Last minute problems

Cakeguts

You have got to consider that the council might not give permission for a dropped kerb and so you might not ever be allowed to park where the current owner does.

Do you still want to buy this house if you have to park in the road? A council can prevent you from parking there if they want to. There have been cases where a council has put posts at the end of parking spaces in front of houses to prevent people from parking their cars there so don't think that you will automatically be able to use the off street parking anyway if the council doesn't give permission for a dropped kerb.

At the moment the house does not have off street parking. So the value could be a lot less than one that does have off street parking. If it is a lot less your mortgage company need to know the new much lower value. So you can't just go ahead anyway because this doesn't just affect you.

victoriavictorious

No help to you whatsoever now I'm afraid, but I find it quite bizarre that you did not notice the lack of a dropped kerb when you first viewed and before making an offer.
There has been a whole spate of posts recently from ftbs who just don't seem to have done any research at all on how the process works for what will be the most major purchase of their lives.

AnotherJoe

stripedbanana wrote: »

We had agreed a completion date. This now won't be met. It's not a deal breaker for us, we just want keys! We would deal with it later if need be. It's the solicitor who is reluctant because it's his job to make sure we have all the relevant paperwork in place so we don't run into problems when we later sell. I don't think getting the permission itself would be a problem, around half of the street has a dropped kerb. The delay is just very frustrating this late in the game.

It should be. Suppose it knocked £10k off the value of the house without it? With a mortgage involved i doubt the lender will let you go ahead, assuming you want to, without a reevaluation.

AdrianC

The lender's valuation - and, in Scotland, the home report valuation - will have taken account of the presence or absence of a dropped kerb.

davidmcn

AdrianC wrote: »

The lender's valuation - and, in Scotland, the home report valuation - will have taken account of the presence or absence of a dropped kerb.

I wouldn't be too sure about that. If they didn't highlight the absence of a dropped kerb, I suspect that means the surveyor may also have missed it and has valued on the assumption there is a valid right to park on the property.

AnotherJoe

AdrianC wrote: »

The lender's valuation - and, in Scotland, the home report valuation - will have taken account of the presence or absence of a dropped kerb.

There's enough examples in this forum of surveyors missing massive faults that them missing a dropped kerb, especially with a tarmacked garden, wouldn't surprise me in the least.

This is supported by the fact the solicitor has noted it as an issue, which it surely wouldn't have been if the surveyor had noted no such permission was likely by deducing it from lack of a dropped kerb or specifically mentioning it as a point to check.

stingey

You need to find out what stage you are at. If it's before the missives being concluded then you are not bound to buy the property. (We don't exchange and complete in Scotland).

You might be in the following situation:

1. Can't park in the driveway and/or in the street.
2. Go into negative equity ( if you don't have permissions then this will knock value off the property when you come to sell it.) You might think that this is a forever home, but you need to think about what will happen if you have to sell earlier.

The solicitor will have to inform your lender of this. The lender may not lend the full initial agreed amount or insist on permissions. The property belongs to the lender till you've paid the mortgage.

As it's a Home Report in Scotland, I'm assuming this was instructed by the seller. When you instruct a HR, there is a box the seller ticks to confirm they have all the necessary permissions, the surveyor won't go looking for these. This is the job of the solicitor (which is why you are now being made aware if it).

You need to weigh up the risk. The solicitor may suggest going into agreement/negotiations that the seller gets the necessary permissions before concluding the missives or the seller says no. You then have to decide whether it's worth the risk to buy and hope to get the permissions. On the other hand your lender may make the decision for you. Any solicitor worth their salt will be honest with you.

Good luck.

AdrianC

AnotherJoe wrote: »

This is supported by the fact the solicitor has noted it as an issue

Am I the only one wondering how/why the solicitor even knew?

AnotherJoe

The solicitor checked, as a routine, if there was permission for a dropped kerb ?

Andalya

Cakeguts wrote: »

At the moment the house does not have off street parking. So the value could be a lot less than one that does have off street parking. If it is a lot less your mortgage company need to know the new much lower value. So you can't just go ahead anyway because this doesn't just affect you.

Not to disagree with anything you've said, just to add that I'm a bit surprised that the lender's valuation didn't flag this - you would think a professional valuer would notice an undropped curb if a buyer is expected to!