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vincent.lee

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Slithery

As with any property, you should've insured the second you exchanged.

Do the vendors have insurance?

Slithery

vincent.lee wrote: »

I didn't get a chance to exchange. Exchange takes place on the 5th of January.

Yes you did. You exchanged when the hammer fell, you are due to complete on the 5th of January.

Whenever I've bought at auction the paperwork always advises you to insure ASAP after you've exchanged. I know that I sorted mine while still at the auction while waiting for them to make up the contracts .

DoaM

I'm not sure how auction purchases work ... are there still the usual Exchange and Completion stages? If yes then it sounds like OP has Exchanged and has a Completion date set for 5th Jan 2019.

Edit: I was typing as the above post came in.

newbie1980

vincent.lee wrote: »

I bought auction property last week, and it has since sustained heavy smoke and fire damage.

What are my options? I've paid the deposit. The final date of purchase is the 5th of January, so I haven't gotten it insured.

i brought a property at auction and on the night the 10% is exchange
in the pack it would have advised you to get insurance straight away

babyblade41

Again not bought at auction but in a normal transaction on exchange you are told to insure your property you have exchanged on.
I do this but never cancel my property insurance either just in case as I never know how the law will decide.
Is it worth asking the current soon to be ex owner if they still have insurance on it and presumably a fire report would have to be available to see what caused the fire as it could be criminal rather than accident

da_rule

You need to check the auction terms and conditions. I’ve just checked a few and some say it is the sellers responsibility to insure between the contract date (which is, in most cases, the date of the auction) and completion, others state it is the buyers responsibility.

theartfullodger

Oh dear. How much was purchase price?



What do the Police and/or Fire service have to say? Was it subject to some arguments about who should be selling? Sounds like someone wasn't happy.... (in addition to yourself...)

Doozergirl

As above, you should hope that the vendor still has insurance, but I would investigate the possibly of escaping the contract given that the condition is not the same as it was when contracts were exchanged.

I'd buy almost anything if the price was right, but a fire damaged property wouldn't be on the list. Smoke infiltrates absolutely everything.

davidmcn

You did read and understand the auction terms before you bid, didn't you? What do they say about when risk passes?

If you don't understand them, tell us which auctioneer it is and we'll have a look for you...

eddddy

davidmcn wrote: »

You did read and understand the auction terms before you bid, didn't you? What do they say about when risk passes?

If you don't understand them, tell us which auctioneer it is and we'll have a look for you...

As well as looking at the auctioneer's General Conditions of Sale, you also need to look at the Special Conditions of Sale for the specific lot.

Insurance obligations are often varied in the Special Conditions.


FWIW, I recently had a similar problem. I sold a property at auction which was vandalised between the auction and completion. The General Conditions of Sale said insurance was the seller's responsibility, but fortunately, I had added a Special Condition making it the buyer's responsibility (but the buyer didn't insure).

The buyer had to complete on the property in its vandalised state.