building work done by the seller

axeluk

The house we are buying has been improved by the seller himself. We've found that the building work inlcuding removal chimney breast,replace all door and window frame, removal of internal walls, installation of new boiler etc have been done without any approvals or certificate from the council.

The seller is ready to pay indemnity insurance for around £120 but we are uncertain of the structural or further safty issues.

We would appriciate any advice for the following issues

1. Is the indemnity insurance sufficient to cover all building works and how long normally it covers
2. We prefer insisting on the seller providing relative documents from council, is that too strict
3. If the seller refused arranging council approvals, can we require a reduction and normally how much is acceptable

Thanks!

lincroft1710

Removing a chimney breast incorrectly can lead to serious structural problems. Similarly incorrect removal of internal walls.

Self installation of new windows will usually mean no Fensa certificate issued.

Any work involving gas supply/appliances should be carried out by Gas Safe engineer and new boiler installation should be certified as having been safely and properly installed.

If the property is being bought with a mortgage, the mortgage surveyor will highlight these problems and your lender will start having cold feet.

If the seller refuses to get council approvals, it may be because he knows he can't!

You need to ensure that any work done to the house has been safely and correctly carried out. In the first instance talk to your solicitor and consider having a structural engineer look at the work that's been done.

axeluk

To add
we've raised this issue a month ago but the agent kept saying the documents are not neccessary, which lead to the seller's against our requests and delay.

bryanb

axeluk wrote: »

To add
we've raised this issue a month ago but the agent kept saying the documents are not neccessary, which lead to the seller's against our requests and delay.

If you decide they are necessary-they are.

axeluk

THanks, lincroft1710!!

"If the seller refuses to get council approvals, it may be because he knows he can't!
"--Strongly agreed

We are cash buying so there is not mortgage surveyor, instead, we had a structural survey, which pointed out all these building work and recommended gas&safty engineer, raising issue with local council etc.

There are so many things that need to be done, so we decide not accept indemnity insurance but require legal documents. And of course, the seller should be responsible for all arrangements and costs.

tbs624

1.The indemnity insurance doesn't cover any problems with the actual building, the cover is against action from the council for failing to comply with regs/obtain necessary consents.

2. No , if that's what you'd prefer.Many others would probably feel the same given the apparent extent of the work.

3. You'd have to negotiate and, as others have said, your lender would limit the amount it was prepared to offer and want the various items dealt with

If you really want this property I would ask the vendor to pay for a structural engineers report initially and take it from there:they will get the same issues with the majority of other buyers.

axeluk

Thank TBS

To be honest we are tried of being misled and pushed by the estate agent, and at the same time delayed from the seller side for some reason. Although we are currently asked to confirm a closing date at end of this month, and the seller prepare to pay indemnity insurance, we are not very happy about the whole buying process and the paperwork.

As I mentioned the estate agent kept saying we are not right for requesting such documents since a month ago, the seller actually wasted time and did nothing about the certificates.

axeluk

We are now even prepared to walk away `````

lincroft1710

I agree with tbs, get the vendor to agree to pay for all the reports and certificates needed, he should have done the job properly in the first place!

I honestly would be having serious doubts about continuing with this purchase.

dirtmother

My impression is that there is an awful lot of building work on existing houses being done without the necessary building regs approvals.

We decided to do things properly even though an indemnity is much cheaper simply because we had a delay over a slow FENSA certificate and because our solicitor had not set up the indemnity policy at the proper time.

In practice none of our buyers *were* actually that bothered about the work which didn't have approval - though I had the impression that there would have been more difficulties had we not been able to demonstrate that the council had building regs approved the loft conversion. And as far as their lenders were concerned, none of that mattered at all - there were other things they wanted checking out but not building regs approval.




Frankly we have had moments when we have regretted doing it properly this time - certainly as things stand we have less insulation than before the inspector called! It is quite a bit of money to get a retrospective approval (and possibly long winded) so you may find that your seller thinks you are more trouble than you are worth and would prefer to remarket. Did the full building survey show any problems or is this a ticking boxes/covering backs exercise for them. In the end though, you are the buyer and if you are not comfortable with the work that has been done yourself, walk away if you can't get the seller to do anything to reassure you about the structural integrity of the property.

olias

tbs624 wrote: »

1.The indemnity insurance doesn't cover any problems with the actual building, the cover is against action from the council for failing to comply with regs/obtain necessary consents.

2. No , if that's what you'd prefer.Many others would probably feel the same given the apparent extent of the work.

3. You'd have to negotiate and, as others have said, your lender would limit the amount it was prepared to offer and want the various items dealt with

If you really want this property I would ask the vendor to pay for a structural engineers report initially and take it from there:they will get the same issues with the majority of other buyers.

This is the important point, I have lost track of the number of people on these forums who are under the misaprehension that the indemnity insurance somehow covers you if the building falls down. It doesn't!

Olias