The due diligence checklist a cash buyer must not skip
When you buy with cash, nobody checks anything on your behalf. The lender's checklist was doing more work for you than you probably realised.
A mortgage application forces a certain amount of diligence. The lender requires a valuation, usually a survey, and will not lend without clear title and satisfactory searches. When you buy with cash, none of that is imposed, and it is remarkably easy to skip steps that a lender would have made unavoidable.
The list below is not legal advice and does not replace a solicitor. It is the set of things a cash buyer should actively confirm rather than assume, because each of them has a cost that is large relative to the price of checking.
Title, tenure and rights
The title register is the document that says what you are actually buying, and it is available from HM Land Registry for a few pounds. Read it rather than relying on a summary, because the summary will not mention the covenant that stops you converting the loft.
- Registered or unregistered title, and whether the seller can prove the boundary
- Restrictive covenants that limit use, development or the keeping of animals
- Rights of way, both benefitting and burdening, and any shared access or maintenance obligations
- Chancel repair liability, which still exists in some parishes and can be significant
- Mines and minerals, and whether the surface rights are actually included
- For leasehold: the unexpired term, ground rent, review clauses, and the service charge history
Physical condition and ground risk
The condition of the building is what you can see, and the risk is what you cannot. A survey addresses the first and can be extended to consider the second, but some risks need a specific report.
- Flood risk from rivers, the sea and surface water — the Environment Agency publishes maps free
- Subsidence and mining subsidence, particularly in former coalfields and on clay soils
- Radon, which is mapped by the UK Health Security Agency and cheap to test for
- Japanese knotweed, which is visible in season and expensive to remediate with a guarantee
- Asbestos, which is not visible and must be presumed present in any pre-2000 building
- Contaminated land, especially on former industrial or garage sites
Planning, consent and enforcement
The things that have been built without permission are the ones that cause trouble, and they are also the ones a seller is least likely to volunteer. A local authority search reveals enforcement notices but not unconsented work that nobody has reported.
The reliable check is to compare what exists against what is approved. Historic planning records are usually available online, and a building control completion certificate is the document that proves work was signed off. If an extension or a loft conversion has no certificate, it may be unenforceable to sell later and may not be mortgageable for your buyer when you come to sell.
Common questions
- Do I need a survey if I am paying cash?
- Nobody will require you to have one, which is exactly why you should consider it. A building survey costs a few hundred pounds and routinely identifies defects costing tens of thousands. The only situation where skipping it is defensible is where you have the expertise yourself, have already allowed for a full refurbishment in the price, and have budgeted a substantial contingency.
- How do I check for planning permission and building regulations?
- Search the local authority's online planning register for the property address, and ask the seller for building control completion certificates for any work carried out. If certificates are missing, the council's building control department can confirm what was signed off. Do this before exchange, not after.