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22 February 2013 / Richard Hinton
Issue: 7549 / Categories: Features , Property , Housing
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Worth the risk?

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Richard Hinton recommends orchestrating your due diligence

The best conveyancers and property lawyers need to be much like the best conductors. Understanding the risks associated with property transactions in their region and advising buyers on the potential for these risks enables them to provide effective and efficient due-diligence. Both conductors and conveyancers also need to have impeccable timing. If it isn’t conveyancers face the jarring consequences of buyers missing key information and the potential fallout of negligence claims.

For many conveyancers, direct experience of dealing with all the risks that could impact properties in their region may not be in their repertoire, but this should not stop them from being able to provide a thorough service to buyers though. Getting to grips with the risks in your region is essential. For example, one in four properties in the UK is at risk of flooding, but the prevailing myth is that the biggest risk of flooding comes from rivers breaking their banks.

However, surface water flooding only accounts for around half of all flood

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