Indemnity Insurance

Joniemaximus

My wife and i are looking at buying a house, one of the things we like is the additional room created with a garage conversion. From what i can find out the work was carried out sometime between march and October 2018 (based on the Fensa certificate issued for the windows). Speaking to the Estate agent the vendor is happy to take out an indemnity policy, but as is the way with Estate agent they tend to give limited information about it.

Due to the recent time of the works i'm wondering whether what other things we should be looking at i get mixed messages about whether the vendor has started the process of getting building reg sign off or if its even needed.

Any help would be great.

davidmcn

Indemnity insurance is trickier to get for very recent works - they'd be better to get it signed off properly.

Joniemaximus

If they try and get it signed off could that be done in an achievable time frame before purchase/completion

davidmcn

Joniemaximus wrote: »

If they try and get it signed off could that be done in an achievable time frame before purchase/completion

That depends on the workloads of your local building control department, whether any additional works/inspections are required, and whether all of the dozens of other things which might hold up the transaction happen any faster.

G_M

Of course it needs BR certification. If it has not been obtained, why not? Was the conversion done by a cowboy outfit on the cheap? Is it safe? Is there suitable insulation etc?


Assuming the conversion is complete, getting retrospective BR sign off may be hard as the inspector can't see the foundations or behind the plasterwork. And if rectification work is required that oul be expecnsive antime-consuming.




Are you talking about just BR? Was Planning consent required/obtained (I don't know - it may be 'permitted development').


It beats me why owners do these 'improvements' on the cheap.

Joniemaximus

The conversion was completed last year, planning consent isn't required to my knowledge. would the Indemnity Insurance be worth while or should i push for BR sign off?

Joniemaximus

I should note that we currently rent so waiting is certainly an option for us, and the buyer to our knowledge hasn't found anywhere.We also plan on having a Building or full structural survey completed, would this highlight any issues?

SallyAnneBooth

Hi

I would push for the BR sign off as the work was done recently, ask the Sellers to get in touch with Building Control to see if they can arrange a date to come and inspect the conversion. Agreed this maybe difficult to do retrospectively but it is worth a shot.

The Structural Survey will give you a good idea if there are any issues with the quality/integrity of the conversion and house in general.

If BR is not possible then absolutely do get the Sellers to buy the indemnity policy.

Joniemaximus

When we've discussed making an offer with the Estate agent, they've confirmed the owner is willing to get the indemnity policy, and we might be able to get the worked signed of, is it a costly process (think its around £500 through my local council) or is it the timescale? If they start getting the BR would that hamper them getting an indemnity?

davidmcn

Joniemaximus wrote: »

If they start getting the BR would that hamper them getting an indemnity?

Yes, there's no point getting an indemnity if they (or you) are going to contact the council.

Bear in mind that the indemnity insurance covers simply the costs in the event of enforcement action with the council, it doesn't cover any other issues from e.g. shoddy workmanship. But your survey should highlight anything significant.

Joniemaximus

Thank you David, that's our currently plan, hopefully the survey would find any faults and the indemnity could cover any enforcement issues.i was just hoping my thinking was based on sound assumptions (if such a thing can be made)