Finding out about subsidence

kilby_007

kinger101 wrote: »

Both. Because my offer would be based on no nasty surprises, and I'd think there was something wrong with the place (surveyors are often useless and might miss it anyway). If you are interested in proceeding, don't spend any money on a survey before you're seen the property information form (TA6).

How would I get hold of the TA6 form without appointing solicitors and going through the conveyance process of obtaining it? It's filled in by the vendor anyway so I don't see how it would be any different from just asking them...

Ithaca

kinger101 wrote: »

Not much point in giving the ultimatum then.

Sure it was... it stopped a lot of the usual niggling you can get with picky (or naive) FTBs.

Solicitor wants £200 for an indemnity policy? Take it out of the £4k.
Garden gate needs replacing? Take it out of the £4k.
Boiler's getting on a bit and may need replacing in the next 18 months? Take it out of the £4k.
Patio needs lowering to avoid rain splashing above the DPC? Take it out of the £4k.
Oven has seen better days? Take it out of the £4k.
And so on.

We might not have given in on most of those anyway, but it stopped potentially time-consuming back-and-forth negotiations before they started and kept the sale time to a minimum.

kinger101

kilby_007 wrote: »

How would I get hold of the TA6 form without appointing solicitors and going through the conveyance process of obtaining it? It's filled in by the vendor anyway so I don't see how it would be any different from just asking them...

By asking the vendor, or their conveyancer, for it. You want something in writing. Appointing solicitors and appointing a surveyor are not the same thing. It's not worth starting a survey until you've seen the TA6. It can be instructive on whether you want to proceed at all, and anything you may want a surveyor to pay particular attention to.

kilby_007

kinger101 wrote: »

By asking the vendor, or their conveyancer, for it. You want something in writing. Appointing solicitors and appointing a surveyor are not the same thing. It's not worth starting a survey until you've seen the TA6. It can be instructive on whether you want to proceed at all, and anything you may want a surveyor to pay particular attention to.

In my experience, you only get hold of a completed TA6 form through your own solicitor (working with the vendor's solicitor) after you've appointed them. Is it acceptable to go direct to the vendor's solicitors and ask for this form without appointing a solicitor of your own?

kilby_007

Conclusion:

We went to view again this morning and saw a builder working on the property over the road (the one that the EA had said was being underpinned). He'd purchased that property at 150K which is half the going rate for a property of that size in that area. He told me that the properties down that cul-de-sac were all under threat of collapse due to sulphate attack (corrosion of the brickwork beneath the damp course). This is because the bricks used in the builds contained something that reacts with sulphates when wet.

When I told him we were going to look at one down the road he said "don't touch it", going on to say that he'd already had a report done for the owners and they had been unwilling to pay for the work, which involves replacing all of the brickwork below the damp course down to the footings. Instead they'd opted to sell it in it's current state, presumably hoping for a surveyor to overlook the problems. It's not a problem that can be resolved through the insurers because there's a clause against "chemical damage" in almost all insurance policies.

After finding out all of the above we went into the property and questioned the owner on the problems. She wouldn't comment on the actual corrosion of the brickwork (in some areas nearly half of the brick had dissolved) and instead opted to focus on the white colouring which she said was just mould and that it was the damp-proof course doing it's job. When I pushed the issue that a lot of bricks looked dangerously damaged she said she didn't know anything and they hadn't had any problems with it. Total lack of respect IMO that she tried to cover up an issue that she is fully versed on (as I found out via the builder) in the hope that maybe we'll get a survey done and it'll be overlooked. She said their insurance was dirt cheap - another lie, I would presume, because after further research last night all of the properties along the beck are under an EA high flood risk zone.

alchemist.1

I would definitely be emailing the estate agent with the information

kinger101

kilby_007 wrote: »

In my experience, you only get hold of a completed TA6 form through your own solicitor (working with the vendor's solicitor) after you've appointed them. Is it acceptable to go direct to the vendor's solicitors and ask for this form without appointing a solicitor of your own?

It would be acceptable to ask, but ultimately, it's the vendors decision. One estate agent near me actually includes a property information form in the particulars. In any event, you still wouldn't have to appoint a surveyor until you've looked at it, which was my original point. They are usually available very early in the process.

I see you've found out that the vendor is being devious now. Lucky escape. I'd be telling the estate agent the information too.

kilby_007

kinger101 wrote: »

It would be acceptable to ask, but ultimately, it's the vendors decision. One estate agent near me actually includes a property information form in the particulars. In any event, you still wouldn't have to appoint a surveyor until you've looked at it, which was my original point. They are usually available very early in the process.

I see you've found out that the vendor is being devious now. Lucky escape. I'd be telling the estate agent the information too.

Thanks, I guess it might have helped, but probably not in this case as the vendor wouldn't have declared the issue anyway. I'm not even sure if there's a part on the TA6 which asks "are there any structural issues" I think they just ask about flooding and subsidence.

kilby_007

The EA said they didn't know anything about the issues but they must have known something was off to say what they said about not reducing our offer after a survey. They said they'd feed back our info to the vendor so they can get the loss adjusters in. I wonder how much the vendors are keeping from the EA...

Anyway, we've actually stated that if the problems are sorted out by the vendors then we'd still be willing to proceed with the sale, but I can't see them doing this. The process of replacing all that brickwork would mean digging down to the footings all the way around the house, and it's a concrete floor internally so I'm not sure what would happen to that. The cost of doing it at a guess would be getting on for 30K, and the vendors have said they've already put down a deposit for a new build, but then again I'm not sure I believe anything they say...

Arklight

kilby_007 wrote: »

The EA said they didn't know anything about the issues but they must have known something was off to say what they said about not reducing our offer after a survey. They said they'd feed back our info to the vendor so they can get the loss adjusters in. I wonder how much the vendors are keeping from the EA...

Anyway, we've actually stated that if the problems are sorted out by the vendors then we'd still be willing to proceed with the sale, but I can't see them doing this. The process of replacing all that brickwork would mean digging down to the footings all the way around the house, and it's a concrete floor internally so I'm not sure what would happen to that. The cost of doing it at a guess would be getting on for 30K, and the vendors have said they've already put down a deposit for a new build, but then again I'm not sure I believe anything they say...

We had a similar thing with a house we walked ended up walking on. Dishonest vendors, their lying EA, and when our surveyor went round they did their utmost to make sure he could access as little of the house as possible. Right down to identifying a different garage in the compound than the one with the leaking roof the house had, and then saying they had lost the key.

I would run a mile unless the price really is cheap.

Re. insurance. Insurers will have differing policies towards subsidence at different times depending on their spread of risk, customer profiles, and policies. You can check one year and almost everyone is covering previous movement, then a year later you go to renew and almost no one is. Its just a lottery.

Places like Adrian Flux (a broker) and Bureau Insure are two companies that generally always offer insurance for subsidence but who can say what the cost would be.