Letter from solictor

Hello there,

I am in receipt of a letter from my solicitor to the below :

a. Carry out a search in the local planning office to determine that there are no developments planned in the vicinity which would adversly impact upon the monetary or amenity value of the house which I am plannign to purchase.

b. Retain an architech in relation to the transaction

1. Should I be obliged to do this as I think it is the job of solicitor(am I authorised to do so?)
2. what does he mean by point 2
3. Do I incur additional expenses because of point a and B

Please advise.

Regards,

Pint6

a. On th "planning issues" you need to distinghuish two things:

1. Planning issues for the actual property you are buying. Your solicitor will ensure that the property is compliant with planning. Well, technically, your solicitor will ensure that the seller properly documents (by architects certs etc.) that the property is compliant.

2. It is up to you to investigate the area in which you are buying. Only you can really do a good job on this - because only you know what matters to you. For example, if you were buying in a rural area, you might be delighted if a new motorway is going to go within a few hundred yards if you plan to commute; conversely, you might be put off the property if you wanted a secluded retreat.

In a city, you might be happy to see Mr. Stringfellow moving in (presumably there must be at least one person in favour) or it might put you off an area.

b On the architect issue, your solicitor might more usefully have said that you should get an architect, civil engineer or building surveyor. Their purpose is to inspect and report upon the physical condition of the property, so that there are no nasty surprises later.

a should not cost you. b obviously will.

Well on point a, my solicitor asked me to do the same, she did some "searches" but I think that was completely different, perhaps checking the title of the land via mail.

You need to go physically go to your council planning office give them your address and they'll let you inspect a map of all the proposed developments in your area. The office (Cork) seemed chaotic, not a computer in sight, and the staff unhelpful on that day at least (I was there an hour without being served before giving up), can't imagine a solicitor going to the effort of doing this for a client.

As for an architect, for a normal identikit estate house an engineer of some description is needed to verify work is done to allow the mortgage be drawn down, hiring a fully fledged architect for that sort of routine work would be overkill and expensive.

pint6, it sounds like you need an engineer's survey to allow your solicitor to drawdown the mortgage. depending on where you are, i can help with this. an architect can't give his opinion on structural issues as his insurance wouldn't cover it so it's best to find out exactly what you need. your solicitor may be just advising you to have a structural survey carried out for your own benefit.

pint6, the items referred to in your solicitors letter are really advised by him for your own benefit I would imagine. It is money well spent to have a planning search carried out and to have a house surveyed. Its optional but at the end of the day, if something were to go wrong, wouldn't you ask the question then as to why your solicitor didnt advise you. And to everyone out there, your solicitor should speak in plain english and explain matters to you properly, you are entitled to this, don't be afraid to ring up and ask 100 questions if needs be, its like any job, we are all educated/trained to do our own job and solicitors need to begin to explain properly, but in turn the public need to ask questions when in doubt!