Please help: Mis-sold house, who’s at fault?

Doozergirl

Rob-123 wrote: »

Doozergirl- that is how I took that statement. I’m not building and law savvy, I didn’t know all about planning permission/building certificates and what they all are exactly, that if something isn’t signed off you can’t call it a bedroom.

That isn’t true either. The lack of sign off itself does not mean that it isn’t a bedroom.

To be a bedroom, it needs to be for for purpose. Structurally sound. Your surveyor didn’t actually state any particular concerns with it’s suitability, only that view of documents was needed. That’s at least one positive.

Any house older than about 30 years old would have no certificate for the entire house. It doesn’t mean it isn’t a house. Many houses themselves were built with loft rooms with no insualation and with joists between all floors that wouldn’t be acceptable now.

Even if what you have doesn’t comply, it may well be better woth some things that did and aren’t questioned.

Surrey_EA

Rob-123 wrote: »

I guess my question now is, where do I go from here?

I would start by making an appointment to meet with a senior partner or head of department at the firm of solicitors who acted for you in your purchase, and explain that you believe that the loft conversion in your property does not have the required building control sign off, and that you were not adequately advised of this by the solicitor who acted for you, nor what the implications were.

It is common for a solicitor to prepare a 'report on title' which is sent to the purchaser prior to exchanging, highlighting all of the important points related to the property being purchased. Do you still have this document?

Rob-123

That is a positive doozergirl

Surrey_EA - the solicitors I used are in Wales and I am in Kent, everything was done by mail and post and the only reason I used them was because they were recommended..!

Yes the report on title is where that statement about the sellers olicitors not supplying the document is written. It seems that I don’t have and I don’t think I ever recieved actual searches, I thought that was the report on title

Would you say a formal complaint to the head of the solicitors by post would be my next step?

Surrey_EA

Write to them with as much detail as possible, telling them you feel you were not correctly or adequately advised, and give them the opportunity to respond.

How they respond will determine what you do next.

Who recommended the firm to you?

ReadingTim

Surrey_EA wrote: »

Because the solicitor has messed up. The solicitor will also have acted on behalf of the mortgage lender, and therefore has not only failed in their duties to fully advise the OP correctly, it would seem to me they have not also completed their responsibilities on behalf of the lender, as laid down by the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Then the OP can put in a complaint and see where it goes. It might even be upheld and the individual solicitor and/or their firm gets a slap on the wrist and maybe a fine. But will the fine go to the OP? No. The OP might get an apology, but talk is cheap. Words won't hold the loft up, while a goodwill payment may only scratch the surface of the total cost of remediation. Whether this makes the OP feel any better remains to be seen - I suspect not.

Furthermore, given the cost, hassle and stress of the work, it's probably best for the OP to concentrate their resources on fixing the problem, not allocating blame for its existence - picking one's battles essentially.

And with the basic principle of "caveat emptor" now firmly enshrined in their understanding, it may also worth the OP considering when the fool's errand of making a complaint turns into throwing good money after bad by engaging a 2nd solicitor to take the first solicitor to court...

AdrianC

Doozergirl wrote: »

a) The solicitor acts for the mortgage lender and has therefore been negligent.

So you think the lender also managed to totally overlook the lack of BC signoff?

They would not have to meet the current regulations, it could be regularised or the council may simply say that they aren’t interested and will not enforce.

I'd agree the latter is most likely - but it doesn't help the OP's actual problem one bit, which is that this part of the house is colder than he'd like. The paperwork hand-wringing is a side issue completely.

Doozergirl

AdrianC wrote: »

So you think the lender also managed to totally overlook the lack of BC signoff?



I'd agree the latter is most likely - but it doesn't help the OP's actual problem one bit, which is that this part of the house is colder than he'd like. The paperwork hand-wringing is a side issue completely.

a). No. The solicitor is employed by the lender to do that in exactly the same way that they are employed by the OP! That is what we are saying. This is basic.
The sol has told the OP that there is paperwork in existence somewhere, because it shows on the searches. They will have told the lender the same, otherwise this problem would not exist.

b) Don’t bring it up then with all your links, especially as you don’t really know what you’re talking about. I don’t actually enjoy correcting people on this board, it would better if regulars, in particular, could get behind facts.

Rob-123

Thanks for the new comments

They were recommended by a family friend, and having no idea who to pick we checked prices and they were about 15% less than local solicitors, we figured with most things done by email and post now not being able to get to the solicitors shouldn’t be a problem.

I haven’t actually employed another solicitor yet, I get free legal advice from a local solicitor through my work union which is very handy and it’s the first time I’ve used it so all the advice have got is through them

To be honest I thought the solicitor was supposed to find these things out for our lender, we actually had to make sure that the solicitors we used were on our lenders approved list

Rob-123

The surveyor from the council is coming out Tuesday afternoon. The more people I speak to are saying it will probably have to be brought up to 2017 standards despite when it was constructed, I definately want to make sure everything is safe. However I am very worried about how much this is going to cost.

ReadingTim

Be real about the safety aspect. It hasn't gone up in smoke, or fallen down in a cloud of dust in the last 12 years, so it's unlikely to do so in the next 12. Or longer. A loft room may always be cooler than other rooms, as there's nothing above it. The previous owners survived living there. You will too. The council have no comeback due to the age of the work.

Once you know what needs doing, you can get some quotes and see how much of it you fancy paying for. All, some, or none. And while it might be a problem when you come to sell, you could always respond in the same way as your seller responded, and hope the buyer's solicitor was like yours....