Advice??

missb123

Hi, first time posting on the forums.. my partner and i put in an offer on a house way back in Sept 09, our date of entry was set by the seller for the end of Jan 10 as it was being let at that time, we agreed to this so it was fair on everyone.
Property got vacated earlier than planned, our mortgage was set up, seller said all building warrants good to go so we brought the date of entry to mid dec 09. This did not come to pass because it turned out there is remedial work required for a loft conversion before a letter of comfort can be issued.
Seller will remedy this but does anyone have any idea how long this could take?, there are 7 things needing brought up to scratch inc fire doors, probs with stairway not having landing, elec certificate, upper roof vents and insulation.
As you can imagine we dont know if we are coming or going so any advice would be great.
Thanks

benood

You could get an estimate for the cost of the work and offer to reduce the price by the same amount that might speed things along, otherwise it will depend on your vendor, could easily take a couple of months if he procrastinates.

missb123

Thankyou for your advice, we managed to speak to the building reg guy from the council who advised us not to take the house on at a reduced price and get the work done ourselves because the architect may uncover further issues.
As annoying as it may be we have to sit tight and let the seller put all this right, however i find it hard to believe all this can be done in a month, we are in limbo land.
The owner does not stay in the house and has instructed their lawyer to "sort it out" im hoping the lawyer may want to get it done quickly because no one gets their cash till we complete.
ty

missb123

Has anyone been in this situation before? or perhaps been a seller with information/advice as to how the process works and how long it takes, lots of people involved in this so i am expecting delays!!
There is an unreliable estate agent holding the keys because seller lives miles away, a solicitor who is to instruct the work, then the building guy from the council, builders, electricians, architects and god knows who else!!!.
Any info would be really appreciated as i am totally new to this, we got our mortgage all sorted like we were asked, missives have concluded but not completed.
ty

marcg

More info required. Are you saying that the works were started properly with building regs applied for and inspections carried out but that there are some issues not yet completed or are you saying it is a black-market conversion with no building regs? If it is the latter then forget it - no architect (including me) will sign off on DIY loft conversion - who knows what materials have been used to build it for example.

If it is the former then please list the remaining items.

G_M

This could take anything from a few weeks to many months.

Unless you can pin the vendors down and get real commitments, I'd start looking for a new property.

missb123

The information we have is that the seller bought the house in 2005, then, the loft conversion had a letter of comfort for storage only, the seller hired a builder to fully convert it for accomodation and the council were informed, now when we asked at the outset we were told that there was a building warrant. Later it turned out the sellers solicitor informed us the original doc was missing but they would try to locate it from the council, it never materialised. Then we were told their side would apply for a letter of comfort as seller assured us it passed regs, council official who inspected the loft told us that seller had indeed consulted with them but it didn't get signed off because of 9 counts of remedial work, since the original time of the sellers conversion from storage to accom, two have been completed and seven outstanding.
Latest news is that seller intends to have it all completed by end of Jan 10... hmm!

missb123

marcg wrote: »

More info required. Are you saying that the works were started properly with building regs applied for and inspections carried out but that there are some issues not yet completed or are you saying it is a black-market conversion with no building regs? If it is the latter then forget it - no architect (including me) will sign off on DIY loft conversion - who knows what materials have been used to build it for example.

If it is the former then please list the remaining items.

Marcg, the seven counts of remedial work are... Electrical certificate.. switches to be fitted at top and bottom of stairwell... firedoors to be fitted with self closing spring- the fire doors that exist in house to have self closing spring fitted... hard wired fire alarm system.... check on insulation and sound proofing... ventilation fitted in upper roof, at present only lower part ventilated and lastly the stairwell has to have a top landing with fire doors top and bottom which open away from the stairs
sound's awfully difficult to me but that's why im seeking advice.
Its a cracking looking loft conversion with en suite, but god knows what it will look like when it's done!!!!
What do you think??
Thanks in advance

G_M

seller intends to have it all completed by end of Jan 10... hmm!

Hmmm indeed!

ps - "letter of comfort" love it! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

missb123

Haha, yeah rather ironic to call it that!!!! i would have preferred the "comfort" of everything being in place as promised!!!!
Apart from this issue the money from our lender to our solicitor which had to be returned to lender cos deal didn't complete has went missing!!! how could all that cash go missing??? so because lender thought deal had completed we were charged this months mortgage payment along with endowment, insurance and mortgage set up fee!!!:eek:
Happy days!!

marcg

I think this is all pretty straightforward. Obviously with the weather this isn't going to happen quickly but it all sounds above board. When the remaining 7 items are complete the council should be in a position to issue a completion certificate. DO NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING LESS THAN THIS. Even if the works are complete by the 10th it will take a week or two for the inspector to come out and sign-off the remaining items and then another few days before the certificate is issued. Make sure the certificate is for a full residential loft conversion since, from what you have already written, there would seem to be the potential for confusion with the storage room.

In terms of the items remaining:

Electrical certificate..
Requires properly qualified electrician. Cost £200 or so and will take a day for them to investigate and test the works carried out.

switches to be fitted at top and bottom of stairwell...
Is the wiring already in place for this? If so, half an hours work. £50

firedoors to be fitted with self closing spring-
An hour per door. Either chain-type concealed within the door frame or the commercial-type door closers fitted at the top of the doors. £25 per door

the fire doors that exist in house to have self closing spring fitted...
As before. This will apply to every room apart from the bathroom.

hard wired fire alarm system....
Needs clarification - does this mean interlinked mains-powered with battery back-up? This is the standard thing - it means a small smoke (or heat in the kitchen) detector within the hall at every floor level, possibly one in the kitchen and one in the livingroom. These are connected to the mains and to each other so that if one goes off, they all go off. £500ish.

check on insulation and sound proofing...
Problematic. Unless the original drawings/specification are available this means making holes to see how the thing was put together. The inspector wants to know that the insulation was installed and that the measures for soundproofing (double layers of heavyweight plasterboard for example) were done and not just the minimum single layer of lightweight board. This is possibly a deal-breaker.

ventilation fitted in upper roof, at present only lower part ventilated
Someone needs to go on the roof and lift the ridge tiles to install special plastic vents. Alternatively vent tiles could be fitted near the ridge. Either way, someone on the roof. £400 if someone is willing to do it without scaffolding. +£1500 if scaffolding required.

and lastly the stairwell has to have a top landing with fire doors top and bottom which open away from the stairs
If there is space for this then this means building stud walls. £600?

So roughly £3500 worth of work. Definitely not something to get involved in post-completion.

Get the building regs completion certificate or don't buy it.