Who pays......?

billyboy11

The house we are buying has a hip with out of date searches. Our solicitor has said we obviously need new ones..

She has said that if the other side dont want to pay for them, we will.

Is this normal, and how much do they cost (forgot to ask), and is it worth us just sayin gyes to keep the sale going through rather than having letters arguing back and forth.

many thanks

00ec25

discussed many times, the vendor has met their legal responsibility in providing the original HIP. Once the searches go out of date they do not have to replace them, the next step is down to your negotiation skills and how much you really want the house, either you pay or you persuade the vendor they will lose you as a buyer unless they pay. In the latter case your mortgage company may (unlikely) insist on new searches again !

chickmug

Don't feel too bad if you end up paying as prior to HIPs the buyer always paid anyway.

billyboy11

Thanks for the fast replies..

Sorry i didnt use search as was being called for dinner and thought i would do a quick question...

Thats whats great about this forum, for those of us that are impatient, and cant wait until the morning, there's usually someone that can help...

Do you know roughly what they cost...

Cheers again..:beer:

Doozergirl

Usually £200-250 for all of them. The local authority search fee varies from council to council and some searches are essential for certain mortgage lenders or certain places, others aren't so one couldn't say exactly.

Debt_Free_Chick

Before HIPS, sellers never had to pay for searches - buyers always did as part of the conveyancing process. Buyers are now in no better position i.e. they still need to get searches. To be honest, a search is pretty much out of date the day you get it, as it won't show issues added the following day. For this reason, many solicitors will get further searches on the day prior to exchange, as well.

Searches vary - best to check the website of the local authority where the property is situated, as many LAs publish them online.

billyboy11

Will have a look, thanks ..

ciano125

There is no right and wrong answer to this, its negotiable. It depends on how well you can negotiate and how strong you think your position is. The seller is paying for ours despite having paid for them in the first place.

billyboy11

ciano125 wrote: »

There is no right and wrong answer to this, its negotiable. It depends on how well you can negotiate and how strong you think your position is. The seller is paying for ours despite having paid for them in the first place.

I will give it a go, ask them to pay, i would guess our soilcitor will try that avenue first. As i have had to pay for my house, doesn't seem right to have to pay for both buying and selling...

ciano125

billyboy11 wrote: »

I will give it a go, ask them to pay, i would guess our soilcitor will try that avenue first. As i have had to pay for my house, doesn't seem right to have to pay for both buying and selling...

That's where you're going wrong dude! Don't ASK them to pay, TELL them to pay or you'll reduce your offer/walk away. It's very much a buyers market and I doubt that they will want to lose a buyer for the sake of a couple of hundred quid. You're paying for the house, the valuation, your legal fees etc. They can pay for the HIP, that's my opinion anyway.