I Need Serious Help!

clareandlee

Hi I hope you can help me, I noticed that you give good advice and hope you don't mind me posting this

Last June me and my partner moved into a 2 bed flat on which we took out a mortgage of 85k. Looking back now it was a really silly thing to do as we had no savings behind us.

WHen we had veiwed the flat it was in perfect condition, it had been purchased from a builder who had totally done it up and made it look perfect. Everything went ahead as expected until the day we moved in.

In the back bedroom the ceiling had turned black with damp in a big patch. We were upset about it but where told there was nothing we could do about it as it was now our flat. The mortgage evaluation had been passed for damp and as we had no spare money we thought that the only thing we could do was to put damp proof paint on it and hopefully it wouldn't come back. Now the whole house has become full of damp and mould on the walls it is in every room and is almost unsafe to live in it is that bad. Obviously if this was there and we knew about it when we viewed it we wouldnt have even thought about buying it.

We thought that this would be the responsibility of the company who did the evaluation as they passed it for damp when obviously there was problems, but they say not. We have since found out that the house has never been damp proofed even though we were sold it being told that it had.

We have been quote almnost £14k to sort this out and we dont have this money as my partner has been out of work now for a few month and has only just started his new job and between us only earn £1100 a month

We no longer can live here, is it possible to just move out and send keys to mortgage company and move in with our parents or would this leave us in big trouble I know we were silly to rush into buying a place and deeply regret it we are so much of a mess I must admit to have been feeling suicidal, I am 19 and are worried that we are going to be in deep deep trouble if we just walk away but we cannot stay here any longer.

We really are at our wits end and I have been suffering severe depression over it. I hope you can help, if not sorry for bothering you.

thesaint

What survey did you have done? Was it just the bog-standard valuation?
If it was, then you have no redress.

When you say you bought it being told that it had been damp-proofed, did you have this in writing?

There is no proof that the mould causes illnesses, so there is no reason why you can't stay there. You can return the keys, but it is not advisable because the mortgage company will clobber you, and you will financially cripple yourself for years to come.

clareandlee

Hi yes just that standard survey.

What exactly will the mortgage company do and what affect will it have on us?

On the form the seller fills in saying what fixtures and fittings come with the house there was a section asking about guarentees and the seller put The house has been damp proofed but the documents have been lost.

Guy_Montag

I would consider going to see your solicitor. Anyone else agree?

ashli_2

Absolutely agree Guy, see a solicitor or at least citizens advice.

Did the seller put that he had had the place damp-proofed and that he had lost the documents? Or have you lost the documents where it states this? If it is the latter it is likely that your solicitor will have retained a copy for their file. If you have it in writing from the seller that he had done the damp-proofing you have a very good case for redress, I should think.

hearts

I have a house just now that I have just had to do up from the joists up. Also had to remove the brickwork at the bottom and replace and put in a new DPC. Obviously I employed the tradesmen for the job but I done a lot of the labouring and sprayed the joists etc.
14K might be a high quote for sorting the damp. Depending on the type of damp and the source it might be possible to sort it yourself. If you know any tradesmen ( joiner- plumber ) get him in to have a look.
How much is the house worth now? If its worth a few grand more than when you bought it ( when the work has been carried out) it might be worth taking on a bit more debt to sort it out then sell.

djm1972

Hi Clare & Lee,

Keep calm, everything will get sorted out.

Practically speaking though; you say this is a flat; in which case it is probably leasehold and there should be some redress on the freeholder with regards to a damp problem as it is a physical construction issue.

You have only purchased the right to live there for so long, not the bricks and mortar, so if the bricks and mortar are broken it shouldn't be your problem.

My first steps would be:

i) Find out (if you don't know) who your landlord is. This will be the person that you pay your ground rent to. If you're not sure about ground rent, and you have a service charge to pay on the flat, speak to the people you pay your service charge to.

ii) Speak to them about the issue. There may be an insurance policy covering the freehold property that will pay for the repairs.

iii) If the freeholder is no help, my next stop would be the Citizens Advice Bureau, who if necessary will put you in touch with a solicitor who will help you sort out what needs to happen next with regards to any action against the person who sold you the flat and / or the surveyor.

