Buying searches results from previous buyers

antcurious

SmlSave wrote: »

If you can buy the Local Land Search and it's less than 3 months old then get it done. Your lender will be happy with the same.

It is a totally normal thing to do.

The water, plan, environmental searches are optional extras and are not legally required in most cases - so if they are for sale it's up to you.

Sounds positive!

DaftyDuck

The searches are unlikely to be the slowest part of the transaction and, if done in parallel with other matters, are not going to slow things up. They're cheap and, if you buy your own, you have some limited come-back if there's an error.

I'd imagine it's not a course your solicitor would recommend. If he does, change solicitor (was it the one the estate agent recommended?).

Do you know why the other buyers pulled out?

MrJB

Many LA's are running incredibly behind on searches at the moment - I can believe that these will hold transactions up - particularly if it's a cash purchase or funding in place.

antcurious

DaftyDuck wrote: »

The searches are unlikely to be the slowest part of the transaction and, if done in parallel with other matters, are not going to slow things up. They're cheap and, if you buy your own, you have some limited come-back if there's an error.

I'd imagine it's not a course your solicitor would recommend. If he does, change solicitor (was it the one the estate agent recommended?).

Do you know why the other buyers pulled out?

I have reason to think that in this case, searches will be the slowest element.
My solicitor (not an agent recommended one) did not see a problem, but I take your point about come-back, so will query this.

Other buyers had been messing the vendor around for 4 months for various nefarious reasons, he lost patience and pulled out...we'd been waiting in the wings all the while.

antcurious

MrJB wrote: »

Many LA's are running incredibly behind on searches at the moment - I can believe that these will hold transactions up - particularly if it's a cash purchase or funding in place.

Yes this is a FTB purchasing empty property scenario. We had just had a mortgage offered in 10 days, before pulling out from another transaction, the seller contract pack has been in existence for a while because of the seller's previous buyers, so I think searches are going to be the bottleneck.

EmmyLou30

We bought the searches off the previous buyers via our solicitor as they'd pulled out of the purchase on the Thursday, house was back on the market Friday and we agreed to buy it on the Saturday (fast moving market!). The vendors were desperate to move with a baby on the way and a house they were waiting to buy, I was a FTB with everything in place.....buying the searches (that were very up to date so no worries there) got the sale through in 4.5 weeks. So if they are up to date and exactly what you'd receive if you did them yourself, then why not buy them I say.

antcurious

EmmyLou30 wrote: »

We bought the searches off the previous buyers via our solicitor as they'd pulled out of the purchase on the Thursday, house was back on the market Friday and we agreed to buy it on the Saturday (fast moving market!). The vendors were desperate to move with a baby on the way and a house they were waiting to buy, I was a FTB with everything in place.....buying the searches (that were very up to date so no worries there) got the sale through in 4.5 weeks. So if they are up to date and exactly what you'd receive if you did them yourself, then why not buy them I say.

Thanks Emmylou that's encouraging!

SmlSave

DaftyDuck wrote: »

I'd imagine it's not a course your solicitor would recommend. If he does, change solicitor

May I be nosey and ask where your knowledge of conveyancing solicitors comes from to state this?

marksoton

SmlSave wrote: »

May I be nosey and ask where your knowledge of conveyancing solicitors comes from to state this?

That isn't the point.

Any conveyancer worth their salt will not rely on third party information.

By doing so they're potentially sticking their own professional integrity and career on the line.

SmlSave

marksoton wrote: »

That isn't the point.

Any conveyancer worth their salt will not rely on third party information.

By doing so they're potentially sticking their own professional integrity and career on the line.

Not if it's a local land search done by the local authority and I'm assuming that the solicitors in question will check this before buying the searches on their clients behalf.

If they don't, then yes, your last sentence applies