Help deciding if we should buy or walk away please

wwtrend

Look to worse case scenario and if you are not prepared to deal with the problem or to finance what might be needed to put it right, then you have your answer. So what you have is a vertical crack on the extension which cold be anything from normal settling, bad bricks, bad cement mix, bad construction, some kid using it to kick his ball against, or worst case scenario subsidence. The building surveryor doesn't know what caused it (unless he has specifically said it has) and surveyors always err on the side of caution because if you've paid for a full building survey and if something subsequently turns up they can be sued. To avoid worst case scenario and the only way to be sure it isn't subsidence is to dig a pit. Once the building surveyor has made a recommendation the mortgage company would want that to be followed through on so pretty sure this property would not be considered mortgageable as it is from what you've said. The agent is also legally obliged once problems have been identified to pass them on to potential purchasers so the mere mention of potential subsidence is of concern to the vendors. Absolutely and categorically sure, I would not want a pit dug in my garden on the basis of a crack and no other evidence of subsidence no matter who was paying, if I was trying to sell. In fact I think it is pretty naive to even think the vendors should pay for this. Whatever the outcome this can only be to the sellers detriment. It's going to put any other potential viewers off while this is being done, and the mere fact that it has taken place could give credence to there being suggestions of subsidence thereby substantially devaluing the house. Perhaps the next person would want to dig a pit somewhere else. I believe is a building regulation for new houses with a high soil clay content to be underpinned but that doesn't mean that you've got problems and as you've said the main house, an end of terraced is sound. What would be be the situation if you have to take down the extension and start again and is that a negotiation point. Don't think because the vendors won't pay £300 for the pit to be dug they would not agree to a substantial reduction, it most definitely doesn't necessarily follow. What you don't know doesn't hurt you what you do, has to be dealt with and they want to move. I wouldn't know what I was doing in '73 or '75 although I would know if some work had been done on my property at my behest or if it was there before I bought it. It's very easy to think people are lying if they tell you one thing and when asked for evidence it shows another but could this just be confusion? After all you were told the extension didn't have building approval. They are loads about that don't. Personally I would be researching a price to move the gas and electric meters out of the bedroom (around £1K each with my gas and electric company when I last checked ) and the stop !!!! outside - who wants that in a bedroom, then knock enough off for 'what if' I have to take the 2' extension down and start again and that would be my offer price. If you are only going to be in the house for a year or two or don't like projects then it might not be for you. You are doing the right thing by not just accepting what you are told by the vendors, accept that the pit isn't going to happen because they've refused, and now how do you feel about the other options you've assumed but haven't tired ie negotiating. If you are still uncomfortable with the deal then don't go ahead because you've done as much as you could to satisfy yourselves about this purchase. I suspect you have allowed what you think of the vendors ie they are liars and deliberately misleading you to focus on worst case scenario because you believe clearly they are trying to cover something up but the only factors that matter are that you carry out your own due diligence in relation to this property and conduct the negotiation on your findings. Negotiations are usually only successful where they represent a win win for both parties.

mrginge

Vendors cannot be trusted. Definite walk from me.

ca55ie

A well reasoned piece wwtrend. :T
Think your final sentence "Negotiations are usually only successful where they represent a win win for both parties" is spot on - for any situation not just house buying :beer:

maite_2

Thanks everyone. We really appreciate you for taking time to express your views.

We will consider our options and keep you posted about the outcome.

DaftyDuck

If they've been that disingenuous and difficult with what you have found out about, what have they done that you'll find out six months after you've bought? What's under the floorboards, plastered over, done by a mate but not to regulations...

Walk. There's always another house.

exarmydreamer

Walk, Walk and keep walking. It is the biggest investment in your life and it sounds far to dodgy to waste your hard earned money on .

System

I think you need to trust your instincts and walk

Figgerty

DaftyDuck wrote: »

If they've been that disingenuous and difficult with what you have found out about, what have they done that you'll find out six months after you've bought? What's under the floorboards, plastered over, done by a mate but not to regulations...

Walk. There's always another house.

I totally agree with this view and would walk.

This situation shows just how important it is to have a full structural survey. Just think about the problem you would have in selling this house in the future not to mention the likely problems if the work does not meet building regulations.

The mortgage lenders survey just checks to see if the property and land is worth the money being lent. With buyers having to put up ever larger deposits it is vital for them to instruct their own surveyor to protect their investments and maybe even their lives.

exarmydreamer

Figgerty wrote: »

I totally agree with this view and would walk.

This situation shows just how important it is to have a full structural survey. Just think about the problem you would have in selling this house in the future not to mention the likely problems if the work does not meet building regulations.

The mortgage lenders survey just checks to see if the property and land is worth the money being lent. With buyers having to put up ever larger deposits it is vital for them to instruct their own surveyor to protect their investments and maybe even their lives.

Our first house after leaving the army, was a death trap and we had it surveyed.

The previous owner almost killed us by installing a gas appliance himself, (luckily my DH is a gas engineer and shut it off). He, (the previous owner) had also some years earlier knocked through the supporting wall between the dining room and living room, leaving only a small plank plastered over holding up the upstairs bedrooms. We only found out because we were having the rooms re-plastered and happened to knock off some plaster where the RSJ should have been. On going upstairs we found a gap of 11/2 inch between the boards and wall, (the living room ceiling had dropped).

The same guy also lied on the paperwork and said the windows had been installed a year earlier to avoid providing FENSA paperwork, (he fitted them himself, after the regulation change).

Avoid lying sellers, listen to your surveyor and check all paperwork and advice.

Furts

maite wrote: »

Thanks everyone. We really appreciate you for taking time to express your views.

We will consider our options and keep you posted about the outcome.

Hi maitie
A very well reasoned post.

I would add...should you purchase the house, the trees will keep growing, the clay soil is the worst category possible, the property is London (that is a dry part of the UK - trees need moisture, though they may get some from the pond), the neighbour is on piled foundations but your potential purchase may be spit and sawdust...

This is a perfect storm to give a textbook example of foundation (and probably slab) failure. Commonly known as subsidence. It may not be visible yet, but it is just a matter of time.

Who knows? May be the vendors are aware of this? May be they are looking for someone less savvy and less articulate than you are?

Follow the suggestions posted here - do not take the risk.