serious problem found with new house days after purchse - what do do?

spiderkin

first time buyer alert! after finding out i was unexpectedly pregnant, my mum has helped me and my husband to get on the property ladder. there were quite a few things thrown up on the survey so we knew the house needed doing up, but there was nothing massive that needed doing straight away costing thousands of pounds.

we were told (verbally) by the vendors and their estate agents that over the years they had lived there that they had had the property re-roofed, re-wired, new boiler & central heating, double-glazed and a DPC put in. however, when we asked for guarantees and receipts they didn't have any as they had "lost" them.

we decided to get the electrics redone and the electrician asked us to pull up the ground floor laminate so that he could access the floorboards. we found a huge problem - flooded basement (we didn't know the property had a basement - the owners had deliberately boarded it up) wet rot, dry rot, woodworm etc. it's going to take a months to fix and thousands of pounds - money I don't have and at 7 months pregnant i'm now having to move hundreds of miles away to stay with my mum as i can't live at the house as the entire ground floor is unsafe. the floorboards are so rotten that my husband's uncle put is foot through the floor just walking across the living room to look at the holes near the window.

the surveyor had noted new chipboard flooring in the understairs cupboard and new plaster work in the ground floor. he commented that this was evidence of recent timber treatments and DPC addition and that we should ask for guarantees (which the vendors didn't have). he did not recommend we get a specialist report on the under floor area, nor did he comment on large salt deposits on the fresh plaster under the stairs or in the newly plastered breakfast room, nor the peeling paint under the bow window in the living room - signs of rising damp. he commented that all wall damp readings were "well within acceptable levels". we asked the vendors and they said that they had had some new joists put in to level the floors following settlement in the back corner and they claimed to have had a recent DPC (which fitted with what the surveyor said about new plaster) and as the settlement was noted in the survey and the surveyor said the plastering indicated a recent DPC we believed them and did not go any further.

apparently we could have asked the previous occupants to take out indemnity insurance for the works they claimed to have had done but noone told us that this was something we could demand.

i'm now left in a position where i cannot live in my new house, it's going to cost thousands to repair, i'm going to have to leave my consultant-led ante-natal care at 7 months pregnant and move hundreds of miles away to stay with my mum whilst everything in sorted and we're desperately trying to figure out how we can raise the money to sort out the floor.

do we have any rights here? should my solicitor have demanded guarantees and receipts and advised us to ask for indemnity insurance when the vendors couldn't provide them? should the surveyor have noted the salt deposits on the fresh plasterwork and warned us that these were signs of rising damp and to have a sub-floor survey done? were the vendors legally obliged to tell me the truth about the remedial work they had done when directly asked or are they allowed to lie about it? or have i been stung (the words of one of the damp companies who came round to quote for the job) and just have to live with it?

help please!

PS given the wildly different opinions and quotes i've had to fix the problem, i plan to have an independent, specialist damp & timber survey done to find out what's the best way to proceed so will be getting an official, written report on the problem and all the signs of damp that were there above the laminate flooring that should have been noted in the original survey.

asharon

I'm sorry I have no advice as I'm not an expert but I'm really sorry to hear about your problems and hope they get sorted out.

princeofpounds

You may have recourse against the surveyor if he has been professionally negligent.

You may have recourse against the vendors if they have lied, which is why the information provided to you via your lawyer on the SPIF is critical.

You may have recourse against your own solicitor if they failed to inform you of something they should have done.

It's impossible for anyone to tell without having all the details, but I would imagine broadly speaking you should take advice from a lawyer. Preferably one who has experience in suing surveyors, lawyers and vendors. It may not be cheap.

Keep records of EVERY cost incurred, inclusing mileage and time spent dealing with the case.

Catblue

Don't know about the problems, but you may well be insured for these problems under your Buildings Insurance for the house. Even if it will only cover some of the works, then it is better than nothing.

Dig out your policy, have a look and then ring them for advice.

Also, insurance companies often have a free legal advice line so that may well be worth pursuing for some of your other costs.

princeofpounds

The insurers probably also give you legal cover and might take up the case themselves to pursue whoever they believe is liable.

KiKi

Hi OP

Just a thought - if you have contents / buildings insurance (or any other type of insurance) then that often comes with free legal advice / expertise for house / neighbours / rental-related issues. Check that out; it may cover legal costs for you as a minimum.

Easy to say it, but don't stress out about it. You can't make it better overnight, so it will be better for you and the baby if you just accept that there's no quick fix, that you might be out of pocket and relax at your mum's as much as you can.

And when you have your first baby you'll probably find that the house problems seem so insignificant anyway; you'd give it all up tomorrow, including the money spent, as long as you have your baby!

Keep us up to date, won't you?
KiKi

fathippy

How about looking on the bright side ??

The house was clearly bought without the basement adding any value, as it "didnt exist" so you have actually gained a basement - albeit a dodgy one.

Unless the problems are massive, the costs of remedying this may well be less than the value of the new space created. People spend thousands excavating space under their houses - this has already been done for you.

Perhaps it is possible therefore to approach the bank to borrow enough money to do a really good job on it, such that the property becomes more valuable by a great deal more than that cost?

Its a thought ??

white_noise

free swimming pool?
sorry to be crass and i do hope that you find a solution as it sounds like a !!!!!!! nightmare!
WN

poppysarah

How deep is the basement? We have a crawl space of a couple of feet under our house - if yours is full height then look at it as an urgent problem that could have a positive outcome.

Trollfever

Is your dream home turning into a living nightmare?
Have you discovered problems in your home such as damp, dry rot, leaks, flooding, blocked drains, infestations, cracked walls or worse?
Are you thinking about renovating but need to do serious repair work first?
Sarah and the team of Help! My House Is Falling Down can help.

http://www.channel4.com/4homes/on-tv/brand-new-property-series-09-03-30_p_1.html

withabix

Was the 'survey' you had done before you bought the house a 'full structural survey' or a 'valuation report'/'homebuyer's report'?