if there are any issues which arise in the future, it would be worth having checked any problems out now before you spend a whole heap of money on a property which, for all you know, could be located bang on top of a coal mine!

chickmug

The answer has already been given by other posters but I have found some impatient buyers reach a stage, with the solicitor, where they got fed up with waiting for an odd straggler of a a search when all others were in. They instructed the solicitor to exchange regardless.

My view is that you have got to be stupid not to let the solicitor do all they feel is necessary to safeguard you. I have seen the result of shoddy, or incomplete, conveyancing when folks come to sell and issues arise from their buyers searches and that can break the deal.

QTPie

I would do the searches to know EXACTLY what you are buying... even if the searches don't affect you directly, they may very well affect the re-sale-ability of the property in future... If there IS a problem, then when you come to sell it, it will be unearthed and may well be a deal breaker for any potential buyers... then you could be left with a real lemon on your hands.

QT

everlastingspirit

Not necessarily comulsory provided you do not have a mortgage offer that is reliant upon survey & searches. Searches are still a good and reccomended idea even if not required.

I would advise the D&W & local searches should be already in a HIP pack if they have one and are usually resusable within 6 months (despite what solictors might lie to you about) - this comes from someone who worked in the EA & HIP industry.

As beforementioned though not having these done could affect your insurances.

Ben

kiwi07

everlastingspirit wrote: »

Not necessarily comulsory provided you do not have a mortgage offer that is reliant upon survey & searches. Searches are still a good and reccomended idea even if not required.

I would advise the D&W & local searches should be already in a HIP pack if they have one and are usually resusable within 6 months (despite what solictors might lie to you about) - this comes from someone who worked in the EA & HIP industry.

As beforementioned though not having these done could affect your insurances.

Ben

Thanks. What Is quite important to check - are there any unpaid service charge bills? How I can check that?

ray123

Here are some sites:

Though maybe not at the forefront of your mind, risks such as crime and flooding can have a significant impact on insurance premiums and a house’s value. It’s possible to quickly check how vulnerable a property is using a few clever sites – possibly saving years’ of stress.

• Check for flood risk and air pollution
  The Environment Agency’s flood map at Environment-agency.gov.uk provides a more detailed report on whether and why your area is at risk. The likelihood is described as one of three categories, low, moderate or significant, as used by insurers. There’s also an air quality map showing nearby pollution dangers like sewage works.
• Check for flood and subsidence risks
  A ten second search on Homecheck could save you years of hassle. It’s an amazing resource, collating data from bodies like the Environment Agency and the British Geological Survey; just type in a postcode and it swiftly analyses the risk of flooding, subsidence and other environmental problems. It lets you check for all sorts of nasties you’ve never contemplated, such as landfill waste and radon gas levels.
• Examine crime rates
  Discover how much crime there is in your area compared to the national average, simply by plugging your postcode into Upmystreet.com. It’ll show you a breakdown of different crimes e.g. burglary, theft and robbery, which all affect insurance premiums, for your area and the average for Englan/Wales/Scotland depending on where you are based.

This is the link from which the info has been taken.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/free-house-prices

What I would suggest is:
1) As whether the info is in the HIP, and if its not query this?
2) Do the relevant searches on the sites above, print out the results and give them to the solicitor?

Why pay the solicitor extra money to do something that should have been done in the HIP or that you can do yourself?

Richard_Webster

• Check for flood risk and air pollution
  The Environment Agency’s flood map at Environment-agency.gov.uk provides a more detailed report on whether and why your area is at risk. The likelihood is described as one of three categories, low, moderate or significant, as used by insurers. There’s also an air quality map showing nearby pollution dangers like sewage works.
• Check for flood and subsidence risks
  A ten second search on Homecheck could save you years of hassle. It’s an amazing resource, collating data from bodies like the Environment Agency and the British Geological Survey; just type in a postcode and it swiftly analyses the risk of flooding, subsidence and other environmental problems. It lets you check for all sorts of nasties you’ve never contemplated, such as landfill waste and radon gas levels.
• Examine crime rates
  Discover how much crime there is in your area compared to the national average, simply by plugging your postcode into Upmystreet.com. It’ll show you a breakdown of different crimes e.g. burglary, theft and robbery, which all affect insurance premiums, for your area and the average for Englan/Wales/Scotland depending on where you are based.

This is sensible. As a cash buyer it depends on how much info you want and that is something you should discuss with your solicitor. You can certainly save by taking a view on some of these issues and it is wrong for your solicitor not to give this option.

I tend to do Environmental & Plan Searches as a matter of course, but if a client is a cash buyer I do give them the option of instructing me not to do them. For instance they might look on the Homecheck site which I think gives High/Medium/Low risks for various headings and if they come out as Low they might think it isn't worth doing an Environmental Search.

terrierlady

I am looking to buy a property spoke to both agent and vendor both said they did not know this info. discovered a covenant on the plot and other restrictions on the garden area so well worth the money .