loft conversion - missing paperwork

jaffs

I have been told by my solicitors that the vendors have no paperwork available for the loft conversion in the house i am buying and do not know when it was done. Apparently this may impact my ability to buy buildings insurance etc. The vendors are willing to put indemnity insurance in place.

How serious is this, should i be concerned?

headsashed

Won't the indemnity insurance cover you in the future?

jaffs

As far as i understand it only covers me against any enforcement from the council. If the loft isn't structurally sound its no use whatsoever..

roses

Any details on the council website to say its been signed off?

jaffs

Not thought of that, will have a look, cheers

jaffs

Well i have spoken to the surveyor who did the homebuyers report. He said that the only way to find out for sure if the conversion is okay is to knock holes in the walls and things to see if the necessary work has been done. Obviously as we dont own the house we are unlikely to be able to do this, and i cant see the vendor doing it either.

The surveyor did say that the loft definately doesn't meet current fire safety standards, fire doors, exits etc so it would depend how long ago the conversion was done if it was done properly.

I do love the house, but fairly sure the vendors wont reduce it to allow for any costs, so i either risk the conversion not being up to standard and either have to put it right, or at the very least have this happen again when i sell or i walk away and find another property, losing the money spent so far (which is nothing in comparison). Where is also paperwork missing for some other structural work so its not looking good, obviously nobody can tell me what to do, but it is difficult when i was looking forward to living there....

sonastin

You have to ask why there is no paperwork available. Is it because they didn't want to do the work in line with current regs and chose to cut corners? Because they regard paperwork as pointless beauracracy but they did the work to a high standard anyway? Because they employed a cowboy builder who didn't even know that paperwork was necessary and didn't know what he was doing in other respects? The answer to that question should guide you as to whether you should just walk away or whether its worth fighting for this property.

If they've just gone up into the loft and cut away all that pesky wood that was getting in the way so that they could put in a decent floor... realistically you'd be looking at needing a whole new roof and perhaps other structural work on the rest of the house. If you love it enough to take that risk and you've got the stomach for the level of work that might be needed, just make sure you're going into this with your eyes open. You could find that it was done by a master craftsmen who hated filling out forms but you should be preparing for the worst.

If there is other work done without the necessary sign off, it does look like less of a mistake and more of a deliberate decision to carry on regardless. The vendors will face this with anyone who is looking to buy. Mortgage companies might be fobbed off with indemnity insurance but you have to make sure you're willing to take on what could be a major building project. If the vendors aren't prepared to reduce their price accordingly, they will struggle to find anyone willing to take it off their hands so it is worth pointing that out to them as you try to renegotiate...


(speaking with the voice of experience - loft conversion and garage extension not signed off. now we're in, we're finding all manner of shoddy workmanship and we're basically taking the place back to just bricks and mortar and starting again inside. but we managed to negotiate a big enough discount to allow us to turn it into that sort of project!)

jaffs

I have to say the house is lovely and all seems to be done to a high standard. The loft is done really well, but obviously i dont know what it is like under the surface, whether the necessary supports are there etc. I know it doesn't meet current fire regs but obviously if it was done a while ago then it may have met regs then....