A dream house

Ø 1) Read the text and say if you have ever had problems similar to the ones mentioned in the text.

(1) You have just bought your dream house - or so you thought - but suddenly everything has started to go wrong. Every time you have a shower, the water seeps th­rough the dining room ceil­ing. The beautifully polished floorboards in the living room have started to splinter. Deep cracks have begun to ap­pear on the walls and the cupboard doors on the kitchen cabinets have started coming away in your hands.

(2) Or perhaps you’ve soldyour own house, you’re ready to move into your new home and suddenly you discover that the estate agent has dis­appeared with your deposit, or that you’ve been galumphed.

(3) The experience of buying your dream house has turned into a nightmare. So who can you blame? Where can you turn for help? Or do you sim­ply have to put up with mat­ters as they stand?

(4) There are options available if something goes wrong with your house, depending on the nature of your complaint. There are some guarantee or insurance companies. They may guarantee against any loss of deposit in the event of a builder going bankrupt or into liquidation. They also provide a warranty against water and smoke pen­etration for a few years after completion and a warranty against major structural de­fects occurring within a few more years of completion. Banks and building socie­ties require insurance regis­tration on most new homes.

(5) Insurance agencies are to protect members of the public and investigate any allegations, as well as serving their own members. They will try to resolve complaints to the satisfaction. From 10 to 20 per cent of complaints received by an agency have to be sent to a disciplinary committee, which has the power to fine, suspend or expel members. There can also be a compensation fund availa­ble in respect of deposits paid to member firms.

(6) Or maybe you have a prob­lem with a solicitor who was charged with the conveyance of your property and who was to ensure that you ac­quired good title to the prop­erty.

(7) The relevant body in this instance is The Law Society, which ensures that members comply with strin­gent accounts regulations and maintain professional in­demnity insurance cover. It also has a compensation fund to protect clients.

(8) If a solicitor has been neg­ligent then he or she will be insured and should compen­sate you for any damage. If they don’t, you should con­tact another solicitor on the matter. The Law Society is responsible for the conduct of solicitors in respect of any professional misconduct claims.

(9) You may also have em­ployed an architect, engineer or building surveyor to carry out a full structural survey in advance of buying some property. These will carry out inspec­tions and issue lists of defec­tive or outstanding work.

(10) Mistakes can be made, however, and if you have a complaint in this area then you should check whether or not the specialist employed was a member of an umbrella body such as The Society of Architects Surveyors Engineers & Prop­erty Managers.

(11) Members of such organizations hold professio­nal indemnity insurance so that the home buyer is covered in case of error.

Ø 2) Make a list of words which are essential for retelling the text.

Ø 3) Translate paragraphs № 5 and № 6 into Russian paying special attention to the modal verbs.

Ø 4) What’s the role of insurance when buying your dream house?