Any EAs/lawyers about? Got a legal property query......

[Becaroooo]

.....I moved house in December and there have been a few issues.

(electrical wiring not safe, boiler broke, leaking conservatory roof etc just for starters!)

The house was being sold by a building company - the previous owners had done a part ex with them - we made an offer to the EA which was accepted by the building company with the proviso that we completed by 30th Nov. Fine.

We have only ever sold one house before (our last one which was also our first one!) so are not that familiar with the legal aspects of it and there has been a lot going on tbh!!!

However, now I think about it, the EA we dealt with never asked us to go in or for utility bills or photographic ID which I seem to think they should have done? (is it to do with money laundering???) The first time they met me was when I picked the keys up on completion day.

Is this legal? And if not should I report them/contact them?

WWYD?

I'm not an EA or a lawyer, but this is my experience.

The solicitor who handles your purchase is responsible for meeting the Money Laundering Regulations requirements. You should have filled in a form stating where the finance is coming from.

Some Estate Agents will ask you to show some form of proper identification, but when our vendor's solicitor asked us late on and told us they couldn't give us the keys without seeing our passports before the day of completion, I told them to take a running jump. We didn't have time in the week before the move to make another trip just for that, and I found out that their only responsibility was to carry out a risk assessment. I pointed out that we hadn't turned up with a trunk full of cash, the purchase had been handled by a solicitor, we were legal and if they wanted verification they could check with the solicitor if they were that bothered. So they backed down.

In any case, I'm not sure it's relevant to your issue. The main question here is did you get a survey?

If so, you may be entitled to some comeback from the surveyor on the conservatory roof and the wiring, if they were judged sound. But not the boiler - any appliances can break down any time, particularly a boiler which may have been shut down for a while. I'd be very surprised if your insurance will cover any of it either.

If you didn't get a survey then I'm afraid you'll have to put it down to experience.

did you get a full survey done before you bought? if you did and it wasnt on the survey -claim against surveyor
if you didnt get a survey then you have little come back..

did you have a conveyancer/solicitor doing the purchase?
what did they check?

Not quite sure what you're asking, Becaroooo. The only thing you ask about is whether the EA should have taken your ID. Why are you bothered?

As for the condition of the property, which you merely tell us about, I presume that you're aware of the principle of "caveat emptor", i.e. buyer beware.