Buying a house - next door's had a fire

lynnoakwood

I wonder if anyone can advise please?

I've had an offer accepted on a house I've set my heart on, and today the estate agent rang to say next door have had a fire!!

Of course I rushed round there, and although next door is boarded up, "my" house seems completely untouched apart from some melted guttering upstairs. The homes are all ex local authority, built in 1979, and I'm told that while the fire assessor was there he also checked out the loft of "mine" and declared it damage free. I also made a point of sniffing round and there's no smell of smoke

Apparently the assessor told my vendors that the turnaround time for the repairs to be completed next door is six weeks, but my question is this ... am I still likely to be safe to go ahead with the purchase?

davidmcn

Depends what caused the fire, surely! But if yours hasn't suffered damage I don't see why not.

lynnoakwood

My vendors don't know what caused it - next door isn't liveable in at the moment and the neighbours have been moved elsewhere so can't be asked

Probably the assessor who came might know, but would he speak to me do you think - or tell me it was all confidential?

Wassa123

There'll be a lot of refurbishing going on next door then in the next year or so, may put me off.

lynnoakwood

Yes, that's an interesting point Wassa ... although the local authority housing people (who still own this particular place) have said they reckon to turn it round in six weeks

Presumably they have targets and want to get it back being rented, but whether this is realistic or not I can't know

As I said I don't want to lose the place and can easily hang on for those 6 weeks to see if they do anything, but obviously can't wait for ever

It seems good, though, that nobody seems to think the actual fire should put me off ...?

Cakeguts

Is the one next door still owned by the local authority or is it privately owned? If it is still local authority you might want to consider if the neighbours want to be rehoused? There was a local authority house near where I used to live that got flooded a lot. It was at the top of a hill but the people who lived there had been unpleasant to their neighbours and the neighbours made it clear that they didn't like these particular people.

davidmcn

lynnoakwood wrote: »

It seems good, though, that nobody seems to think the actual fire should put me off ...?

If it left next door as a long-term ruin then that would affect mortgageability, but if it's obviously a short-term renovation job then that's not a consideration.

Have you already had it surveyed? If not then surveyor can confirm all is fine.

But I'd be curious to know the reason, in case there's a risk of it happening again (e.g. alcoholic neighbour who likes smoking and chip pans, etc)

moneyistooshorttomention

davidmcn wrote: »

But I'd be curious to know the reason, in case there's a risk of it happening again (e.g. alcoholic neighbour who likes smoking and chip pans, etc)

That was my very first thought - ie why did the fire start? Are the neighbours careless or is it "just one of those things"?

In your position - I'd probably get in an electrician specifically to check out the wiring (as chances are it will be in the same condition in both houses) - ie in case that was the reason for the fire.

I'd be asking round as to what the neighbours were like generally - and see what the general consensus of opinion was thereabouts as to whether they were generally responsible type people or they were the sort that would be careless and if I could find out the specific cause of that particular fire. Someone will know - and gossip about it. Try the corner shop or local pub (if there is one).

Norman_Castle

Its a long shot but a call to the local fire brigade might give you information to the cause of the fire.

moneyistooshorttomention

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Its a long shot but a call to the local fire brigade might give you information to the cause of the fire.

I translated that one into "If this were back in my Home City I'd call my acquaintance that was active in the Fire Brigades Union and have him find out for me informally"

- so...the official in charge might not tell you (ie being jobsworth) - but "if you know someone who knows someone" then it might be a possibility to find out informally....

glasgowdan

I'd be more worried about the turnover of tenants next door and the risk of them putting the family from hell in there. I simply wouldn't buy this house unless I knew there were decent stable neighbours.