no building regulations approval for 8 yr old house

dimly

Help! I have started on the path to purchasing a property that was constructed 8 years ago -the property was sale agreed for another potential buyer but suspiciously fell through late in the day, as we were always interested the agent re-contacted us and recommended we use the same solicitor. After agreeing to this , several days later the solicitor informs me that the property has no builder`s guarantee or architects certificate to confirm construction was undertaken properly.It was originally a nursing home with grounds converted into 4 flats with "semi-detached" house on the end but originally planning permission was sought for conversion of dwelling to 5 flats. it is the semi-detached `house`part that we are attempting to purchase.
our mortgage provider has now stated that they will not proceed unless some extra insurance cover is taken out to cover this.
where does this leave us when we attempt to re-sell one day? should we be worried that the construction was not performed to correct legislation- is it even a legal bona-fida property?
when I enter the postcode address on any website it shows the property as a `flat`- will this prove to be a problem also?

dimly.

Fuzzyness

not sure you can retrospectively apply for building regs at the regs are now much stricter than they were 8 years ago. your house probably wouldnt get approval now.

is it worth seeking some indemnity from the vendor. not sure against what but others may be able to advise.

dimly

Also,
Do estate agents & solicitors not have a legal obligation to disclose vital information to the potential buyer right at the start of negotiations after an offer is accepted??
info such as: 1.There was no formal planning permission given for the property to be converted into flats/houses. 2.There is no buildings regulation approval document.

G_M

dimly wrote: »

Also,
Do estate agents & solicitors not have a legal obligation to disclose vital information to the potential buyer right at the start of negotiations after an offer is accepted??
info such as: 1.There was no formal planning permission given for the property to be converted into flats/houses. 2.There is no buildings regulation approval document.

If you ask, they have to answer - truthfully (though the truth may be "we don't know").

If you don't ask - 'Buyer beware.'

There are 1001 things that could be wrong with a property. That's why you employ a surveyor to check the building and a lawyer to check the Title.
And maybe a heating engineer to check the boiler, and a .......

it's up to you.

dimly

I asked how old the property was and the agent replied " 11 years".
this would have meant the 10 year `needs to have a builders guarantee` rule would not have applied. after forking out for a remortgage survey fee on my current property ( to rent out & part fund the new one) and solicitor upfront charge , £450 + £300 it transpires the property is 7.5 years old and should have all the necessary building certs.

googler

dimly wrote: »

Also,
Do estate agents & solicitors not have a legal obligation to disclose vital information to the potential buyer right at the start of negotiations after an offer is accepted??
info such as: 1.There was no formal planning permission given for the property to be converted into flats/houses. 2.There is no buildings regulation approval document.

1 An EA is not a planning officer, nor a planning consultant.

2 An EA is not a building control officer

If you ask the EA whether either of these permissions are in place, he has to answer truthfully - Yes / No / Don't Know. There's no legal obligation upon the EA to check absolutely everything relating to the houses they sell.

You, as a buyer, hire a solicitor. surveyor, and whoever else you want, to check out what you're buying, in the same way that you used to be able to commission a man from the AA to check out a used car for you.

G_M

dimly wrote: »

I asked how old the property was and the agent replied " 11 years".
this would have meant the 10 year `needs to have a builders guarantee` rule would not have applied. after forking out for a remortgage survey fee on my current property ( to rent out & part fund the new one) and solicitor upfront charge , £450 + £300 it transpires the property is 7.5 years old and should have all the necessary building certs.

Only ask EAs for general information. They are not experts. All they know is what the seller (their client) has told them, or they make a guess.

Read all their property particulars. At the bottom will be a disclaimer telling you not to rely on them.....!

There's a legal process for checking the details. The EA is not involved in it.

dimly

oh,
mother told me the rules on house selling had tightened up so the vendor`s appointed parties could be held liable for holding back information that resulted in a financial loss for the purchaser if it could be later proven that such information was available at the time of purchase. otherwise the solicitor could make a small fortune from failed purchases on this property that never reach fruition because vital documents never surface- they just keep re-using the same land registry search documents over & over to a multitude of interested parties. I assume when completion is not reached on house purchase the failed buyer does not keep said documents?

googler

dimly wrote: »

oh,
mother told me the rules on house selling had tightened up so the vendor`s appointed parties could be held liable for holding back information that resulted in a financial loss for the purchaser if it could be later proven that such information was available at the time of purchase.

...and which 'rules' would these be?

dimly

I don`t know Googler, mother`s sleeping now....

G_M

This is a wind-up.