Garage Conversion BR

phoebe1989seb

Richard_Webster wrote: »

3. A seller should complete the Property Information Form properly but regrettably people all too easily read questions like "Has any building work been carried out at the property?" as meaning "Have you carried out any building work...?" About 10% of PIFs I see have this mistake!

Slightly off-topic, but this is so true - when we sold recently we answered this question as it was meant to be answered - ie, that a conservatory had been built albeit some 20 years ago (we bought 4 years ago) and a garage converted (about 10 years ago). As a result indemnity insurance was needed because of a restrictive covenant relating to the conservatory.........although in our case the garage conversion had all its paperwork in place. However, when we bought the house 4 years ago, the then vendors obviously assumed the question meant had they carried out any building work to which they answered 'no', so our solicitor didn't pick up on the conservatory/restrictive covenant issue. Imho it seems the PIF needs re-wording to avoid these mistakes occurring with such regularity

Richard_Webster

My version of the PIF asks:

Are you aware of any the following taking place to the property or any part of it since it was built (including the garden). If yes, please state the year and tick to confirm which documents were obtained.
...
(a) Building works (including loft conversions, removal of internal walls/chimney breasts and conservatories)

Unfortunately the people who draw up some of the standard forms do not practice conveyancing "at the coal face".