FTB paid for homebuyers, got a valuation and only realised when problems started

timehastoldme

Hindsight is beautiful, not knowing what a home buyers report should look like, we just assumed it was short because there were no problems.

Homebuyers was done, looks like it wasn't sent out though, they're looking into it for us.

timehastoldme

haras_nosirrah wrote: »

Countrywide mortgage services can't deal with first direct so you must have gone direct to lender rather than using a broker. I work for the brokers so wouldn't have a clue how much first direct charge

Did first direct instruct the homebuyer? I thought you had instructed via countrywide mortgage services

This is an issue to pick up via the bank as they instruct the valuations/ homebuyer

Sorry for the confusion, we dealt directly with FD for the mortgage, they instructed the homebuyers.

Having a curious time because it seems it was done, just not sent to us, and now they won't let us see it and have offered to refund. We've said no at this point because the refund isn't the issue, the issue is the now unknown state of this house we've bought which we thought was OK. We probably would have revised offer or not bought this house had we known.

I'm regretting moving out of rented!

ACG

Atleast they appear to be acknowledging there was a mistake and it had not been sent out.

That makes it appear to be countrywides mistake and so it will be them that you will probably be complaining to, not first direct.

[Deleted User]

Personally, I'd go to a solicitor, explain what's happened, Countrywide's refusal to hand over the homebuyers report (which surely they'd only do if they realise they are in deep doo doo) and let them deal with it.

timehastoldme

Thanks, we were hoping to see what they come back with before getting solicitors involved (I can see the £ leaking out of our account at the thought of it) but suspect it'll end up there

Caedmon

I bought my house through Countrywide with a homebuyers report. We got the valuation report which was 2 pages and thought it was the homebuyers report.

We realised some time later that Countrywide got the physical copy of the homebuyers report and we got it emailed to us, not a physical copy. We had gone for a full survey before we realised because of the lack of detail in the valuation report. Maybe your homebuyer report is somewhere in your spam folder.

timehastoldme

Thank you, they've pretty much admitted it was never sent out now. They have promised twice to send out the case review and complaints procedure via email and haven't done (just double checked the spam folder in case!). We've been told we will have a resolution by Friday, but I'd still like to see the procedure before then so I know what I'm looking at.

We feel like real numptys for not clocking that the valuation wasn't the full survey. I think it's a fairly easy assumption make when you don't know what to expect in the first place and trust professionals to do a professional job. We've spoken to the RICS who thought the whole thing odd. They want us to go through the case complaints procedure, but to refer to them if we are not happy with the outcome. I think I'll be calling CW in a minute to find out why this email hasn't been sent, again.

MarkBargain

timehastoldme wrote: »

I'm regretting moving out of rented!

Don't get too down about it, as your property is probably worth quite a bit more than the £130,000 you paid for it seven months ago, especially with the jobs you have done. According to Zoopla (http://www.zoopla.co.uk/home-values/) my house has increased in value 7.8% over the last six months, so if yours has done similar you are £10,000 up compared to if you continued renting.

As for the chimney, have you got three or four quotes / opinions?

DaftyDuck

Be formal. Request everything to be posted out, recorded delivery.

There is a catch 22 for you in this. "Pay" for the homebuyers, insist it is sent first class post immediately, find 1). The survey missed the fault and claim from the survey, which is a known process, or 2). Claim back the survey cost and chase through courts for failure to provide service as stated.

However, in case 1, the survey may list the fault.... In case 2 it may not. If either of those turn out to be the case, the bank/countrywide could counter your argument that you'd have acted differently had they done their job.

So, best for you would be an agreed settlement. Builder says 3,000 for completely new. Had you known, you might (might...) have got half the cost off the house price. You might not.... So, I'd be asking them to meet the cost, certainly expect them to not agree, be happy if they met halfway at 1500, be content with 1000 and a refund of the survey.

However (more negativity... Sorry) ... The survey may have found other serious and costly faults. If they seem all-too-ready to agree a refund for not producing the survey, I'd wonder what else there might be that they are glad to avoid any further debate over. So, the question "do I demand a copy of the survey" is complex.