Can I buy insurance that will refund my costs if the chain falls apart?

lisahobden

I am a natural worrier (!) and I can't help being anxious that we have already committed to spend nearly a thousand pounds in surveys, searches, etc.

Is there an insurance product available that would refund these if we failed to complete for a reason out of our control?

tbs624

There are apparently some insurance policies available that will repay fees if you're gazumped, but I think they have to have been taken out before you have instructed your solicitor.

Not sure about for other circumstances but one of the regular posters on here will no doubt know. Have you tried asking an insurance broker?
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Richard_Webster

Many solicitors offer no sale no fee schemes but they generally only apply to the actual fees charged by the solicitor rather than say search fees and will not reimburse you other costs such as survey fees and mortgage application fees. The scheme my own practice runs is like that is and asks for a a small extra up front payment in return for the guarantee of no charges for my wasted time - but I don't go into the details of why the transaction is not proceeding.

There may be insurance products on the market that will give some cover but these may only pay out in certain circumstances, e.g gazumping, or a seller withdrawing his property from the market. You would need to read the small print very carefully. The problem with a chain is often that somebody further up can't make up their mind what to buy so the whole chain is held up by their indecision. You can then get fed up and decide to look for something else. Your seller has never withdrawn the property from you, so you might find that the insurance would not be applicable in those circumstances.