As a final note (but something you should of course speak with your solicitor about), the surveyor should have indemnity insurance to cover them against issues such as this. Surveyor says no damp; but if you move in and discover a damp problem causing thousands of pounds worth of damage there must be a case there surely. However, consider this in the context of my previous comments regarding the freeholder; as it may not be "your problem" to get this resolved...

Take care,
DJM

nrsql

>> What exactly will the mortgage company do and what affect will it have on us?

They will probably sell the property as quickly as possible (maybe at auction).
The proceeds (less expenses) will be applied to the mortgage amount and you will be left with the remaining debt which they will chase you for.

Note that the amount the sell it for will probably be a lot less than you could get.

Best is to see if you can get any redress from the seller. Have you contacted them? They may make an offer maybe to pay half - anyway it doesn't cost anything to to see what they say.
See if they are legally liable - you should be doimg this anyway as they may have to foot the whole bill.

If that doesn't get anywhere the best options are probably to sell at a discount to allow for the damp.
Or fix the damp then sell.

Would that still leave you with debt?

davebelushi

clareandlee wrote:

In the back bedroom the ceiling had turned black with damp in a big patch.
The mortgage evaluation had been passed for damp and as we had no spare money we thought that the only thing we could do was to put damp proof paint on it and hopefully it wouldn't come back. Now the whole house has become full of damp and mould on the walls it is in every room and is almost unsafe to live in it is that bad. Obviously if this was there and we knew about it when we viewed it we wouldnt have even thought about buying it.

We thought that this would be the responsibility of the company who did the evaluation as they passed it for damp when obviously there was problems, but they say not. We have since found out that the house has never been damp proofed even though we were sold it being told that it had.

1st. what floor is your flat on?
2nd. have you had a damp expert in to check the problem.
3rd. 14K is a ridiculous quote for a damp problem in a flat. (unless it is a basement flat in which case the remedies can be very expensive.
To be honest, 9 times out of 10 heavy mould growth indicates a condensation problem. condensation can usually be reduced by some quite simple practices. eg. keeping vents and windows open when possible. venting spin dryers. increasing the background heat etc etc.
shouldnt be too difficult to sort.

clareandlee

Hi guys thanks so much for your advice.

The flat is a ground floor flat in an end of terrace house, was built in 1900.

We have not had any dealings with the landlord and do now know who he/she is, we called the solicitor to see if he knew and he told us he would get back to us but is not being at all helpful are there any other ways of finding out the freeholders details?

What you have all said as made me feel so much better, so it looks at though - I need to find out who the landlord is and then the landlord should fix the problems?

How much roughly does damp proofing cost the main trouble is all along the wall at the end of the terrace if you understand and slightly on the front wales of the building. I agree that the figure I was given was way too high.

Thanks

djm1972

MusicalDave wrote:

Hi Clare and Lee, as others have said - don't panic. Problems happen from time to time. But you will be able to get through it. Just imagine telling the Grandkids how 'grotty' your first property was in comparison to what they are moving into - that's what anyone over 60 will tell you now!

Anyway, to practical advise. Click here: http://www.landregisteronline.gov.uk/

Fill in the house number and postcode. I believe if you download the 'Title Register' it should have the freeholder on there. It will cost you £3 but will be money well spent as your first step to contacting the freeholder.
Please wait for someone else to confirm this link, as I haven't had to get one on a leasehold, so just wait to be 100% sure it will have the freeholder listed?

Thanks
Dave

Confirmed -

I just had a look with my leasehold address. It seems there are 2 entries for the address; one for my leasehold, and another for the freehold, so the latter is the one you need to obtain. Here's what I saw when entering my address:

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Properties that exactly match [my address]
Tenure Leasehold Price Paid/Value Stated Data Yes Information available » * (1)
Tenure Freehold Price Paid/Value Stated Data Yes Information available »

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Click the "Information Available" link against the FREEHOLD entry, and then obtain the "Title Register". That should contain your landlord's details.