essential searches for retirement village

cazza0104

Hi - my father is buying a flat on a brand new retirement village. He is a cash buyer, so can choose which searches to carry out. He is reluctant to do all the searches as he believes the (very reputable) company would have done their own due diligence. I think he should do the LA search but would it still be prudent to do water/drainage/environmental etc.?

Thanks so much for your help.

christineperseus

How many of the flats have been sold?
My uncle was the only resident in a new complex for 11 months........

Richard_Webster

Sometimes it is more about making sure you have all the data you need when you come to sell in years to come.

It should be pretty obvious whether or not the property is on mains drainage. If it is then the management company will be responsible for the drains within the complex and that will be charged to you through the service charge so drainage search may not help much.

However the environmental search could show a previous industrial use or filled ground and then you would want to make sure that the builder had carried out proper remediation etc. Your solicitors wouldn't be prompted to ask about this kind of thing if the search had not been done. When you come to sell, the documents may not be so easily available - so get them now and keep them safe.