Insurance against 'gazumping' available to buyers

OneMove has today announced that it is to offer its popular Home Buyers Expense Insurance (HBEI) to ALL house buyers in England and Wales. Previously, the insurance was only available to OneMove customers who had registered for one of the company's financial or conveyancing services.

HBEI is an excellent insurance product, cover is arranged with a leading insurer by Gresham Services Limited, one of the UK's most respected insurance brokers. For a one-off premium of £69.99, customers are covered for up to £1500 expenses, including £750 Conveyancing Fees (inc searches), £250 Mortgage/Lenders Fees, and £500 Survey/Valuation Fees. Anyone can purchase HBEI insurance online www.onemove.com or by phoning OneMove on 0845 8739111 within seven days of their offer being accepted. HBEI is only available in England and Wales.

"The industry is certainly starting to take more notice of "gazumping" now, with the support of increased media coverage, but it has yet to move beyond talking about it and actually doing something to address it," says Neil Patel, CEO of OneMove. "OneMove has listened to the market and to our customers, and has decided to extend our insurance cover to all house buyers, in order to make the house buying process less stressful."

'Gazumping', the term used to describe a scenario whereby a seller accepts an offer from one potential buyer, but then accepts a higher offer from someone else, has become commonplace in England and Wales, largely because a buyer's offer is not legally binding - even after the offer has been accepted by the vendor.

Once gazumped, the buyer either has to offer a higher price to secure the property, or else accept that they have lost not only their dream property, but also a considerable amount of money spent on expenses such as surveys and solicitor's fees. Unfortunately, because of the strength of the economy, continued demand from buyers, and a shortage of properties for sale, Gazumping remains an everyday occurrence, according to the BBC's Working Lunch programme.

Gazumping is not the only pitfall covered by HBEI, however. The insurance covers a wide range common problems that may prevent the completion of a property purchase, including:

The property is withdrawn from sale by the vendor for reasons beyond the purchaser's control.

The vendor accepts an offer which is at least £1000 greater than the offer they have accepted from the purchaser.

A local authority search highlights that the property is the subject of a compulsory purchase order.

The vendor is not legally entitled to sell the property.

The purchaser or purchasers are made redundant or relocated, leaving them unable or unwilling to proceed.

The initial mortgage lender's valuation is less than 90% of the sum that has been offered for the property, which has been accepted.

The property is damaged during the period of cover and the cost of rectification work exceeds 10% of the property value.

HBEI helps to alleviate the worry and fear associated with these scenarios, and therefore allows people to proceed with the purchase process after their offer has been accepted, safe in the knowledge that they are covered by a reputable provider if something does go wrong.