Purchased house in 2009 - no building regs for 2006 extension

Halle71

Yes, thanks Yorkie.
They were quite helpful and as all that is outstanding is the electrical certificate, if I email them a Periodic Inspection they can sign it off without visiting. Fingers crossed they can do it quickly and we won't lose our purchase.

Halle71

So, the electrics have failed the periodic inspection and it is going to cost us hundreds of pounds to remedy.
We just bite the bullet then?

acs_2

Halle71 wrote: »

So, the electrics have failed the periodic inspection and it is going to cost us hundreds of pounds to remedy.
We just bite the bullet then?

I'll happily stand corrected if needs be, but Id imagine its cheaper to bite that proverbial bullet as a pose to going through the legal system to get someone to take responsibility/cough up for your costs.

In my experience with this situation, where building regs aren't present, the solicitor has asked the selling party for an indemnity policy should there be any comeback.

Halle71

There is no indemnity policy - nothing was ever mentioned to us and there is no paperwork saying there is no building regs certificate, indeed the opposite is the case even though there isn't any.
Our current solicitor is looking into it now as he has our paperwork but what I suspect has happened is that our vendors checked the 'have building regs, certificate to follow' box and it was never chased up by our solicitor at the time.
So both the vendor and solicitor are to blame.

I get that is is easier for us to just pay and get on with it, and that is what I think we will have to do, but at what point does is that not the case? One thousand pounds? Five thousand pounds? When we lose our sale or purchase because of the delays?

Jaycee_Dove

We have a similar issue.


A sun lounge was built on our house over 40 years (and 3 owners) ago. At no point in our purchase 12 years ago or (it seems) the earlier ones in the 1980s did this come up.


Only on getting the deeds on paying off the mortgage in preparation to sell up did we find that the lounge was properly approved BUT without a door. They built it with a door.


Now we are being asked to pay up to indemnify the new purchasers for the fact that the sun lounge was built decades ago by long gone owners in a way that slightly differed from the fully approved plans - the reason being to do with ceiling height which was then an inch or so too low for a door to make it a habitable room - but which has long since been way over acceptable.


The policy is £21. Obviously we can say no. I even offered to take the door off before we leave on removal day so the room matches the passed plans! But the solicitor says that the new tougher mortgage stance means things like this are being asked for despite there being almost no chance there is any risk involved.


We could be mad at our solicitor 12 years ago for not telling us this then. We could even sue I guess. But for £21 is it worth the hassle?


If pushed we will just sign the form and move on.

Halle71

For £21 I would definitely just do it.
And we are just going to have to do it, but it is going to cost us circa £500 as well as putting the chain's ideal completion date of 16th May at the mercy of building regs and the speed they choose to process us.

I'm just frustrated that this is happening when there are enough legitimate issues to worry about at this stage, and the few extra hundreds here and there are starting to add up quickly.

Halle71

We've just had the estimate through from the electrician - it's going to cost us £750 plus the £150 we've already paid. This is £900 we just cannot afford at the moment.

Do people really think we should just pay?
Why should we?
And if there is nothing we can do, why do we even bother filling in forms and using solicitors - we may as well just treat house buying as any other transaction. I know it's different because of the lenders's interest but now they also have a share in an unsaleable house.....

blackshirtuk

Halle71 wrote: »

We've just had the estimate through from the electrician - it's going to cost us £750 plus the £150 we've already paid. This is £900 we just cannot afford at the moment.

Do people really think we should just pay?
Why should we?
And if there is nothing we can do, why do we even bother filling in forms and using solicitors - we may as well just treat house buying as any other transaction. I know it's different because of the lenders's interest but now they also have a share in an unsaleable house.....

Unfortunately you really have no choice if you want this sale to proceed.

The only other course would have been to offer your buyers an indemnity policy, but as you have informed the council already it would be invalid.

Once this sale is concluded you may have a case to sue the solicitor who dealt with the purchase of this property. Suing a solicitor will neither be cheap nor for the faint-hearted.

I bought a property around 2006 and the solicitor noted there were no building regs for the conservatory and asked us if we were bothered!

These days I am sure the lender would insist on an indemnity policy or the certificates.

davidmcn

blackshirtuk wrote: »

Once this sale is concluded you may have a case to sue the solicitor who dealt with the purchase of this property. Suing a solicitor will neither be cheap nor for the faint-hearted.

It needn't be that difficult if it's as clearcut as suggested (i.e. survey highlighted recent extension, solicitor completely failed to obtain approval).

But given the OP is already paying for legal advice, and their current solicitor has the file, I would recommend they allow their solicitor to advise rather than us speculate.

TBagpuss

Halle71 wrote: »

We've just had the estimate through from the electrician - it's going to cost us £750 plus the £150 we've already paid. This is £900 we just cannot afford at the moment.

Do people really think we should just pay?
Why should we?
And if there is nothing we can do, why do we even bother filling in forms and using solicitors - we may as well just treat house buying as any other transaction. I know it's different because of the lenders's interest but now they also have a share in an unsaleable house.....

I think you will need to pay to ensure that you don't lose your sale. Subject to the advice you get from your current solicitor, you can then make a complaint to the original solicitors, who (if they were at fault, and if they are reputable, as you say) will probably come to an agreement with you rather than forcing you to sue them. Do make sure that you fully document the costs etc. For instance, get more than one quote for the work which is needed, make sure you have in writing why is was needed etc.