The packs, now the responsibility of the purchaser, include Local, Water/Drainage, and Environmental searches. The client will benefit from a guarantee that if the transaction falls through, the next pack of searches will be provided free of charge.
The new packs are available on all purchase transactions across all solicitors on the panel, and Conveyancing Alliance believe advisers using their service will be providing significant protection to their clients.
Following the suspension of HIPs in May 2010 by the Coalition Government the responsibility for ensuring these searches are completed and up to date now lies with the purchaser not the vendor. The vendor is only responsible for the provision of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
Harpal Singh, Managing Director of Conveyancing Alliance Ltd, commented:
“As more and more properties come to market without a HIP, or the searches within the HIP expire past the lender’s six-month timeframe, purchase clients are now responsible for these searches and must ensure they are completed. This shift from the vendor to the purchaser’s responsibility means even more added cost for adviser’s clients and the potential for increased abortive costs should the purchase fall through.
"By offering this search pack product Conveyancing Alliance is offering advisers’ clients value for money plus the added guarantee that the client will only need to pay once for their searches. We are not aware of any other search product guarantee like this in the marketplace.
"Our conveyancing fees already have the benefit of being ‘no completion, no fee’ and we hope advisers use this valuable new feature to further protect their clients and hopefully ensure they can secure the conveyancing business as well.”
Nigel Burgess, Assistant General Manager at Salans, said:
"With the housing market still in a fragile state this replacement search protection will help add certainty and value for purchasers and is well worth having."
