Financial 'time-bomb' facing homebuyers
Published On 29 April 2007
People could find that searching for the best mortgage deal was a waste of time as they failed to properly investigate their new home before purchasing it, a new report says.According to AA Legal Services, many people are risking their future happiness and finances because they are not bothering to fully investigate their new property.
The company found that just 28 per cent of homebuyers bothered to have a structural survey on their new home carried out, beyond the standard mortgage valuation.
This lack of planning means that homeowners could soon find themselves in financial difficulty. Just a quarter considered future costs when looking at buying a home.
Unexpected problems could prove to be expensive and force the homeowner to remortgage or seek a loan to fund repairs.
"With home buyers stretching themselves to the financial limits to afford their home, many are cutting back on the relatively low costs of basic legal and social inspections," warned James Molloy at AA Legal Services.
"New home owners who do not carry out basic checks, face discovering too late that their dream home could actually be a financial time-bomb."
Recent figures from Nationwide show that a house in the UK typically costs £180,314.
