Lloyd Davies is a qualified solicitor with over ten years experience in the residential conveyancing industry. As Chief Executive of the Convey Group, he heads up the leadership team that provides strategic direction to the Group. Lloyd has overseen the growth of the Convey Group of Companies over the past five years into one of the UK’s leading conveyancing organisations. Lloyd's expertise in relation to fast-paced conveyancing transactions is based upon the experience gained in running one of the largest and most effective residential conveyancing departments in the UK over the last ten years. The Convey Group is at the forefront of e-conveyancing having developed several revolutionary conveyancing IT applications and taking part in the Land Registry’s e-conveyancing pilot scheme. Lloyd sat on the Home Information Pack Implementation Committee, established by the Department for Communities and Local Government, a position from which he resigned when he felt that the Government had lost direction in relation to HIP Legislation. He has subsequently taken part in the Conservative Party’s Home Buying Review in Westminster, a forum chaired by shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps.
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Meet Lloyd Davies
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
Home Information Pack Searches
You will be aware that the property that you are purchasing may have a Home Information Pack (HIP) available. Certain properties may not have a HIP, due to the timescales from when they were initially marketed and subsequently sold.
The HIP pack will include a Local Search and a Drainage Search as well as other documentation.
In certain circumstances the searches in the HIP pack cannot be utilized. Such circumstances would be when:
- The Searches are in excess of 4 months old at the time of your instruction. Conveyancing searches are very important documents that need to be undertaken contemporaneously with your transaction, failing which the information contained within the searches may have changed.
- The supplier of the HIP pack is not HIP Code Regulated. Many HIP Providers are not regulated and are not insured. We can not therefore confidently rely on the information that they produce.
In order to avoid any unnecessary delay to your transaction we would recommend that you undertake fresh searches as soon as possible. A typical search pack, which will include an up to date Local, Drainage and Environmental Search, will cost approximately £249.00. We undertake search packs via personal search agents in order to ensure the speed of their return, accuracy and price guarantee. In the event that you would like us to undertake your searches via the Local Authorities direct please provide us with your written instructions in this respect.
We would also advise you to take the benefit of our Chancel Repair Block Insurance Policy which is available to all of our clients at a cost of £20.00. The policy will cover your property against any ancient Chancel tithes that may be tied to the property and is considerably cheaper than undertaking a Chancel Search.
By ordering fresh searches we can ensure that both you and your mortgage lender (if applicable) are fully protected and fully advised of any issues affecting the property prior to proceeding to an exchange of contracts.
In the event that you do not want us to order fresh searches on you behalf the following process will need to be followed:-
- Please inform us immediately in writing that you do not wish us to undertake fresh searches on your behalf. By writing to us in this respect you are confirming that you are aware of the dangers of relying on searches provided by third parties and indemnifying us against any and all consequential losses resulting from your actions.
- It must be ascertained whether the HIP provider is HIP Code Compliant and if not fresh searches will have to be ordered on your behalf in any event.
- Upon receipt of the HIP, the searches will be reviewed and the search results will be referred to any mortgage lender for them to confirm that they are happy for us to rely on them.
- In the event that your mortgage lender confirms that they require fresh searches to be ordered, mortgage monies will not be released by your mortgage lender until such time as the fresh searches are to hand..
You will appreciate that this course of action may be detrimental to your transaction due to the additional time that it will take to ascertain whether the searches are satisfactory and more importantly, the delay in ordering and receiving your fresh search results.
We would respectfully suggest that you instruct us to order to order a fresh search pack on your behalf immediately. This course of action will ensure that you are fully advised in relation to the property, with up to date information obtained on your behalf and not provided by third parties.
We would like to order fresh searches on your behalf as early as possible in the transaction – as soon as we are in receipt of contract papers from your Seller’s Solicitors and your payment on account of searches.
Should you have any questions in this regard please do not hesitate to contact us.