Planning Permission/FENSA Guarantees etc

Debbie123

Can anyone help.

I've put an offer in on a house for £140,000 which has been accepted.

The vendor is a corgi registered gas engineer and apparently works for one of the largest firms in the north west. He has friends in the building trade!! - Read On!!!!

The house has recently had a brand new kitchen fitted, rooms re-plastered, new bathroom (or I suspect it is as there was evidence of recent grouting ie it still hadn't been washed off the tiles and they were chalky!).

The house has also had a rear extension done which apparently was carried out by the Council in 1995.

My concerns are that on his Seller Property Information Form he has said that there are no guarantees in respect of the double glazing which was installed in 2003 (ie no FENSA documentation) and that other guarantees have been "lost"

No planning consent was obtained for the loft conversion - this is not a bedroom merely "loft space" but it is clear that building works/electrics have been done as it is has freshly been replastered, double glazed velux windows put in and the electric sockets were not secured to the wall - evidence of recent works.

One of the double glazed units has a large split down the frame which I thought was rather odd as it's brand new!!!

On the advice of my surveryor I sent in a Central Heating Engineer who condemned the boiler & issued them with a warning notice (don't forget the vendor is corgi registered!!). He didn't give me the opportunity of obtaining quotes for the work he did it himself and was merely going to extend the flue - I in turn contacted our engineer who told me that it's not a case of extending the flue, the boiler is too close to the eaves and is a fire hazard, it needs to be moved and once moved they are prone to leakages. Again vendor has agreed to move and has stated that he will give me the relevant certificate. My engineer also stated that in his opinion the boiler is 10 - 15 years old and it appears to him that it is a second hand boiler that has been put in - he refers to the plaster surrounding the flue as being "fresh".

Another concern is that in order to gain access to the loft space a wall (3rd bedroom) has been knocked down. My surveryor has stated that a fire door needs to be fitted but vendor is refusing stating that the loft is not a bedroom.

Am I right to be concerned here or am I just been fussy. My concerns are that despite several letters from my solicitors to their solicitors, no guarantees, planning permissions etc are coming forward. Despite the council carrying out works to the rear extension it is clear that he himself has done works (ie fresh plasterworks, double glazed patio doors which still had wet plaster on).

What happens if he can't give me the relevant documentation. I understand that they have to take out indemnity insurance but does this actually protect me as a buyer from anything going wrong either with the extension or the double glazing and would I have problems trying to sell in the future with all these new laws/regulations coming into force.

Would appreciate any comments as I'm so confused!!

Thanks

cattie

When you say council carried out extension works do you mean it's an ex-council house & the council actually extended the property before it was sold to tenant?

If it's not an ex council property then the council wouldn't have carried out any extension works, all the council do is ensure planning regs have been adhered to & if they have work is then signed off with building control. Any such certificates will be in the council's planning/building contol file & it is usual for buyers solicitor to check the existance of any such documents or certificates with council as part of the buying process.

Usually if a loft room is just that & not converted specifically to the standards of a bedroom then fire door is not needed. Not sure how things stand though if entrance to loft room is only via an existing bedroom. Buildings control at council can answer this one for you.

seven-day-weekend

You don't usually need planning permission for a loft conversion if it has velux windows, but it would need to comply with the building regulations.

Doozergirl

I think you might be getting a little confused with what is needed, are being a little bit suspicious? and also that you are probably losing some important points because you are concentrating on other less important points.

A FENSA certificate is not a guarantee. There is no need to provide any guarantees with anything. It's a house. They don't usually come with guarantees. The windows can be checked by Building Control and signed off if you wish though the windows shouldn't really be a deal breaker. Windows fitted before April 2002 didn't need a cert - doesn't mean they don't do the job!

As said, you will very likely not need planning permmission for works to the loft. If the electric work is carried out competantly and the window complies then that's fine, although if the head height isn't enough it should not be used as a room, therefore why do you need a door as a firebreak? Your vendor is right

The extension may well be 12 years old. There's nothing to stop the man installing new patio doors or plastering to make good. The windows just need to comply with building regs.

Have you checked that this man is actually CORGI registered? I only really mean in relation to the boiler - the fact that he might be a plumber won't make him a builder! I will also point out to you that many plumbers LOVE slagging off others' work and will feed you all sorts of tripe. I doubt very much that a boiler is prone to leaking once it has been moved - I suspect your bloke is trying to sell you a new boiler.

I'm not trying to be harsh though it may read that way, I think that most of the issues you are coming across, with the exception of the boiler, are issues that you will come across in virtually any house that has had any kind of adaptation from it's new state in the last fifteen years.

The issues that need addressing are the boiler, the windows (though I'm sure they do the job) and perhaps the new electrics in the loft. Guarantees will not come if the job has been carried out by the vendor and his friends - you pay heavily for guarantees.

Canucklehead

Good evening: My instincts are telling me that potential problems could be lurking in this property. Plumbers/CORGI engineers can make excellent builders (I'm married to one...very handy guy to have around;) ) but this character sounds like a bodge artist. It is very easy to identify the age of the boiler eg. info on data plate...if the boiler has been moved it needs to be notified to Building Control...if it is a new installation it must be condensing and also notified. If you want to check the vendor's CORGI registration (and if he is employed by a company then he might not be CORGI reg. in his own right) visit www.trustcorgi.com. CORGI will also inspect the boiler installation if you believe it is unsafe or the installer isn't registered
Did you have the electrics checked out as well..could be another can of worms. We have renovated and sold on several properties- as a matter of course (and conscience) we have always provided all relevant guarantees, compliance certificates etc... in fact this seems to be our 'unique selling point' down here..sad but true.
I would walk away from this one TBH...sounds as if much of the renovation has been done on the cheap....moneysaving is great but not at the expense of quality, safety and peace of mind...scratch the surface here and what could you find?:eek:

HTH

Canucklehead

GunJack

Sounds very similar to the property we have just binned off as it was way too risky. Many similar themes there with building regs, FENSA cert, boiler by non-CORGI company, and the guy who owned it was a window/conservatory bloke !! Also, there is no compulsion for the vendor to buy you the indemnity policies, yes they may be needed, but they don't have to buy them. They only help prevent any orders for the work to be undone, but do not actually guarantee the work in any way whatsoever. We walked away from the house, think probably you should too.