can a solicitor insist on environmental & chancel searches?

arandombloke2

My mortgage company does not want to receive a copy of any environmental searches or chancels ones, so I do not want them done (think that they are for worriers and tell you nothing*).

I told my solicitor to chop them off the to-do list (and their fees), but they are refusing to despite the bank's policy being stated in the CML guide. Their weasel words were:

[FONT=&quot]We are required by lenders to carry out “all necessary searches” and we as a Firm consider Environmental and Chancel Checks to be necessary. [/FONT]

I partly assume they do this because all the work gets outsourced, and partly because everyone else pays up rather than it being a massive earner for them.

Has anyone else come up against this?
Is it all firms that do this or did anyone make a stand and go elsewhere?




*you will never convince me otherwise, so don't try to.

Raggie

To answer you question

No
Expect so as they tend to be professional skilled at what they do.

Best wishes in your new home

bouicca21

Unless chancel repairs is a known problem in the area you are looking at the chances are that the solicitors haven't a clue and are going to outsource to a company that are not going to do a proper search. Chancel repair searches usually come back positive from such companies as they only look at an index of parishes; appearing on the index is meaningless as most of the parishes that appear have a nil liability. You can do a basic search yourself; if that shows a liability you then have to work out which plots of land carry the liability. It won't be the whole parish. This second stage is more difficult but is rarely necessary.

You will find guidance on the website of the National Archives

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/chancel-repairs.htm

vax2002

The notion that in this day and age you can be forced by LAW to pay up to maintain someone's little building that they use to worship their imaginary friend in has to be one of the single most stupid Laws we have remaining.

bouicca21

You're missing the point. The sort of standard chancel repair search that is carried out nowadays is little more than a scam because it is totally worthless.

G_M

vax2002 wrote: »

The notion that in this day and age you can be forced by LAW to pay up to maintain someone's little building that they use to worship their imaginary friend in has to be one of the single most stupid Laws we have remaining.

When I was young myself and my imaginary friend used to hang out in a treehouse in the garden. After a strong gale caused some damage, I made the local property owner (my dad) rebuild the treehouse. He had to pay for the materials himself.

DPJames

It does seem like a bit of a scam doesn't it?

It was all brought about when one couple were billed £250,000 to repair one of those shrines to stupidity. I don't think they had to pay up in the end. But lawyers soon saw a chance to fleece us of an extra few quid and so it's now obligitory to have it done.

StevenMarks

DPJames wrote: »

It does seem like a bit of a scam doesn't it?

It was all brought about when one couple were billed £250,000 to repair one of those shrines to stupidity. I don't think they had to pay up in the end. But lawyers soon saw a chance to fleece us of an extra few quid and so it's now obligitory to have it done.

I thought they'd been forced to sell the property to pay the bill.

Johnhowell

Chancel Repair liability searches will not be required after October 2013.

See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chancel_repair_liability