NHBC or Architects certificate - are these the same?

hermit3

hi

how easy to it to get an mortgage on a property which does not have architect certifcate

MAEM

We self-built our house 2 years ago and want to remortgage to a fixed rate we have tried first direct and hsbc and neither will give us a mortgage without a structural guarantee - we have an architects completion certificate which we were told at the time was what we needed to get a mortgage. Can anyone please help and let us know whick lenders will accept an architects certificate??

Gwhiz

NHBC cover is not exactly worth much IMO.

KaesarSosei

Hi,

We are trying to buy a 6 year old house that does not have an NHBC Warranty. There is an architect's certificate running until the middle of 2011 which mentions Indemnity Insurance to the value of £1,000,000.

We are trying to get a mortgage with HSBC who appear to require a NHBC certificate for properties under 10 years old. So far everything has been approved, survey done, mortgage offer signed and returned etc and all is proceeding to plan. There has been no mention of NHBC although our solicitor has just raised this issue with them in writing.

Does anyone know if this situation is likely to result in HSBC withdrawing the mortgage? Or is the architects cert + insurance enough for them?

Thanks

lucyhey

KaesarSosei,
Reading your post, I almost thought my boyfriend had posted it - until I noticed the date! - as this is exactly the position we are in today - our purchase of a 6yr old house has progressed to the point where everything is ready to go (we have all the searches/surveys back and the HSBC mortgage offer signed and returned and apart from a brief question of whether the house had NHBC when we spoke to them on the phone, they have never stressed that it was essential)
Unfortunately, we were made to think by the current house owners that it did have NHBC and only today has our solicitor told us that they only have the architects cert (which no-one can find a copy of, but thats a different story....!!). I would be really interested to know how it all panned out for you - or anyone else - have you managed to get HSBC to agree to proceed at this point with only an architects cert/insurance? We were due to move in 2 weeks and we're gutted at the thought of having to start all over again and find a new mortgage lender.
Thanks!

pmmint

We have brought a house (not yet finished) which had an architects certificate signed up to roof level. The building now has serious structural defects which appeared in the last month (didn't show until 9 months after property was brought), there is nothing to show that there were any problems with the foundations and structure with all the reports and searches completed before the purchase. We have in place site insurance and structural warranty.

Is anyone aware of how this insurance works. The insurance company are trying to prove that because the defects were there before the insurance was taken out (there was no sign of the problems when the insurance was taken) that they are not responsible and will therefore not pay for any repair.

Do we need to go after the architect who supplied the certificate as I was led to beleive that if they had done their job properly they would have picked up the problems with the foundations and we wouldn't be in this position of a house being held up by scaffolding.

We need something doing as quickly as possible as obviously we are homeless until this defects are rectified.

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks

Simon_CSK

The house may have required a Structural Engineer to design the foundations and the structure if this is the case then the Structural Engineer is the person you want to pursue unless the Architect designed the foundations.

You then need to check if there was a site investigation survey carried out and if this covered the bearing capacity of the ground.

The Architect is responsible to the original client (as stated previously in this thread) however he still has a duty of care to you. He will have checked the foundations during construction and he is confirming they are in accordance with the approvals for Building Control. If the design fails to meet the approvals and the Architect confirms that they are satisfactory then he is negligent. If no site investigation was carried out then there could be a case of negligence depending on what the terms of employment were.

I am an Architect working in the domestic and housing sector. The Architect has professional indemnity insurance and it will be this that you are going after in the case of negligence.

Always take independent advice my advice here is very limited and as such offer no guarantee on the circumstqances of the specifc site or building

denstone

architects certificate - v - NHBC

An architect's certificate is only a warranty in the sense that the issuing professional undertakes (by means of a signed CML certificate) that the subject property is built in accordance with the approved plans, complies with building regulations and is to a good standard. This is a financial assurance to the lender and is not a guarantee for the builders workmanship. This assurance or undertaking is primarily for the use of banks and building societies as a security for a loan. The lender is provided with an assurance of the standard of construction, which is backed by the issuing architect's professional indemnity insurance. THIS IS NOT A LATENT DEFECTS POLICY. The NHBC provide an insurance backed guarantee and should, in theory, intervene to provide a remedy to a problem, although some defects are excluded in their 'small print'. In all cases the builder is liable for the first two years following practical completion, however the architects insurance is effective immediately he becomes involved.

The larger guarantee providers, such as the NHBC, are not always the best choice for the smaller house builder, developer or self-builder since:
1. They will not step in if you have already commenced on site.
2. Their loyalty is primarily to their scheme member i.e. the contractor
3. They will require a bond payment from unregistered builders
4. All fees have to be paid up front whether the guarantee is issued or not
5. Often their inspectors are not chartered professionals

The whole point of any inspected scheme is to ensure that the dwelling is built to such a standard that problems are eliminated. In this respect a chartered architect or surveyor will provide a more diligent service than an employee of a large company because they are personally liable in cases of negligence.

Remember that a chartered professional has undertaken at least seven years of study, examination and supervision by senior architects before given licence to practice. Their repuation and their future in the industry depends totally upon the quality of their service ('duty of care').

It is much more important to have a property free from defects in the first place.

T.W.Bartlett MRICS MCIOB
Architectscertificate.co.uk

denstone

HSBC bank DO NOT accept architects certificate, however there are more than eighty lenders, banks and building societies that do. Check out our website for a list.

Architectscertificate.co.uk

peter_2000

Denstone I would be very grateful for your advice on my situation - I am currently proceeding with the sale of my selfbuild, it is covered by a PCC (Architect Cert) with a local surveyor. The build was completed 18 months ago. The guy buying my house seems very particular about certain issues. I don't foresee any issues, however, if he did want to raise an issue following the sale due structural or non-structural problems where would I stand personally? Am I correct in thinking that I could be liable for any repair costs up to the 2 year limit but not beyond? Would the Architects insurance then cover any costs due to structural issues only?

Thankyou for any advice