Re-selling potential issue

Cakeguts

massilia13 wrote: »

Thank for all your replies

I have booked a building survey for 03rd June (I briefed them about the loft).
To be fair the bedroom does not look like a loft conversion but a bedroom.

If it does comply with building regulations or more likely if it needs reasonable work to do so (which will be use to negotiate the price) would that be enough to make this extension fit for a bedroom?
What about the lack of planning permission? would a lawful development certificate of existing use do the job?

Thanks again for all your inputs!

What existing use? You mean after the work for which you will not be applying for planning permission to do?

markin

diggingdude wrote: »

OP you need to think like this, if you are questioning it future buyers will question it. Not many people at the moment would buy a high rise ex council flat in a block like Grenfell. You only need a house fire story to become national news and many will rule out any house with a "dodgy" extension

The was a fire a month or 2 ago with 2 deaths, i should look it up to see if the loft room had building regs.


Not found it yet but this story is scary.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7069681/Boy-16-tells-terrifying-moment-woke-bed-FIRE.html

The family then tried to flee through the front door, but were forced to crawl back upstairs through the smoke to find the keys.

Ty's mother, 41, said: 'If Ty had not woken up, we would not be here.'

So no smoke alarm? And No key in the front door!
The power also went out, so if it was wired smoke alarms with dead battery, again Death.




It may be best to class it as a bedroom to the insurance though. 5 bed or 7 bed?

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-6460565/Family-lost-home-fire-finally-win-payout.html

massilia13

Do you know if, under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) or the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 (BPRs) or the estate agent act of 1979, estate agents are not allowed to market a property, let’s say as a 3 bedroom bungalow, if one of the bedroom was a loft conversion with no planning permission and no building regulations?

If so would you know under what section is it stipulated?

Thank you

Cakeguts

massilia13 wrote: »

Do you know if, under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) or the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 (BPRs) or the estate agent act of 1979, estate agents are not allowed to market a property, let’s say as a 3 bedroom bungalow, if one of the bedroom was a loft conversion with no planning permission and no building regulations?

If so would you know under what section is it stipulated?

Thank you

The estate agent can only go on what the vendor tells him. So if the vendor doesn't say anything about the loft conversion then the estate agent won't know anything about it.


The buyer has searches and surveys done to see if there is anything that they need to know about the property before they proceed to buy it.


In your case the surveys have shown that the what the vendor calls a 3rd bedroom is actually a loft room because it is not safe to sleep in because of the lack of fire prevention items. So your survey did its job.



What you have to decide is whether you want to pay the price it is advertised at or whether now that you realise it only has two bedrooms and a nice loft storage space a cheaper price. The vendor can choose to take your lower offer or not.



Finding things like this concerning the non 3rd bedroom is what surveys are for. Some surveys turn up things that would put most buyers off buying a property.



It sounds as if you need to start looking for a different property as this one does not seem to suit your requirements.

markin

Well RightMove simply put a Disclaimer, And im sure the EA has some kind of Disclaimer too, But It will still come down to the survey and the solicitor asking for the building certs. And people asking is this Safe? And is this really a bedroom?

They could call the living room and dining rooms bedrooms if they wanted, But no survey for the bank would call it a 5 bed, Or value it as a 5 bed.


And it may be illegal next year, I could start a YouGov Petition to ban lofts being called bedrooms if they don't have building certs today.


Disclaimer - Property reference ****. The information displayed about this property comprises a property advertisement. Rightmove.co.uk makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the advertisement or any linked or associated information, and Rightmove has no control over the content. This property advertisement does not constitute property particulars. The information is provided and maintained by ****

CONSUMER PROTECTION REGULATIONS:
The Agent has not tested any apparatus, equipment, fixtures and fittings or services so can not verify that they are connected, in working order or fit for the purpose.A buyer is advised to obtain verification from their solicitor or surveyor.




YOUR HOME IS AT RISK IF YOU DO
NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON A
MORTGAGE OR OTHER LOAN SECURED ON IT.

Gwendo40

[QUOTE A large number of EAs would not advertise this as a three bed now. And regulations on advertising are unlikely to become less stringent in the future.[/QUOTE]


The rules on descriptions don't seem 'stringent' at all to me, I see numerous houses advertised where they're marketed as having x number of bedrooms where it's perfectly obvious that some of those 'bedrooms' don't meet building regs.

A recent one was a ''3 bedroom bungalow''... where 2 of the ''bedrooms'' were just the loft space with less than 6 foot max headroom, accessed by little more than a vertical ladder, partitioned into 2 using a few sheets of plywood and completed with a couple of very dubiously fitted velux windows!

I complained to the agent and to Rightmove and yet nothing was done about the advert.

robatwork

markin wrote: »

It may be best to class it as a bedroom to the insurance though. 5 bed or 7 bed?

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-6460565/Family-lost-home-fire-finally-win-payout.html

Article not too helpful as it doesn't set any sort of precedent. Indeed the Ombudsman ruled against the homeowner.

However, when they complained to the Financial Ombudsman it ruled in the insurer's favour. Now, after our intervention the Weldins have settled with Ageas but a confidentiality agreement means they cannot give details.