New build - Chancel search

dumpallhere

Our solicitor has not carried out any searches on the new build property and is relying on the information / reports provided by the seller in their legal pack.

To an extent (e.g. - drainage, environmental, land registry searches), I believe that is fine since the seller wouldn't have received planning permission without addressing these matters and undertaking remediation measures, if any.

Our big concern is regarding Chancel Repair Liability about which there seems to be no definite information. The Seller's legal pack mentions the following under various sections:

Adverse Rights

The Developer is not aware of any adverse rights or informal arrangements specifically affecting the Property, other than might be disclosed in the draft documents, registers of public record (whether actually registered or not), Official Copies supplied or which may be immediately apparent from an inspection of the Property.

Nor is the Developer aware of any overriding interests but the property is sold subject to any there might be.

Searches

As regards ChancelCheck Searches, any search result merely confirms that the Property is within a Parish that continues to have Chancel liability. It does not specifically confirm that the Property is affected. The Developer will not pay for indemnity insurance unless it can be proved that the Property is specifically at risk from a Chancel Repair Liability.

The development (about 170 properties) has been built on land where a cement factory existed until early 1990s. It is within a village and civil parish.

Unsure whether we should rely on solicitor's judgement or instruct him to carry out chancel search for sure.

We are FTB and therefore ignorant in such matters. Seem to have ended up with an inefficient solicitor - 3 months and no exchange yet - which means our stress levels has risen many-fold.

Tancred

dumpallhere wrote: »

We are FTB and therefore ignorant in such matters. Seem to have ended up with an inefficient solicitor - 3 months and no exchange yet - which means our stress levels has risen many-fold.

I know the feeling!!! :mad:

Tancred

dumpallhere wrote: »

Our big concern is regarding Chancel Repair Liability about which there seems to be no definite information. The Seller's legal pack mentions the following under various sections:

Adverse Rights

The Developer is not aware of any adverse rights or informal arrangements specifically affecting the Property, other than might be disclosed in the draft documents, registers of public record (whether actually registered or not), Official Copies supplied or which may be immediately apparent from an inspection of the Property.

Nor is the Developer aware of any overriding interests but the property is sold subject to any there might be.

Searches

As regards ChancelCheck Searches, any search result merely confirms that the Property is within a Parish that continues to have Chancel liability. It does not specifically confirm that the Property is affected. The Developer will not pay for indemnity insurance unless it can be proved that the Property is specifically at risk from a Chancel Repair Liability.

The development (about 170 properties) has been built on land where a cement factory existed until early 1990s. It is within a village and civil parish.

Unsure whether we should rely on solicitor's judgement or instruct him to carry out chancel search for sure.

We are FTB and therefore ignorant in such matters. Seem to have ended up with an inefficient solicitor - 3 months and no exchange yet - which means our stress levels has risen many-fold.

Your solicitor should be able to offer indemnity insurance to cover this liability. Ask him - it should be £150 or so.

bouicca21

The developer is correct, the standard cheap chancel repair search will only indicate if some ( not all, just some!) properties in that parish might (yes, only might) have a continuing liability. It seems they have done that bit, so if you want to be sure you need to download the record of ascertainment from The National Archives to see what it actually says. This will only cost about £3.50 (last time I checked). Or if you live close enough to Kew go in and download it for free. You will also need their free leaflet telling you how to interpret the entries. With luck it will say no liability. If it does indicate a liability then you go to the next stage which will involve looking at the tithe map, or getting someone to do it for you.

The developer must already know that no liability is indicated on the deeds.

P.s. your solicitor will almost certainly not know how to do this. He/she will only know about the initial search that the developer has already done.

dumpallhere

bouicca21,

The dilemma here is that the way the seller has written the statement regarding chancel liability we aren't even sure whether the seller has done the basic search to determine whether the development land falls under such a parish.

It would have been simpler and much easier for legal and non-legal brains if they had written (assuming that they had undertaken chancel search) that the development falls under a parish that continues to have a liability and that the seller will not pay for any indemnity insurance unless it can be proved that the Property is specifically at risk from a Chancel Repair Liability.

The legal pack from the seller does not include any document whatsoever to hint / indicate that they had carried out any such basic search. Other than what I have quoted above, no other document contains the word "chancel"! Moreover, had they undertaken it, the report would have formed part of the legal pack (adverse interests must be declared).

Now, I believe all this analysis / inference is the job of the solicitor and he should have acted on it - first enquiring about the issue with the seller and then conducting the necessary basic (ChancelCheck) search. We had paid £450 at the time we instructed him to act on out behalf 3 months ago to do any search that was necessary.

ATM, as a client, I am in a limbo as I don't even know if our plot / the development land falls in such a parish or not.

I am happy to pay for the indemnity insurance, if the land / plot falls under a parish that continues to have a liability! But does it? - we don't know even after 3 months!!

:mad:

bouicca21

Identify the ancient parish (ask for help at the local studies library or archive centre if you don't know how) and do your own search on the online TNA catalogue and online TNA leaflet. Honest, unless you live in some quite specific areas of the country, you probably have nothing to worry about. Doing the initial search yourself will be far cheaper than chancelcheck or similar and will probably put your mind at rest, although it is just possible it will give you a real worry in which case you will at least know that there really is a risk (and be able to quantify it).
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/chancel-repairs.htm

dumpallhere

Tancred wrote: »

Your solicitor should be able to offer indemnity insurance to cover this liability. Ask him - it should be £150 or so.

Is that a one-off payment or annual premium?

Richard_Webster

1. No search insurance in perpetuity can be got through some solicitor's practices for as little as £15, not £150.

2. Is the new build finished ad the sale can go through quickly or is it still being built? If it is likely that the completion will take place after 13th October this year there is no point bothering because unless the title shows that the liability has been registered against it (highly unlikely) there will be no liability at all for a buyer.

dumpallhere

Richard_Webster wrote: »

1. No search insurance in perpetuity can be got through some solicitor's practices for as little as £15, not £150.

Thanks for that. On this point I am glad that my solicitor doesn't act on instructions for weeks. Despite instructing him to do a CancelCheck on Monday, he has written that it will be ordered next Tuesday!! So I have asked him about "no search" idemnity and if he can arrange for one.

Richard_Webster wrote: »

2. Is the new build finished ad the sale can go through quickly or is it still being built? If it is likely that the completion will take place after 13th October this year there is no point bothering because unless the title shows that the liability has been registered against it (highly unlikely) there will be no liability at all for a buyer.

I was hoping for that as well. But having spoken to the site manager it appears that he has been given a 13-Sep deadline for CML sign-off. I am assuming that the seller will then push for completion soon after, so I might not be able to delay the completion to 13-Oct or after.