Mover Protection Refund Guidelines

Mover Protection Refund Guidelines

With the benefits of Mover Protection, if your house sale or purchase fails for reasons beyond your control, you may be eligible for a refund of certain costs incurred.
Mover Protection only covers the first property named on your mortgage application. To request a refund, you should contact Lifetime Legal on: 0344 880 2087

• You will be sent a Mover Protection refund form and required to provide details of the circumstances and copies of receipts, or receipted invoices, for each individual fee
• Costs that may be refunded include legal fees, marketing fees, estate agency fees, survey and search fees. Other costs may also be considered
• The maximum that may be refunded is £720 for a house sale, £1,850 for a house purchase, or £2,570 for both (inc. VAT), subject to item limits shown on the back page
• Refunds are made at the sole discretion of Lifetime Legal

Below are examples of the most common circumstances for a Mover Protection refund of failed transaction costs.

Common Reasons For A Mover Protection Refund

If you are buying and…

• The property is withdrawn from sale by the vendor due to reasons beyond your control;
• The vendor receives and accepts an offer from a prospective buyer, which is a minimum of £5,000 greater than the offer they previously accepted from you and you are not prepared to increase your offer;
• The mortgage lender’s survey or valuation on the property identifies that rectification work needs to be carried out, the cost of which exceeds 5% of the sum originally offered or values the property at less than 90% of the sum offered for the property and which has been accepted and you decide not to proceed;
• The mortgage lender insists on a secondary survey such as damp and timber or electrical survey and the mortgage lender insists on additional rectification work being carried out to the property, the cost of which exceeds 10% of the agreed asking price and you decide not to proceed;
• The vendor is not legally entitled to sell the property or to transfer interest in the property to you;
• A survey or valuation is carried out and highlights that the property has been underpinned or shows signs of subsidence and you decide not to proceed with the purchase or the lender will not lend;
• A Local Authority search highlights that the property is the subject of a compulsory purchase order, in a flood plain, on contaminated land or over a mining area;
• A search highlights the fact that there is a defect in the title and this cannot be rectified and you decide not to proceed with the purchase or the lender will not lend;
• You or a member of your immediate family dies or contracts a critical illness, sustains a serious injury, is given notice of redundancy or relocation and you decide not to proceed;

…then Mover Protection may refund your purchase costs up to £1,850.00

If you are selling and…

• The property remains on the market 12 months after the date it was first listed, having been continuously listed throughout the 12 month period (apart from any period where the property was temporarily removed from the market as a result of an offer being accepted and subsequently withdrawn in which case the property must have been returned to the market within 14 days of the sale falling through), as long as:

– You have not received and rejected two or more offers of at least 95% of the asking price during the 12 month period of continuous marketing;

– You have not refused advice from your estate agent to reduce your asking price during the 12 month period of continuous marketing;

• A Purchaser’s survey on the property identifies that rectification work needs to be carried out, the cost of which exceeds 5% of the asking price and without the completion of which no other Purchaser can be found within 12 months of the date the property was first placed on the market;
• Without your prior knowledge a survey or valuation which is carried out highlights that the property has been underpinned or shows signs of subsidence and as a result the market value of the property is reduced by at least 10% and you withdraw the property from the market;
• Without your prior knowledge a Local Authority search which is carried out highlights that the property is the subject of a compulsory purchase order, in a flood plain, on contaminated land or over a mining area and as a result the market value of the property is reduced by at least 10% and you withdraw the property from the market;
• Without your prior knowledge a search highlights the fact that there is a defect in the title and this cannot be rectified and as a result the market value of the property is reduced by at least 10% and you withdraw the property from the market;
• You or a member of your immediate family dies or contracts a critical illness, sustains a serious injury, is given notice of redundancy or relocation and you decide not to proceed;

…then Mover Protection may refund your sale costs up to £720.00

How Mover Protection Has Helped Our Customers

Just after their full survey, Mr and Mrs K were shocked when their purchase property was withdrawn from sale by the vendor, leaving them £1,531 out of pocket. They realised they were covered by Mover Protection and we paid in full.

Mrs R claimed £498 when she and her partner were gazumped on a purchase by a third party. We paid in full.

The breakdown of refundable costs can be found in the table below:

Full terms and conditions at: www.lifetimelegal.co.uk

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