Residential

IT COULD be a superb family house, a chic apartment or a country cottage. All the appearances suggest it will make an ideal home, but appearances can be deceptive in the residential property market.

Gathering dust in a file somewhere may be a document that could mean the unwary house-hunter is on the threshold of buying the home from hell.

Bob Davies knows that unseen perils lurk throughout the housing market. The leader of Bond Pearce's team of expert conveyancing lawyers, Bob cautions against cutting legal corners in house purchase.

"There are legal bucket shops which take a conveyor belt approach to buying and selling homes," Bob says. "It's risky.

"We consider every property transaction on its own merits, and we draw on long experience of a wide range of deals."

A Bond Pearce residential property expert is a home buyer's reality check in a market where the unexpected often happens.

"We're sceptical and we're inquisitive," Bob says. "We're pro-active and we're good at identifying problems. We assume the worst until it's proven otherwise."

And the worst outcomes can become apparent at any time.

"We anticipate problems and we sort them out," Bob says. "Everything may appear to be going smoothly. But then you arrive at your new home with the removal van only to find that the vendors haven't moved out.

"We're always available to sort it out. Or everything may be fine with your new home until you decide that you want to build an extension and discover that there are restrictions that forbid it.

"We make the inquiries that unearth those problems before a house sale is completed and we find solutions to the problems."

One client was about to buy a plot of land for which the local council had given planning permission. But investigations by Bond Pearce experts revealed a covenant that prohibited any development.

Another client was keen to buy a house that, according to its owner, included land on a riverside. Bond Pearce discovered that the land was owned by someone else.