Page 9 - AvRillo_A4ConvGuideBook July2017

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BUYING PITFALLS (1-3)

WHAT CAN GO WRONG WHEN BUYING.

Sorry to say, but conveyancing in England & Wales is risky. It can, and does, go wrong.

Ask your solicitor for their negligence record to see how many What AVRillo suggest you do differently?
times they have got it wrong in the past. Ours, for example, is 0%. Ask questions and try to find a solicitor with low negligence so
Try to find a solicitor with a similar record. you have less risk of loss. Since we began trading in 1998, we
have moved tens of thousands of clients and each has moved
When it does go wrong it can be expensive for you. This page with 0% negligence and 0% loss, saving them thousands of
sets out a few examples of what can cause financial loss. You pounds.
need to discuss these and others with your solicitors.
What To Look Out For
3) Order your searches.
1) Your solicitor needs to look at the seller’s contract Don’t scrimp on taking shortcuts with your searches as getting it
pack and Title Deeds. wrong can cost you thousands. Ensure your solicitor purchases
They need to do this to raise what are called ‘Additional a full pack of searches to look for hazardous substances,
Enquiries’. These are questions where the buyer’s solicitor looks flooding, repair liabilities & countless other problems you need
for defects in the legal title you are about to purchase. It’s to know about before you buy. After purchase, it’s too late
important your solicitor is a conveyancing expert as failure to because “Buyer Beware” means you are liable to pay for those
locate defects, leaves you at risk due to the principle of ‘buyer problems you could have passed to your seller, had you known
beware’. The seller is under no duty to disclose defects about them with a full set of searches. Most solicitors will try to
but it’s down to the buyer to find out – normally via their look cheap by ordering the basic searches, but only to risk you
solicitor. The contract papers can take up to two weeks to arrive paying thousands later.
from the seller solicitors.
What AVRillo suggest you do differently?
What AVRillo suggest you do differently? We offer clients a choice of basic or full searches. Most take
Find a solicitor who is proactive and just gets on with it. Because the safer route. Because of our buying power we can order a
delays add to the risk of your purchase going abortive, we don’t discounted search pack for you including a flooding Search (even
believe you should have to wait 2 to 3 weeks, so we will go online if not near a river as it includes surface water); Environmental
at the Land Registry and order your title deeds on day one – at Contamination Search (looking for hazardous substances which
no extra cost to you!
can cause thousands of pounds in loss); Chancel Repair Search
(to reduce the risk of you paying for chancel repairs attached to
the property). If you order a full pack, we also provide free
2) If a defect is missed by your solicitor. indemnity insurance, but check with your own solicitor.
It ends up costing you financially as well as adding stress. Ensure
your solicitor does all the necessary checks because as the buyer
you take on full liability; in English Law there is the principle of
‘buyer beware’. Ensure they give you a full report, you read this
and ask questions you are unsure about. If they get it wrong you
risk paying tens of thousands. Don’t take things for granted, over
40% of negligence legal mistakes are made by conveyancers.