It is for the buyer to discover any defects in the property in the form of a Survey before exchange of contracts takes place and inform the solicitors immediately if they have any concerns, usually a price reduction can be negotiated via the estate agents to have any necessary works carried out or the seller may be willing to have the works carried out prior to exchange.
A psychical inspection of the property will never take place by the solicitor acting for you. A Surveyor will advise on various aspects that a solicitor will not be aware of i.e. subsidence, damp, knotweed. It is extremely important to have a survey carried out before exchange of contracts and not once exchange has taken place. There are penalties payable where one party refuses to complete the sale or purchase after contracts have been exchanged. If a Buyer fails to complete the purchase on the said completion date the Seller is entitled to forfeit the usual 10% deposit paid by the Buyer and seek further damages (i.e. compensation) for loss.