One thing is for sure, buying or selling a home is likely to be the most expensive financial transaction you are ever likely to make in your life and that means you need to be fully protected through all aspects of the transaction by a very good conveyance lawyer. Because the numbers you are dealing with are likely to be in the hundreds of thousands or even millions, buying or selling a home is a serious business and cannot be taken lightly. As well as the financial stress there is also the emotional upheaval of having to sell your existing home, buy another one and move your family to somewhere different, so keeping any problems to a minimum is in everyone’s best interests. That simply means minimising risks.
Therefore I would strongly suggest that you avoid buying a home that doesn’t have all of the relevant permissions and certificates in place. In fact your lawyer will completely refuse to exchange contracts on the sale or purchase of a property without all legal permissions being in place, unless you tell him or her otherwise, but you’d be barking mad to do this.
Photo Lizzie Orme