No partition walls in loft- problem??

Lady-Phillip

Hi all!


We've got buyers lined up for our house, but at the valuation, they down valued by £2k due to there not being a partition between us and the neighbours in the loft space (it's a 100 year old terraced house).


The buyers are now under the impression that their mortgage offer will be subject to them adding said partition, however the loft hatch and space is so small, I cannot see how anyone would be able to physically get up there to do this!!


Hubby was under the impression that the house was down valued, which we have willingly taken off our price, but that was the end of it- there was no mention from the EA that this work would be a requirement.


Has anyone else come across this, or know if this is indeed now a requirement in houses? It was explained to EA that it is seen as a) a problem because you could get from one persons home into another through the loft, should you wish to commando crawl through the beams, and b) a fire hazard.


This was never picked up on when we bought the house, FYI.


Thanks all!!

PasturesNew

It is true that the lack of a wall might be a limiter to some mortgages.

It is true that a lot of people will be creeped out by having a loft/hatch either they can't get into, or that small creepy burglars could get out of.

Best "bite the bullet" approach is to get it priced up for a larger loft hole and the walls done to a fire-proofed standard, in case you do need to act fast and get it done. If you don't need to, but it was mentioned, then you can always hand over those costings post-exchange.

I had a builder in my house years ago that told me that he'd worked for a client doing jobs around her house and she'd called him in about "funny noises in the loft". He'd tried to get the loft hatch open and couldn't, so he'd cut his way through ..... to find a family living up there.

stator

PasturesNew wrote: »

I had a builder in my house years ago that told me that he'd worked for a client doing jobs around her house and she'd called him in about "funny noises in the loft". He'd tried to get the loft hatch open and couldn't, so he'd cut his way through ..... to find a family living up there.

My first thought was that was unbelievable. But thinking about all the dodgey landlords this country is infested with I don't think it's quite so unbelievable.

Lady-Phillip

PasturesNew


Good lord, now I'm going to be listening out for evey little bump and scratch I hear!!!


Thank you for the advice though- I think hubby has spoken to EA (the buyers are using their in house MA), and they are very confident the buyer misunderstood, and it was just noted, not a requirement. But, if things go wrong, I know what I need to do!


Much appreciated.

davidmcn

I've seen it as a recommendation in surveys (the issue is more fire protection than burglary, and it's hardly a recent thing), but yet to see a lender insist on the work being done. And are you sure the surveyor has actually ascribed a £2k figure to it? Difficult to say that one house is worth £2k more or less because of this issue.

silvercar

Ask your neighbours to split the cost.

Maybe they have a more accessible loft?

stator

Lady-Phillip wrote: »

PasturesNew


Good lord, now I'm going to be listening out for evey little bump and scratch I hear!!!


Thank you for the advice though- I think hubby has spoken to EA (the buyers are using their in house MA), and they are very confident the buyer misunderstood, and it was just noted, not a requirement. But, if things go wrong, I know what I need to do!


Much appreciated.

Ask them to get it in writing from the lender.
It may be that the buyers understood perfectly but they were just being told nonsense by the people they spoke to on the phone. I had this several times when I was trying to buy a house. I'd phone up and they'd tell me one thing but when the letter arrived it said something different.

Lady-Phillip

davidmcn wrote: »

I've seen it as a recommendation in surveys (the issue is more fire protection than burglary, and it's hardly a recent thing), but yet to see a lender insist on the work being done. And are you sure the surveyor has actually ascribed a £2k figure to it? Difficult to say that one house is worth £2k more or less because of this issue.

What we were told was that they took the valuation down by £2k, because of the lack of partition in the loft- not sure how they came to the £2k figure, but hey ho! We've since spoken to the EA/MA and it does seem almost certain that they aren't applying a condition- they just wouldn't lend the full amount needed for them to pay £136 for the property. Fair enough- we're happy to drop the price by that £2k just to get it done and dusted really- its already going for more than we ever expected!

Lady-Phillip

silvercar wrote: »

Ask your neighbours to split the cost.

Maybe they have a more accessible loft?

We have a young couple one side, who only recently moved in so I don't imagine they'll be up for these costs just yet, and the other side is rented, and trying to get any contact with the landlord (which we've been trying recently for separate reasons) is like getting blood out of a stone.

Lady-Phillip

stator wrote: »

Ask them to get it in writing from the lender.
It may be that the buyers understood perfectly but they were just being told nonsense by the people they spoke to on the phone. I had this several times when I was trying to buy a house. I'd phone up and they'd tell me one thing but when the letter arrived it said something different.

Good plan- I believe their mortgage offer is being posted out today, and luckily we took the buyers contact number, so I will contact them in the next couple of days to double check that all is well.