1. TERMS OF SERVICE
1.1 These terms and conditions (“Conditions”) tell you who we are, how we will provide our property valuation and buying services (the “Services”) to you, what to do if there is a problem and other important information.
1.2 Please ensure that you read these Conditions carefully and in full by scrolling down to the bottom of the window. By ticking the box to accept these Conditions and clicking the button to submit your online property questionnaire and application form (the “Application Form”) you agree to be legally bound by these Conditions.
1.3 In some areas these Conditions confer different rights and obligations to the customer depending on whether you are a business or consumer. You are a consumer if you are an individual acting outside your trade, business or profession.
1.4 If you are a business customer these Conditions constitute the entire agreement between us in relation to our Services. You acknowledge that you have not relied on any statement, representation or warranty made or given by or on behalf of us which is not set out in these Conditions and that you shall have no claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation or negligent misstatement based on any statement in these Conditions.
1.5 Our website at www.instantpropertypurchase.com (“Website”) is solely for the promotion of the Services in England and Wales. Unfortunately, we do not provide the Services in respect of properties located outside England and Wales.
1.6 In these Conditions the words “written” or “in writing” include email.
2. INFORMATION ABOUT US AND HOW TO CONTACT US
2.1 We are Instant Property Purchase Ltd a company registered in England and Wales with registration number 12112162, whose registered address is at 1st Floor 314 Regents Park Road, Finchley, London, United Kingdom, N3 2LT. You can contact us by email at info@instantpropertypurchase.com.
2.2 If we have to contact you we will do so by telephone or in writing by email or post using the contact details you provided to us in your Application Form.
3. OUR RIGHTS TO CHANGE THE SERVICE
3.1 We may change the Services to reflect changes in applicable laws, regulatory requirements and codes of conduct. We are a member of The Property Ombudsman and comply with the Code of Practice for Residential Property Buying Companies, a copy of which is available at: https://www.tpos.co.uk/members/codes-guidance
3.2 We will give you reasonable advance notice of any changes to these Conditions that are required to reflect a change in the Services pursuant to paragraph 3.1 above.
3.3 We may have to suspend access to our Website in order to resolve technical problems that may occur from time to time. We will endeavor to contact you in advance to tell you that we will be suspending the Website or the Services, unless the problem is urgent or an emergency.
4. PURCHASING YOUR PROPERTY
4.1 Application process. We will promptly acknowledge receipt of your submitted Application Form by email. We are not obliged to provide a valuation or make an offer to buy your property or provide any confirmation or explanation of our decisions in respect of the same. You confirm that you will not submit an Application Form unless you have informed your spouse and dependents (as applicable) of your intention to sell the property quickly and at a heavily discounted price.
4.2 Conditional offers. We will endeavor to make an offer (subject to contract) to buy your property within one working day of acknowledging receipt of your Application Form by email. You are not obliged to accept any offer to buy your property and you acknowledge that the offer will be lower (and in some instances significantly lower) than the property’s open market value. All offers to buy the property will be cash offers and in no circumstances will we use mortgage finance to purchase your property.
4.3 Property valuation. We will obtain an independent valuation for the property using a chartered surveyor registered with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and appointed by us in each case.
4.4 Offer amendments. Any subsequent changes to our offer or withdrawal shall be confirmed in writing as soon as we become aware of the need to amend the arrangements and we will provide an explanation of the same to you. We will inform you in writing where our offer is conditional on matters such as a valuation and survey report. We will not reduce the offer price late in the buying process without a valid and such reasons will be explained to you fully in writing.
4.5 Decision to sell. Once you have communicated your acceptance of our offer in writing via your solicitor we may arrange for a chartered surveyor to inspect the property and report on its condition. If you notify us that our offer has been rejected we will not initiate contact with you for the purpose of making a further offer unless requested by you. We will assume that our offer has been rejected if you do not respond to us within 10 working days of the date on which the offer was made.
4.6 Timescale for completion. We will use best efforts to complete the purchase of your property within your favoured timescale. Subject to the timely supply of complete and accurate information, we will exchange contracts within 2 working days of receiving your written acceptance of our offer and completion will take place within 5 working days after exchange of contracts and payment of the deposit (if applicable) in the buying process. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a more precise estimation of the completion date will be notified to you in writing during the buying process. We will ensure that purchase funds are in place and transferred to your solicitor in time for the agreed completion date.
4.7 Your legal fees on completion. Upon completion of the purchase we will pay the cost of the reasonable legal fees that you have incurred up to a maximum value of £750 plus VAT.
5. YOUR RIGHTS TO TERMINATE A SALE
5.1 You can terminate the sale for any reason at any time prior to the exchange of contracts in the property buying process without liability to us by contacting us via the means detailed in paragraph 2.1. In each instance please provide your full name and the property address. You must also immediately notify your solicitor.
