If you are Purchasing: -

Surveys

1.         Whether or not you are purchasing with the assistance of a mortgage it would be advisable to put in hand a survey as you will normally be deemed to purchase with full knowledge of the condition of the property. A survey is always advisable because the onus of discovering any structural defects in the property to be purchased rests with the buyer. Essentially there are three types of survey available:-

A.     Your first option is to merely accept the contents of the valuation survey report, which will be undertaken by the mortgage lender if you are obtaining a mortgage. This valuation is carried out to establish whether the property being purchased will be adequate security for the amount of the loan. Such valuation tends to be rather limited and will not necessarily reveal sufficient information about the state of the property. You will have no recourse against the lender if the contents of the valuation turn out to be incorrect.

B.     An alternative would be to commission a “Home Buyer’s Report and Valuation”. This could be carried out by the mortgage lender’s valuer/surveyor at the same time as undertaking the valuation or survey for the lender if you tell your lender that this is what you require. This would reduce the cost to you, whilst at the same time providing more information.

C.     If you are in any doubt though, we would not hesitate to recommend a structural survey. Despite its apparent cost, it may well save you money in the long term.

Ownership

Where property is owned by more than one person, it can be owned in one of two ways. It can either be owned by them as joint tenants or as tenants in common. The difference between the two is as follows:

If a property is owned by two or more people as joint tenants then on the death of the first of them, the property automatically passes to the survivor, irrespective of any provisions contained in a Will of the deceased or any right under the rules relating to intestacy (that is when a deceased person has not made a Will). With property held as joint tenants it is not possible to give your interest in the property under your Will unless you first sever the joint tenancy to create a tenancy in common. Any gift in a Will of a property held as a joint tenants would not be effective.

Where a property is held by two or more people as tenants in common then, on the death of the first of the tenants in common, their interest does not automatically pass to the survivor. They can give away their interest in the property in a Will or if they have not left a Will, their interest in the property will pass under the rules relating to Intestacy.

Joint tenancy is the way in which most married couples own their property. Their wish is normally that when one of them dies the property should pass entirely to the survivor.

A Tenancy in common is usual where friends purchase a property together particularly where they contribute towards the purchase price in unequal proportions. Often they would wish their interest in the property on their death not to pass to the other joint owner but to pass to their family or friends referred to in their Will.

If property is to be held as a tenancy in common where the purchase price has been contributed in unequal proportions and/or any mortgage is paid in unequal shares, then it is wise to have a formal declaration of trust showing the respective interests of each tenant in common in the property. If you wish to hold the property as tenants in common and would like us to prepare a declaration of trust covering your respective interests in the property we will be happy to do this.

If you wish to hold the property as tenants in common and wish a separate declaration of trust, we will need to know the shares that you will each hold in the property. We will need to know the individual cash contributions which each of you is making to the purchase price and whether the mortgage will be shared equally between you or whether one party will be responsible for a greater proportion of the mortgage than the other. Once we have this information we will be able to prepare a draft declaration of trust and send the same to you for approval.

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If you require a Home Information Pack (HIP) we can arrange one for you. Please telephone us on 020 7739 6927