No fensa certificate and can't exchange without it

Catbells

You could call FENSA direct to find out if you are very concerned.

tel: 020 7645 3700 fax: 020 7407 8307

clutton_2

i dont reckon its JAWS - i reckon its the buyers... JAWS wont have known there is a beam in the extension.. the buyers will have seen it and asked a question and she has found yet another time-delaying tactic, and bill-racking-up tactic to prolong her fee-earning......

Bananamana

5k is ludicrous for FENSA - This could easily be covered by a clause in the contract.

It should show up on the FENSA website http://www.fensa.org.uk/asp/certificate.asp pretty quick. At that point agree an £11.75 retention which is the cost to re-order a certificate if it never turns up.

Suffolk_Jock

Sounds like they are just pulling your chain. The 'JAWS' will not worry as they are earning more money the longer it goes on. Your in the best position tell them its off, put it back on the market and stop all the worry and hassle they are giving you.

Also
1. Do the buyers really have the money or mortgage. Perhaps they are stalling as they are trying to raise the funds?
2. Are they stalling because they are trying to get the house even cheaper?
3. Again JAWS will be happy, nice little earner.

sonastin

Catbells wrote: »

I have now had the cladding on the beam done. This and 3 other (minor) issues needed addressing in order to obtain the Building Regulations Certificate for sign off on the extension. To be honest none were big items but it has cost me £700 to have them done but we now have the certificate which JAWS (their solicitor) wanted. As mentioned the buyers didn't want the cladding but their solicitor did. The buyers have obviously gone along with it.

Am wondering what would happen if the buyers told their solicitor they will go along with the verification from FENSA that the certificate is in place but that it will take 4 weeks to deliver. ie defy her expertise??? Haven't emailed the buyers yet but am ready to.

Hang on a minute... Is JAWS insisting on the cladding, or is she insisting on the Building Regs sign off being completed, and the building inspector insisted on the cladding? I can understand why she is insisting if it is to make sure the extension has final sign off...

Catbells

sonastin wrote: »

Hang on a minute... Is JAWS insisting on the cladding, or is she insisting on the Building Regs sign off being completed, and the building inspector insisted on the cladding? I can understand why she is insisting if it is to make sure the extension has final sign off...

Nope. Got the building regs signed off at the buyer's solicitors request (even though the buyer doesn't want the cladding and will take it down once moved in). So, yes, the cladding was a requisite of the Bldg Regs.

The FENSA thing is another matter altogether. I emailed the buyer and told him its either acept that its in the pipeline or another months wait to exchange. He seems keen on the former b ut said 'when its with the council'! Another conundrum I don't understand as the council aren't involved in the FENSA business. Forwarded his email to my solicitor.

timmyt

Catbells wrote: »

I was supposed to exchange yesterday but have just found out that I have no FENSA certification for some replacement windows I had installed 5 years ago. There is a 10 year guarantee on the windows but the buyers lawyer wants the certificate. What can I do as they have already beaten me down on price following their surveys (3 of them). Thanks for any advice.

the asking lawyers are stupid. NO Council will take action for windows and there is a 12 month enforcement window anyway. Get a life. Anyway, legal indemnity insurance for peanuts is the soluition and that takes 5 mins.

good luck OP

GDB2222

Catbells wrote: »

Am wondering what would happen if the buyers told their solicitor they will go along with the verification from FENSA that the certificate is in place but that it will take 4 weeks to deliver. ie defy her expertise??? Haven't emailed the buyers yet but am ready to.

I keep giving the same advice, and I am surprised what stony ground it falls on. The simple advice is to insist the estate agent continues to market the property whilst all these negotiations are going on. Better still have multiple agents, so the other agents will continue to look for buyers fairly enthusiastically. Insist on no 'SSTC' nonsense on Rightmove. Of course, you may lose the odd buyer, but as you have seen going down the route you have you have given your buyers a barrel to hold you over. Now just wait for them to gazunder!

Just start remarketing is my advice.

dizzybuff

Catbells wrote: »

I've told them that there's to be no more chipping away at the price even if there isn't a FENSA certificate. Their solicitor is like Jaws. She leaves no stone unturned.

We have a rather nice beam in the kitchen and she has demanded it be clad in 30 minute fire protection plasterboard - ugly stuff. Thats costing me a further £500. The buyers will tear it down as they didn't want it - only their solicitor wanted it.

A bit worrying that I've just had a personal email from the buyers asking for my insurance policy number so they can transfer!! Haven'\t replied to it. Consulting solicitor and EA first.

Whose house is it anyways?!

To be honest Id pull out and then they could stuff the sale up their chakras.

Catbells

GDB2222 wrote: »

I keep giving the same advice, and I am surprised what stony ground it falls on. The simple advice is to insist the estate agent continues to market the property whilst all these negotiations are going on. Better still have multiple agents, so the other agents will continue to look for buyers fairly enthusiastically. Insist on no 'SSTC' nonsense on Rightmove. Of course, you may lose the odd buyer, but as you have seen going down the route you have you have given your buyers a barrel to hold you over. Now just wait for them to gazunder!

Just start remarketing is my advice.

I appreciate what you are saying but its not as easy as that. After marketing my house since January, and having had 2 other offers fall through I feel that managing this one is like managing a raft on a choppy ocean and you can't just pull out like that. If I did who knows what other problems might occur with some future buyer. Is a case of the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know.

Incidentally I have managed to get JAWS to agree to a fax from FENSA and then we exchange today.

At the end of the day selling and buying houses is a game. Like it or not you have to learn how to play it and there's a bit of compromise here, bluffing there, trading and so on.