Miss sold a house

almooney

Hi there,

I wonder if there are any experts who could advise me here please, this is a serious matter and I am not sure what to do from here,

My wife and I recently purchased a house that was advertised as a 4 bedroom property, the 4th bedroom being the loft conversion,

The estate agents had Told me numerous times that the loft room was defiantly a proper bedroom over telephone conversations, and it was on the details of the property particulars ,

Anyway survey had come back that the stairs leading to the loft would not be acceptable to current building regulations and that our soliceter should check that. We never really questioned it further,

As it is I had a local agent come round to value the house after we purchased it whom clearly pointed out that the loft room could not be listed as a 4th bedroom, so I then started the complaints process to the estate agent who has sold us the house,

Within 2 weeks they made us a good will offer, the offer was a ridiculasly low £350, just to put in prospective we feel we overpaid at least £5000 , so we then took our complaint to the ombudsman,

Submitted all paperwork and got a pre review letter yesterday, they have been in communication with the agent and got the offer raised to £550 and in their letter they are trying to guide us to accept this offer ,
Now I am quite shocked that a estate agent can mislead with advertising a 3 bed house as a 4 bed , basically con the general public and then only have to pay a measily sum to walk away Scott free STILL in pocket from the commission they made.....
It seems ridiculas to myself,

Anyway we understand now we should of been more on the ball with it and there does lye some blame on our convincing soliceter , but at the same time the agent immideatly admitted liability, the ombudsman has said they are at fault,

I wonder if the compensation is fair at that level! We have a 3 bedroom house that we brought as a 4 and are definatly out of pocket a lot more then £550 , it seems like the ombudsman initial answer is that is tough titty, and £550 is supposed to cover a £5-10,000 pound mistake,

I was not under the impression that agents could still act like rougue traders, used car salesmen comes to mind.
As it is we have been conned and the powers that be can see we have been conned and they seem to think that £550 is a fair sum to make it all ok.
Please could some one with knowledge in this field advise us what we can do, would a small claims court be a better bet? But what on earth would the reasoning be to take them to court?
Or maybe bbc's watchdog programme?

Thanks for reading and I hope there is someone that has knowledge in this field.

EverGreen_2

almooney wrote: »

Hi there,


Anyway survey had come back that the stairs leading to the loft would not be acceptable to current building regulations and that our soliceter should check that. We never really questioned it further,

The survey was done before you signed and exchanged the contract. It seems that you ignored that part in the survey. "Buyer beware, caveat emptor".....how will you defend yourself with this regard?

questionss

You're lucky you got anything! This was flagged up pre purchase! You bought it without seeing building reg Certs etc. The agent presents the property as told by the vendors.
Your solicitor should have advised you regarding the issues so you may have some come back there

worried_jim

I read the title as "miss, sold a house".

cr1mson

Take the money and let it go it was up to you to confirm that the loft room could be listed as a 4th bedroom. Your survey pointed it out and it was at this point you should have raised it and maybe negotiated a lower price.

mrginge

The only reason you have a 3 bedroom house that was advertised as a 4 is down to your own incompetance.

What planet are you living on if you expect the EA to fork out 5-10k?

anselld

So you believed an agent who told you the loft was OK, now you believe another agent who say the opposite. Yet you ignore the one expert who is in any way qualified to have an opinion!

Even now, have you actually checked the status of the loft paperwork with the authorities? Building regs are not retrospective so it is not required to meet regs in place today, only regs in place when it was built.

Davesnave

almooney wrote: »

As it is we have been conned and the powers that be can see we have been conned and they seem to think that £550 is a fair sum to make it all ok.

They think it's a fair sum because there was an onus on you to show due diligence, and you didn't, because you ignored the findings of your surveyor.

You can take the complaint further, but others will likely think the same way as the ombudsman.

The money you've been offered isn't there "to make it all OK;" it is to punish the agent to the extent that they are deemed culpable.

Mallotum_X

The correct title foe this is that you misbought a house. The loft was flagged by your surveyor and you ignored it.

Estate agent will have in their particulars that they have not checked the details and you need to make your own checks. The fact you have an offer of some money is amazing, as the agent really could fight this and give you nothing.

Next time you buy a house make proper checks, make sure your survey is suitable and all points raised are followed up.

Ozzuk

I don't get why you'd have the house valued once you moved in anyway. Just live there and enjoy it - I'm amazed they've offered you anything at all as the blame sits squarely with you IMO. Sure, they got the details wrong, but you knew this and proceeded anyway so you must have been happy with the house as it was.

dirty_magic

almooney wrote: »

Anyway survey had come back that the stairs leading to the loft would not be acceptable to current building regulations and that our soliceter should check that. We never really questioned it further

Unfortunately you should have questioned it further. Did your solicitor not mention it? I don't think this it entirely the EA's fault tbh. The onus is not on them to check building regulations, that's the solicitors job.

Building regulations are a bit of a minefield when buying, I can't believe your solicitor hasn't mentioned this at all. Did you ask your solicitor to check it following your surveyor's advice? Did you give them a copy of the survey?

What did the mortgage valuation figure come back as? Wouldn't this have highlighted that you were overpaying if you think you've overpaid significantly?