How to avoid losing your shirt when buying a property with cash

It is easy to get caught up in all the excitement when buying a property - even more so when you aren’t encumbered by a mortgage and are weighed down with all that ready cash.

Sometimes, rather like when bidding at an auction, any thought of due diligence goes out of the window, property is ALWAYS a great investment, right? What is the worst that could happen?

Conveyancers will always recommend a pack of searches for you when you buy with the help of a mortgage, this is primarily to protect the lender NOT you. So, when you are fortunate enough to buy without a mortgage, a conveyancer will advise of their requirement and most likely urge you to buy a full set of searches. However, due to the time that searches invariably take to be returned this can increase transaction timescales and diminish your credibility to move quickly in the eyes of the seller.

You may be risk averse or inclined to the odd flutter occasionally, but there could be a lot at stake and issues with property invariably prove very costly so you are caught on a conundrum; Do you move quickly without taking steps to mitigate the risks, or do you risk the transaction taking far longer than you had negotiated with the seller because your conveyancer needs answers to protect your interests.

There have been no local authority search products tailored specifically for cash buyers until now.

From October 2022 we will be making a new product available - the OneSearch Cash Buyer Diligence Check. This is designed from the ground up to look after your interests as the buyer and provides unique cover. It won't slow you down because it is compiled from a huge historic data source and takes just 24hrs to complete and provides you with information about Planning Decisions, Planning Designations and Proposals, Road, Rail and Traffic Schemes, Notices and Orders, in fact around 70% of the information normally obtained from a full local authority search.

The report is then backed up by an insurance policy that includes cover for a Search of the Local Land Charges Register form LLC1, a Search of CON29R and/or CON290 records, a Search of the Water and Drainage records on CON29DW, a Search of the Coal Authority's records on form CON29M, an Environmental risk assessment and a full Chancel Repair Liability search.

So, if you are in a hurry and want information without the wait, order the Cash Buyer Diligence Check for your next purchase.

Find out more HERE