Pulling out of a house purchase

fleeze69

I posted a question earlier about problems I'm having in purchasing a house. As things have developed we have decided to pull out of buying it, while we still can.

We have so far paid £275 in search costs to the solicitor, as well as paying £295 for a mortgage survey, which adds to a £570 loss.

The reason we are pulling out is because the partial garage conversion (converted into a study) has no completion certificate and the current owner isn't prepared to get one. We have spoken to a builder who said that we shouldn't risk renegotiating the price of the house as it could cost a fortune if it hasn't been done properly (floor, insulation, ventilation, fire escapes).

I am wondering if I could try to get my £570 back due to the house being miss sold and advertised wrongly. It is being sold with a study, however without a completion certificate from the council the study is null and void. The Hips pack states "Integral garage was converted in to a study /
Utility. Assured that no building regs were required."

ciano125

Its worth a try I suppose, it only costs £30 to sue someone in the small claims court, although the estate agent will point to the caveats in their particulars that says nothing in them should be relied upon blah blah blah. Annoying I know, but I think you should pull out of the sale and leave it, the sellers will probably come back after a while saying they've had it done. When they do, offer them £5k less than you agreed!

poppysarah

Ask the building inspector at the local council what would be required to get it sorted out (their costs alone can be an arm and a leg for regulisation works)

The builder is right though - costs are so variable.

Pulling out because they won't do it indicates they don't want the hassle, effort and cost. So why should you?

PasturesNew

The room/s don't appear to have been described as what you'd call "habitable rooms" (i.e. living rooms/bedrooms), so it's just space .... depending on the price and what you expect to use it for, if the price is right for the main house and the space is useful, then I'd not pull out without thinking it through and finding out if building regs are needed.

Lots of properties have done garage conversions and if it's not for bedrooms etc then it doesn't have to be a problem.

If, however, you've bought it to use that space specifically as bedrooms/etc then that's a different matter.

This is like when a house has a loft room, used for hobbies etc, there are loads out there, just don't use them as actual "rooms" without all the legal stuff being right.

PasturesNew

check out this thread where somebody had had a quote to do a conversion of a double garage into a proper playroom
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1434655

poppysarah

any space your family will use on a regular basis should be legally habitable.
Unless you're prepared to lock it up as storage only...

fleeze69

Thanks for your replies folks.

The house is a fair price even without the study, however we need 3 bedrooms + a room for my freelance work (designer), this house was advertised as just that, it is being sold as a 3 bed house with a study. I asked the council what regulations had been met by the owners, alarm bells went off when I found out they had none for the study. The council said they would need a retrospective completion certificate and they had concerns over the floor, fire escapes and insulation.

I've just emailed my solicitor saying that the owners should sort this or we'll pull out. Luckily Im a first time buyer so this wont affect any one else. I think I may have to put the £570 down to experience

ciano125

Put it another way, spending £570 has potentially saved you having to spend thousands at a later date. :beer:

jenny74

fleeze69 wrote: »

Luckily Im a first time buyer so this wont affect any one else.

Don't assume this... Our buyer's buyer was a FTB and she pulled out for on good reason... Our buyer lost her sale, we lost our sale (and searches sols costs) and we lost our purchase too. What you do will have a knock on effect which can be devestating for some.

G_M

The Hips pack states "Integral garage was converted in to a study /

This is an aspect of HIPs I'm unsure of. I THINK they have to be accurate by law, and certainly they are intended to be relied on by buyers. So misrepresentation in a HIP MIGHT be cause for a civil claim and/or a criminal action.

Your solicitor should be able to advise. Or see here.

fleeze69

jenny74 wrote: »

Don't assume this... Our buyer's buyer was a FTB and she pulled out for on good reason... Our buyer lost her sale, we lost our sale (and searches sols costs) and we lost our purchase too. What you do will have a knock on effect which can be devestating for some.

Sorry didn't explain properly, the sellers are moving into a new home, so it is only me and them that are affected.

Thanks for the advise and comments everyone!