Unspecified grant from council tied to property.

[EnlightenMe]

We're in the process of purchasing a house in Scotland and have discovered that the property has a council grant attached to it. As it's an estate sale, the seller claims to have no knowledge of what the grant was used for and has no intention of finding out.

As the grant is tied to the property and not the previous owner we'd really like to know what it was used for as we'll be the ones liable for it should we break a condition of the grant. And as far as I understand, unless the estate finds out from the council what it was for we'll have to wait until we own the property to find out ourselves. In that scenario, if we discover the grant was for something that's no longer in the property, where do we stand?

I've been advised that all this is quite normal, but it feels a bit odd to me. I can understand if the grant was for something that benefits the property, but if any or all of the assumed upgrades have been removed (and possibly sold by the estate), surely it's the estate who should be held liable?

Does anyone have experience of this kind of thing? Have I been ill-advised? Is there anyway to find out what exactly the grant was used for without being the owner? Or am I a complete muppet? Any suggestions and/or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[des8]

Has your conveyancer explored the possibility of purchasing an indemnity policy?

[EnlightenMe]

Has your conveyancer explored the possibility of purchasing an indemnity policy?

Thanks for the suggestion, but no, that's never been mentioned. How would that work in relation to the grant?

[des8]

It is an insurance policy that would pay out if you break a condition of the grant.
Your conveyancer should be able to tell you if it is possible in this instance.

[EnlightenMe]

It is an insurance policy that would pay out if you break a condition of the grant.

Thanks for explaining. I'll certainly give this a good ponder and discuss it with my conveyancer. We don't intend to break any conditions of the grant, but sometimes life throws you a curveball, so this is reassuring.

That said, I'd have to pay for that piece of mind. And while I'm happy to do that, I'd like to be certain thIngs are on the up and up before I reach into my wallet. Now if it turns out the estate has removed or sold anything related to the grant, is there anything I can do about it?

[des8]

You might be able to persuade vendor to pitch in on any indemnity policy.
Regarding your other request, sorry but don't know the answer.

[EnlightenMe]

You might be able to persuade vendor to pitch in on any indemnity policy.
Regarding your other request, sorry but don't know the answer.

Thanks again for your help. Unfortunately in this instance, the vendor pitching in is highly unlikely. It's been a difficult process so far and it seems that we might now be headed for conflict of interest territory as the vendor decided to use the same law firm as us.