A crack in the house.... and an indemnity policy!

ceekay27

Hi everyone this is my first post, so please be gentle!

Ok, we have made an offer on a house, and it has been accepted. We noticed a crack on the outside wall, which our estate agent assured us was because the house had no lintel above the windows. We went back for a second viewing and noticed that this crack is also on the inside wall too.
(The house has an extension that comprises of 2 bedrooms (upstairs) and a garage below.)
Moving on, we received the home buyers questionnaire from the vendor (that big form that you have to fill in) It states that the extension was built 1966 (but no copies of planning permission or build regs) It had a pitched roof added to the extension in 96, this has PP but no regs. At the end of the forms is copies of the PP and an indemnity policy. Would this indemnity policy be for the extension or the roof? Would our solicitor be able to find this out.

Im now really worried that the crack in the wall is due to something serious, (like the extension putting pressure on the house and pulling it down) The survey hasn't yet been done (due to be done on wednesday this week) Would the surveyor pick up on any major structural problems, or would we need to send in a structural engineer?

Such a worrying time!
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Julie.

bryanb

The lender's surveyor is mainly interested in the value of the house, if in doubt employ your own surveyor and instruct him accordingly.

poppysarah

Yes you should ask the solicitor exactly what the indemnity will cover you for. It'll probably not be worth very much and almost certainly won't pay for any remedial work. Neither would your house insurance as it's a pre-existing problem.

You should find out from a local builder how much it'll cost to fix the problem that caused the crack and deduct it from the price you're being asked to pay.

Cat695

a full structural survey is required.......otherwise you haven't got a leg to stand on if you buy the house and it falls down

I personally would walk away......why buy a house with a crack in it....many more haven't

hethmar

I should think the indemnity policy is just to cover you against the owners not actually getting PP or Building Regs. Its highly unlikely that the council would demand an unathorised extension to be demolished but that is probably what the insurance policy is for. Ask your solicitor.

mrs_deadline

I agree with Cat695 - if something as basic as a lintel over a window hasn't been done properly, it would put major doubts in my mind about proceeding any further, unless I was a builder and knew exactly what I was taking on.

baby_boomer

ceekay27 wrote: »

We noticed a crack on the outside wall, which our estate agent assured us was because the house had no lintel above the windows.

Julie, he's not your estate agent, he's the vendor's estate agent. He is acting on the vendor's behalf and will be paid by the vendor only if the property sells.

ceekay27

Thanks for your replies everyone.

The house in a village where I grew up, and it's perfect for us. This is why we don't really just want to walk away. Obviously if it needed major structural work, we would take the cost and try and get the vendor to lower the price to take in the cost.
We have talked about the implications and we are fine so long as the structural problems can be repaired, and so long as the vendor is willing to lower the cost accordingly.

Thanks for the info on the surveyor, I wasn't sure exactly what they would cover, so I guess it would be a good idea to get a structural engineer/builder to take a look.

Thanks again,
Julie.

ceekay27

mrs_deadline wrote: »

I agree with Cat695 - if something as basic as a lintel over a window hasn't been done properly, it would put major doubts in my mind about proceeding any further, unless I was a builder and knew exactly what I was taking on.

Sorry I should have explained properly. The crack in the original part of the house, not the extension. It is an oldish house, probably built around the 40's, where lintels weren't used. It has a row of bricks on thier end, (how they used to do it years ago) The owners before the previous owners had new double glazed windows, and didn't get the lintels sorted, just left the old row of bricks. The estate agent is saying this could be the reason for the crack.

The new part of the house, the extension is fine, no cracks, all looks good.

Julie

poppysarah

How old is the house?
I think you're wrong about the upturned bricks being the lintel. It may have had a lintel but it's corroded or broken and that's what's caused the problem.

It maybe the removal of an end wall for the extension has damaged the lintel/structure of the building.

the 1950s houses round here have had their metal lintels replaced as they have some have corroded.

Cat695

well as long as you get a full structural survey done and explain that you have seen a crack then all should be fine (or just clearer). as they will point out what needs doing

also if you know a builder take him round (i would use 2 or 3 to get a qoute though)

It's best to cover your a*rse

And obviously make sure any extensions etc have had planning permission or you could find yourself pulling them down ooops