Cavity Wall Insulation Guarantee and Building Indemnity Policy

Goingslowlymad

I have been trying to sell my house for several months but the buyers solicitors keep coming up with niggles. For instance the Cavity Wall Insulation which is guaranteed for 25 years. It has been in ten years already and was done for the previous owners. The buyers solicitor wants me to confirm that no elements of the guarantee have been breached. I can confirm that I have not altered it, but I don't know if it was put in properly or whether the previous owner has altered it in any way. There is a list of six points they require me to reply on. Is it normal to nitpick on this level? My next house has a guarantee and I'm not asking these sort of questions.

I have the same problem with the new Building Regulations and Planning Indemnity Policy which again is for work undertaken prior to my ownership. I have told them what I believe was altered but they want me to agree with a statement of ten facts otherwise the policy will be void. Is this normal? The work was internal and refers structurally to a partial garage conversion. All the windows and doors have been subsequently replaced by me and have the correct paperwork.

I am beginning to think that the buyers solicitors are mucking me about.

Linton

All this surely should be handled in writing through your solicitor. It seems usual for buyers solicitors to come up with questions for information about the house history and requests for guarantees etc to which the seller's solicitor replies with a standard form of words that effectively say FO at which point the buyers solicitor normally moves on to other things. If the buyers solicitor isnt satisfied, the issue can often be handled by indemnity insurance, this being cheaper than getting into a legal argument. Trying to be helpful with information on undocumented things that happened under a previous owner isnt a good idea - you may be wrong. Better to say that you dont know.

amased

I am in the process of buying a house where the vendor has inherited the property from an elderly deceased relative. The surveyor has reported that cavity wall insulation has been installed. Despite requesting documentation regarding the insulation none have been made available and both CIGA and the Local Authority have no record either. Bearing in mind the horrendous stories regarding this type of insulation and the extensive cost of repairing or replacing cavity wall insulation I am interested in the comments made by the previous contributor, Linton, who has suggested indemnity insurance. Who would be responsible for arranging and paying for the insurance, the vendor or purchaser?

AdrianC

amased wrote: »

Who would be responsible for arranging and paying for the insurance, the vendor or purchaser?

The simple answer is "whoever agrees to pay for it".

If you insist on having it, and the vendor doesn't want to pay for it, then you have a choice - walk away, or pay for it yourself.

Make very sure it'll cover what you think/hope it'll cover.