How do I find out the purpose of an internal wall before purchasing a property?

TheTaintedOne

Hi,

Any advice would be much appreciated.

My wife and I are interested in purchasing a two bedroom flat, which appears to have a small internal wall connecting the counter in its open-plan kitchen with another proper wall, and creates a small alcove for the fridge.

The wall appears to be quite hollow (by tapping it), and we were wondering what it is for and if we could remove the wall to create more space, as other flats in the building do not appear to have this extraneous wall.

Unfortunately the estate agent doesn't appear to know anything about it, and they tell us the vendor doesn't know either, and probably the building management also doesn't know.

Would it be reasonable for me to insist that the vendor chase this matter further upward, or is this something I should find out via a homebuyer's survey?


Thanks

G_M

Ask your surveyor.

££sc££

agree with G_M

other thing to bare in mind if buying a flat is do you need freeholder's consent to remove the wall?

agrinnall

Or take a builder with you for a second viewing, they should be able to tell pretty easily if the wall is load-bearing or not.

TheTaintedOne

££sc££ wrote: »

other thing to bare in mind if buying a flat is do you need freeholder's consent to remove the wall?

Actually, is this something the freeholder should know?

TheTaintedOne

Thanks for all the replies btw.

celyn90

TheTaintedOne wrote: »

Hi,

Any advice would be much appreciated.

My wife and I are interested in purchasing a two bedroom flat, which appears to have a small internal wall connecting the counter in its open-plan kitchen with another proper wall, and creates a small alcove for the fridge.

The wall appears to be quite hollow (by tapping it), and we were wondering what it is for and if we could remove the wall to create more space, as other flats in the building do not appear to have this extraneous wall.

Unfortunately the estate agent doesn't appear to know anything about it, and they tell us the vendor doesn't know either, and probably the building management also doesn't know.

Would it be reasonable for me to insist that the vendor chase this matter further upward, or is this something I should find out via a homebuyer's survey?


Thanks

We have one of those random walls in the kitchen, we thought it was part of the structure but it turned out to be an elaborate way of boxing in pipe work. I doubt a homebuyers survey would tell you unless you asked them specifically, you'd need a surveyor or a good builder. Ours was mentioned on the homebuyers report, but just was noted we needed it checked further.

We only worked it out when we ripped the kitchen out to find it only went was far as the countertop.

££sc££

it will be contained in the lease (between the freeholder and the leaseholder). hopefully you'll only need consent for structural changes and hopefully the wall in question isn't structural. Ask your solicitors when appointed - they will get a copy of the lease.