5.2 Your solicitor shall immediately repay us all deposit monies that we have paid without any set-off or deduction.
6. OUR RIGHT TO WITHDRAW AN OFFER
6.1 We may withdraw our offer to purchase the property at any time by notifying you by telephone or in writing if at any time prior to exchange of contracts in the property buying process:
6.1.1 we no longer want to buy the property for a reason unconnected to your conduct;
6.1.2 you do not, within a reasonable time of us asking for it, provide us with information that is necessary for us to make an offer, for example details about the condition of the property; or
6.1.3 you do not, within a reasonable time, allow us or our representatives access to the property to carry out a survey.
6.2 If we withdraw our offer to purchase the property for any reason your solicitor shall immediately repay us all deposit monies that we have paid without any set-off or deduction. If we withdraw our offer for pursuant to sub-paragraph 6.1.1 we will pay the cost of the reasonable legal fees that you have incurred (up to a maximum value of £350 plus VAT) in connection with the sale.
7. COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
7.1 If you have any questions or complaints about our Services, please contact us at first instance. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 3 working days and an investigation will promptly be undertaken. We will send you a formal written outcome of our investigation within 15 working days of receipt of the original complaint.
7.2 If you remain dissatisfied with our Services having carried out the steps detailed in paragraph 7.1, we will conduct a detached review of the complaint by staff not directly involved in the conveyance where possible. We will send you a copy of such review within 15 working days.
7.3 Following the conclusion of our investigation we will send you a written statement of our final view. Within 12 months thereafter you may refer the complaint to The Property Ombudsman. For further information about The Property Ombudsman and their complaints procedure please visit https://www.tpos.co.uk/consumers/how-to-make-a-complaint
8. PAYMENT TERMS
8.1 You shall make any payments due to us within 30 days of receiving our invoice.
8.2 If you do not make payment to us by the due date we may charge interest to you on the overdue amount at the rate of 4% a year above the base lending rate of Bank of England from time to time. This interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You must pay us interest together with any overdue amount.
8.3 If you think an invoice is wrong please contact us immediately to let us know. You will not have to pay any interest until the dispute is resolved. Once the dispute is resolved we will charge you interest on correctly invoiced sums from the original due date.
9. OUR LIABILITY TO CONSUMERS
9.1 If we fail to comply with these Conditions, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaching these Conditions or our (and our representatives’) failing to use reasonable care and skill in providing the Services, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time when your Application Form was submitted, both we and you knew it might happen.
9.2 We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees or representatives; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
9.3 We will make good any damage to your property caused by us (or our representatives) while performing the Services. However, we are not responsible for the cost of repairing any pre-existing faults or damage to your property that we discover while providing the Services.
10. OUR LIABILITY TO BUSINESS CUSTOMERS
10.1 Nothing in these Conditions shall limit or exclude our liability for:
10.1.1 death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or the negligence of our employees or representatives;
10.1.2 fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
10.1.3 any matter in respect of which it would be unlawful for us to exclude or restrict liability.
10.2 Subject to paragraph 10.1:
10.2.1 we shall not be liable to you, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, for any loss of profit, or any indirect or consequential loss arising under or in connection with any contract between us; and
10.2.2 our total liability to you for all other losses arising under or in connection with any contract between us, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall be limited to the amount of £1,000 (one thousand pounds sterling).
11. HOW WE MAY USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We will only use your personal information as set out in our privacy policy.
12. OTHER IMPORTANT TERMS
12.1 We will not transfer the purchase of your property to a third party without your prior written permission thereafter we shall remain liable for the actions of the sub-instructed party. You may only transfer your rights or obligations under these Conditions to another person if we agree to this in writing.
12.2 Neither us nor you shall disclose any confidential information received pursuant to the Services to any third party (other than the other party’s nominated solicitor and surveyor) without the prior written consent of the discloser save to the extent that a disclosure is required by applicable law.
12.3 These Conditions form the basis of the agreement between you and us. No third party shall have any rights to enforce these Conditions. Each of the paragraphs of these Conditions operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.
12.4 If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these Conditions, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaching these Conditions, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date.
12.5 Alternative dispute resolution. Alternative dispute resolution is a process where an independent body considers the facts of a dispute and seeks to resolve it, without you having to go to court. If you are a consumer and are not happy with how we have handled any complaint, you may want to contact the alternative dispute resolution provider we use. You can submit a complaint to The Property Ombudsman via their website at www.tpos.co.uk. The Property Ombudsman will not charge you for making a complaint and if you are not satisfied with the outcome you can still bring legal proceedings.
12.6 Legal proceedings for consumers. These Conditions are governed by English law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the Services in the English courts. If you live in Scotland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the Services in either the Scottish or the English courts. If you live in Northern Ireland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the Services in either the Northern Irish or the English courts.
12.7 Legal proceedings for business customers. If you are a business, any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with these Conditions or the subject matter or formation of this agreement (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales and the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any such dispute or claim.