Letter: Gazumping: House purchasers cannot be completely protected

Sir: Your leading article ('A precedent that should protect the purchaser', 29 July) was clearly well-intentioned and will receive widespread support.

However, your suggestion that a seller should have a survey carried out ignores, in its navety, two crucial facts. First, it is unlikely that a seller's survey would be accepted by the building society or bank to which the buyer applies for a mortgage. Second, the seller's surveyor may well seek, as is common practice, to limit his potential liability for negligence so as to exclude claims by third parties.

I regret there is no simple answer to the problem you sought to highlight.

Yours faithfully,

MARCUS COVER

Petersfield,

Hampshire

29 July