In light of recent economic conditions, there have been an increasing number of high-end properties, in London and across the country, being sold by receivers. Properties being sold by receivers can pose an interesting opportunity for buyers as they are often sold at a competitive price and the receivers will want to deal with any sale quickly. But what are the risks of purchasing a property from a receiver and can they be alleviated in any way?
Receivers minimise their liability
The receivers will want to minimise any liability they have in relation to the property sale.
- They will not provide any title guarantee to the property. Usually sellers will provide full title guarantee which means that they are confirming they have the right to sell the property and they will do what they reasonably can to ensure the buyer will acquire good title to the property. Receivers will not provide such a guarantee so there is a risk to the buyer that the property may be subject to overriding interests, covenants, adverse rights or charges that were not known about at the point of completion. An indemnity insurance policy may be able to be obtained by the buyer to insure against this risk.
- The receiver will not provide any of the usual replies to standard property enquiries given they have no information about the property. The buyer will therefore have limited information about the property to rely on and need to do as much as possible to find out what they can about the property from other sources. They should always visit the property and instruct a good surveyor to carry out a building survey, for example. They could also approach neighbours to check there are no ongoing disputes. The buyer’s solicitor should do a full suite of searches and carry out any other investigations with third parties to glean as much information as possible.
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The receivers will usually include a clause in the Contract for Sale and the Transfer confirming that they do not have any personal liability in relation to the sale.
Buyer research and preparatory steps
Buyers should ensure they do very thorough research and take certain preparatory steps before completing on a purchase.
- Firstly it is always wise to ensure that the receiver’s ability to sell the property is valid. The buyer’s solicitor should check the receiver has been validly appointed when reviewing the paperwork.
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There may be outstanding charges which are registered against the property and these will need to be discharged in the usual way on completion. The buyer’s solicitor should ensure they have the relevant undertakings in place prior to completion and that they have all the information required to register these discharges with the Land Registry as it is the buyer’s solicitor’s job to do this.
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There are a number of Land Registry requirements which need to be satisfied to register the Transfer of the property on completion. These include requiring certified copies of certain documents and the receiver’s execution clauses being in a specific form. The buyer’s solicitor needs to make sure these requirements have been dealt with prior to exchange or that they have undertakings for them to be dealt with by completion to ensure there are no issues with registration.
Receivers will usually want to deal with a transaction quickly and the process can be competitive so buyers need to be ready to move swiftly. Buyers should make sure they have their solicitors, surveyors and funds lined up when making an offer in order to secure the property.
Buying a property from a receiver can have its benefits but ultimately the buyer will assume a greater risk for this and so they need to understand those risks and be comfortable that they have alleviated them where possible in order to proceed with the purchase.
This blog was first published by PrimeResi on 12 March 2024.
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you have any questions about any of the real estate issues covered in this blog, please contact Vanessa Rhodes or the Real Estate team.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vanessa is a partner in the Real Estate team and is experienced in a range of commercial and residential property matters.
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