Loft conversion, building regulations - First Time Buyer

Dan-Dan

purplestar133 wrote: »

We have seen other 2 beds with the loft as a bedroom. Most have been a little bit less than this house, but this is in a more expensive area. An area that we like. I'm holding off bidding much more as we could probably get a 3 bed somewhere for slightly more than this, but that would mean compromising on area and there would probably still be a loft conversion to contend with!

But at least that would be in relation to it being a 4th bed or not , not the vital 3 bed...

purplestar133

Dan-Dan wrote: »

But at least that would be in relation to it being a 4th bed or not , not the vital 3 bed...

I mean a 3 bed where one of them is a loft room.

Dan-Dan

purplestar133 wrote: »

I mean a 3 bed where one of them is a loft room.

Oh.So less good area , for you , but more expensive and still a 2 bed anyway....tough call , not sure what else to suggest , but the thing that matters is your safety , you just have to work on that basis, however long it takes if you cant get a vendor to agree to investigative work etc

Hoploz

So ... Did you put the offer in??

purplestar133

Hoploz wrote: »

So ... Did you put the offer in??

I did - thanks! Asking for regularisation as a condition of the offer. But there was a last minute hitch - a massive one. I have been waiting for my mortgage adviser to get me an AIP all day. 45 minutes before the offer was due in I found out that we can't get a mortgage for as much as we want because my partner isn't earning. I can afford one on my own, but it's not quite enough for this house as his father is giving part of the deposit. He has to be on the mortgage because it's his dad giving us the money.

I ended up including an AIP for me only, with all the evidence of the remaining money being available in our bank accounts and a letter from the father in law saying what he is giving us, with evidence he has it. But the AIP is only in my name. So all the paperwork is not quite in order. If we get the house we will have to work very hard to get a mortgage. Gutted after all that.

Jhoney_2

purplestar133 wrote: »

We have seen other 2 beds with the loft as a bedroom. Most have been a little bit less than this house, but this is in a more expensive area. An area that we like. I'm holding off bidding much more as we could probably get a 3 bed somewhere for slightly more than this, but that would mean compromising on area and there would probably still be a loft conversion to contend with!

Sorry if I missed something, but unless things have changed, without a proper staircase, I don't believe you can get the work signed off - still less all it a bedroom.

It's a 1 bed + loft room without regs ( albeit in a nice area)- don't lose any sleep.

purplestar133

Jhoney wrote: »

Sorry if I missed something, but unless things have changed, without a proper staircase, I don't believe you can get the work signed off - still less all it a bedroom.

It's a 1 bed + loft room without regs ( albeit in a nice area)- don't lose any sleep.

Thanks! I can't understand why you would do a loft conversion knowing that you can't get building regs. This house is on with Haybrooks, they must know that you can't call it a bedroom without building regs. Cheeky sods.


We're going to look at one tomorrow that has a loft room without proper stairs, sort of a more permanent ladder that looks a bit like stairs. That is listed as loft room/occasional bedroom. So at least they know what they're doing! I'm not at all impressed by the ladder/stairs so I doubt we'll go for it but will have a look anyway.


At least I have learnt what to look for from this process!

DRP

purplestar133 wrote: »

Thanks! I can't understand why you would do a loft conversion knowing that you can't get building regs. This house is on with Haybrooks, they must know that you can't call it a bedroom without building regs. Cheeky sods.


We're going to look at one tomorrow that has a loft room without proper stairs, sort of a more permanent ladder that looks a bit like stairs. That is listed as loft room/occasional bedroom. So at least they know what they're doing! I'm not at all impressed by the ladder/stairs so I doubt we'll go for it but will have a look anyway.


At least I have learnt what to look for from this process!

It isn't a bedroom, occasional or not!!

r_holmes22

Our most recent property (just moved out of it last month) featured a loft conversion that didn't have the planning regulations. It wasn't marketed as a bedroom; just as 'additional versatile space'. There was a fixed staircase, lighting, power sockets, carpet, radiator, insulated roofing, but no suitable fire escape nor door. We took out an indemnity to cover us in case we were required to 'convert it back' but we knew what we were getting into because we never planned to use it as a bedroom (or even as a functioning living space). It was purely for storage. In fact, a couple of years later we had the stairs removed and a folding ladder/hatch installed. The total cost was about £2k, including the plastering required to smooth everything out again. The owner that had done the 'conversion' (not the guy we bought the house from) was a joiner and did it himself. God-knows if he used it as a bedroom or not.

Despite all that, I must confess I did not sleep well for the first couple of nights we were in there as I wondered whether the joists would hold even the stuff we were storing up there. I lay awake listening for sounds of strain or falling plaster pieces. That said, my confidence grew very quickly and we lived with it very happily for over five years.

It sounds as though you do need the space to operate as a bedroom or living space, though, so you do need to decide whether you can live with the risk that it has not been done safely (as we were) or whether you are prepared to pay to bring it up to standard once you've bought it. If the vendor has a agreed to do that prior to completion then so much the better.

Good luck with your mortgage application. I hope everything works out to your satisfaction.

purplestar133

Thanks everyone, we didn't get it - surprise, surprise!


But I've got bigger fish to fry now, trying to get a mortgage.