What happens when "searches" prove inaccurate?

timmyt

Raggie wrote: »

Chancel liability .... I have a certificate from a well known provider of such checks that states "no liability".

Downloading a copy of my land registry information (to check all is ok) I discover a charge registered against the property.

Nice one eh???

so when you sent the registered title to the search company (whose searches only say 'not likely' to have the liability) what did they say? Did you at least get your money back?

timmyt

Raggie wrote: »

Question: when a solicitor acts in the purchase of a property, they conduct a number of searches, enviromential, planning etc. The solicitors uses a "third party" company to conduct said "search" the vendor pays the fees and the property is finaly sold to the vendor.

If these searches then prove to be inaccurate. Who is at fault.

The company undertaking the "search"?

The solicitor instructing the company to do the "search"?

Remember the vendor only instructed the solicitor to undertake the "search" the choice to use a third party was with the solicitor.

Who would one expect to burden the liability in such a case?

Discuss........

why are you targeting your solicitor, who is your agent and friend in all this? If the information was wrong, then they will want to help you get a remedy, as the searches usually define who the contractual relationship is with - often i.e the ultimate intended recipient of the search...the buyer...i.e you.

work with the lawyer as they have acted in good faith it sounds so clearly have nothing to do with the process, nor wrong information.

obviously you have only given us a snap shot of info though, and indede you have not said what loss if any you have suffered. You are chalenging the way conveyancing is done - solicitor orders search for you etc.

Raggie

The search clearly states the the property has "no liability"..

Don't get me wrong I am suing no one, I am not being agressive on this at all.
I have only pointed out the facts to the parties involved and asked them why it happened, what risk am I exposed to, and what steps do they propse to take to mitigate my risk.

It's all nicely nicley at the moment. I was only posting to canvas views as I don't think it will stay nice for very much longer lol

Thrugelmir

Raggie wrote: »

Chancel liability .... I have a certificate from a well known provider of such checks that states "no liability".

Downloading a copy of my land registry information (to check all is ok) I discover a charge registered against the property.

Nice one eh???

An indemnity policy can be obtained for a nominal one off sum.

Raggie

Thrugelmir wrote: »

An indemnity policy can be obtained for a nominal one off sum.

Yes it can, but the insurers tell me that there will need to be a special underwritten policy beacuse the charge is now registered. (risk has gone up!)

now I'm not an expert in such things so am only repeating what the sales line told me.

So who should pay?

My thoughts are going along the line of... As I have a certificate stating "no liabilty" that I could use this and chase the search providers under their proffesional liabilty insurance, and assign any cliaim made on me to them?

silvercar

When was the charge put on the property? If it was before you bought then your solicitor and the chancel liability searcher should both have seen it.

I wonder if the regular chancel liability search provider has indemnity insurance covering exactly this situation.

There are two elements to this. If the liability is enforced then you could receive a bill for your share. There is also the drop in value of your property caused by having this liability. What is the difference in value between the property with and without the liability.

You may be advised to take out an indemnity policy now, rather than probing too deeply and finding that you can't get cover.

Raggie

@ Silvercar

the property was a new build and this is the first registration with the land registry.

So could the solicitor have seen it?

Or could they only rely on the search provider?

Bit of a minefield really.

timmyt

Raggie wrote: »

Yes it can, but the insurers tell me that there will need to be a special underwritten policy beacuse the charge is now registered. (risk has gone up!)

now I'm not an expert in such things so am only repeating what the sales line told me.

So who should pay?

My thoughts are going along the line of... As I have a certificate stating "no liabilty" that I could use this and chase the search providers under their proffesional liabilty insurance, and assign any cliaim made on me to them?

try these guys:

[EMAIL="enquiries@ccs-insurance.co.uk"]enquiries@ccs-insurance.co.uk[/EMAIL]

they are new and very active at the moment and I think (only a thought) that they insure whether the title shows a liability or not

Thrugelmir

Raggie wrote: »

@ Silvercar

the property was a new build and this is the first registration with the land registry.

So could the solicitor have seen it?

Or could they only rely on the search provider?

Bit of a minefield really.

Its ownership of the land which incurs the liability not the property.

A short search may therefore not detect the existance of a potential liability. A full search would have revealed far more and been far more expensive.

The fact that insurance is available (at a cost) suggests that the precise nature of the liability if any hasn't been determined.

silvercar

Raggie wrote: »

@ Silvercar

the property was a new build and this is the first registration with the land registry.

So could the solicitor have seen it?

Or could they only rely on the search provider?

Bit of a minefield really.

If your ownership is the first registration, then they couldn't have seen it as obviously as if you were a subsequent purchaser.

The liability must come from the previous ownership of the land, so the developer should have found out about it at the time of purchase of the land. Logically you would have expected the developer to have taken out insurance so they could have sold the properties built without this liability.

I couldn't say whether the solicitor is expected to look at the title deeds of the developer. I would have thought they would have to, in order to satisfy themselves that they own the land on which the property is built, but that is only my gut feeling.

Do you have a mortgage? If so your solicitor also has a liability to the mortgage provider to ensure you are buying something that they can be first charge holders on. I wonder if this impacts on them at all.