Would You Touch It with a Bargepole

Omertron

IMO it all depends what you want. Firstly, do not be pushed into buying a house you are not 100% happy with either by your buyers or the sellers of the bungalow.

However, as other posters have said, the solicitors will sort it out, eventually. In my experience the best way to make things go smoothly is to keep in contact with all parties yourself rather than rely on the Chinese whisper effect of solicitors and estate agents.

Having said that, would you trust any builder that does work they *know* to require planning permission and not get it before hand to have completed the work to a high standard?

The only way I would now feel safe buying this house is to have a full structural survey to highlight any other areas that might not be "standard". Remember a homebuyers survey will only check areas that are easily accessible to the surveyor.

noddynoo

A survey will pick this up anyway so they can't blame you.\they can get retrospective certificates if the work meets standards but this is work for your solicitor.i am in a similar situation re a loft room and am still waiting for news from all sides.The valuation might come in like ours has lower than the asking price as unauthorised rooms won't be counted and will need to be certified before the bs will release money so they will have this problem whoever buys it.We have been advised to either push our buyer to get regs or renegotiate a lower price and risk it and get the relevant documentation ourselves.It all depends on timescales and how much you like/want it

robwend

The only way I would now feel safe buying this house is to have a full structural survey to highlight any other areas that might not be "standard". Remember a homebuyers survey will only check areas that are easily accessible to the surveyor.[/QUOTE]


now your talking big money

Ian_W

robwend wrote: you do if its over 12feet

I did say "generally" but if you really want to be a pedant :rolleyes: , it's 4 metres high [slightly more than 12' in pounds, shillings and pence ] - IF any part of the proposed structure is within 2 metres of the boundry. Otherwise above roofline, methinks. You would also need it if the volume exceeds 50cu mtrs [terraced] or 70cu mtrs [semi or detached], added to any other post 1948 exceeds permitted development rights etc, etc, etc.....
But generally, unless you're building Crystal Palace Mk2 you don't.

Gem_

Is this house a terrace? I only ask because as IanW says you do not generally need PP for a loft conversion - as it doesnt count as habbitable space but this exemption this does not apply to terraced houses.

loft conversions without building regs and PP are very common, it would be the third bedroom extension that I would be more inclined to worry about.

Good Luck

G

spackies

we didnt have permission for our conservatory and we have just sold our house. we had to get a certificate for lawful development it cos double what it would of if i had done it when we built it. my own silly fault really! had to appoint an architect to do plans and pay the council to assess the building. it took 2 weeks because i did it in the new year when they are quiet. it can take up to 12 weeks. my advice is if they cant take responsibility for it then stay away they would be happy for you to have their house without planning and regs. but then the council could ask for it to be pulled down! besides which your buyers may not hang around that long. i set the wheels in motion before i put the house on the market as i knew the solicitors would pick up on it. STAY AWAY house moves are hard enough without an aggressive seller!
we have been delayed by another week for trivial reasons.
keep looking you might find a place with less hassle.
good luck

movingon

Hi
No, it is a detached bungalow and the vendor has already extended beyond the original building. the council were aware of all the extensions- kitchen bathroom and two bedrooms etc, but he forgot to show them the plans for the third bedroom.We were wary that we might not be able to add a conservatory on because you are only allowed to extend up to 115% of the building and this is how it came to light.

We have since spoken to our solicitor who says not to worry aobut Planning and Building regs because the vendor will have to sort that out prior to completion, but I am still worried that

a) we wont be able to get a conservatory ( and the council cant give a definitive answer at this stage as it will need PP due to all this hoo ha)

b) As other people have pointed out on this thread- is the vendor a rip off bloke who has gerry built something or is he just stupid?
Incidentally he is going abroad after the sale, so any redress i may have in the future is limited.

mr218

if you did not have a buyer for your house, you would have probably pulled out by now. so dont let this detract from what you think is sensible. your vendors appear to be very dodgy. i would consider renting for a while for about 6 months. this will give you a lot of leverage in buying your next house. also you can ensure that you sell your house in time.

dont buy this house. it seems to have trouble written all over it. the vendors are builders and they knew what they were doing.

it really does not augur well. sure it might end well but can you really take a risk like that with probably the biggest purchase of your life.

do the sensible thing and dont be swayed by outside considerations

alanobrien

There are plenty of houses for sale and its a stressful enough time without the added gamble of buying something only to be instructed (worst case) to pull down what was done illegally.

I would move on rapidly.......

madfrenchgirl

dont touch it with a bargepole!!!

they are obvioulsy being fraudulent in their manners! He is a builder, he knew what he had to do and what he is getting everyone into by not having building reg and p/p. And the fatc that he went bonkers when you told him does not play in his favour!

Pull out of it,that'll teach them! My granddad was a housebuilder, he is now retired! It sickens me to see people like this guy trying to pull a fast one, gives the whole craftmanship a bad name!