Negligent surveyor - do we have a claim?

kmj90

Hi all

I bought a property with my (now ex) boyfriend in 2017. It had an extension (with kitchen in it) and was signed off by the mortgage valuation surveyor with no issues flagged to us. We had a HomeBuyer Report carried out and subsequently found out that the extension did not meet building regulations or have planning permission (although it would have come under permitted development anyway re pp). We weren't overly concerned, as we planned to save up and re-do the entire extension, so as long as our mortgage provider was happy (which they were), we were happy. Our solicitor even flagged the building regs issue and asked our mortgage lender to confirm they were still happy to secure the loan against the property - they were, so the sale went ahead.

Two years later, we are trying to sell the property and our buyers have had two mortgages declined based on the extension not meeting building regs. One of those lenders is our own mortgage lender - I thought in theory they should be willing to lend against the property that they are already lending against, as either way they will have a loan secured against it.

So we are now in a position where we are forced to either pay to rectify the works ourselves and bring it to building regs (c.£15k), or accept offers from cash buyers which are inevitably much less than the mortgage offer we received (the closest cash offer we have got is £60k below the mortgage offer and wouldn't even cover the amount remaining on our mortgage + estate agent fees etc).

To me, this clearly looks like negligence on the part of the surveyor who carried out our initial mortgage valuation survey - we should never have been allowed to buy the property! I am currently pulling together as much evidence as I can to submit a complaint to the surveyor/firm who carried out the survey, but was hoping this forum of knowledge and experts might have some advice on how likely it is that our complaint will be upheld/what sort of compensation we might be looking at.

Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.

SmashedAvacado

Lenders can change their requirements.
You were aware of the risks at the time you purchased.
At the time of purchase the property was acceptable to lenders.
The surveyors pointed out the issue and you confirmed you were happy with proceeding on that basis. How does that make it the surveyor's fault?

davidmcn

What was negligent about the survey? It presumably mentioned the alteration and would have recommended that you check whether any necessary consents were granted. They don't normally warrant that everything complied with the relevant regulations (which would be pretty impossible anyway).

In any event, how old is the extension and what's wrong with it? You might have a case if we're talking about a significant defect which ought to have been apparent to your surveyor.


ETA - I'm talking about your surveyor i.e. the one who did the homebuyer report. You seem to be talking about suing the lender's valuer, which makes even less sense - they don't owe you a duty of care.

Thrugelmir

What's the nature of the £15k of works?

What happened to your plans?

We weren't overly concerned, as we planned to save up and re-do the entire extension

phill99

Your understanding of what a mortgage valuation is for is seriously misguided.


Your valuation surveyor effectively checks that the property actually exists and is adequate security for the loan. He is not employed to investigate legal title, PP or BR. That is the role of your solicitor.


Your solicitor evidently flagged this up with the lender and the lender - according to what you say in your post - was happy to grant a mortgage on the property.


So it seems that in the intervening time lenders (including your own) have had a policy change.


So how on earth can this be the fault of the Surveyor?


In terms of going forward, you need to see whether a BC application was made at the time the extension was built. It may be on file with the LA, but never signed off. Bear in mind that the extension does not have to meet current regs, only the regs in force when it was constructed.

[Deleted User]

Surveyor: This property is worth the money and should be adequate security for the loan based on the criteria you gave me
Lender: Thats great, thanks for doing that survey on behalf of us that the buyer has no legal interest in

Conveyancer: Hey, Mr Lender do you know that this extension doesnt have building regs?
Lender: Yeah that's fine, it meets our criteria that is in place today but can change at any point without notice


2 years later:

Lender: yeah we changed our criteria so wont lend on the property again, happy to honour our initial loan though cause it wouldn't be fair to call in your loan, the change only applies to new borrowers
You: Well thats not fair, I shall make a claim against the surveyor for negligence

Lender, Surveyor, and Conveyancer: Huh?................

lincroft1710

There was no negligence on the part of the surveyor, you have no claim.

Our great nation has not quite plumbed the depths of the nanny state where we refuse to let home buyers buy a property because of the lack of official paperwork

need_an_answer

kmj90 wrote: »

Hi all

We weren't overly concerned, as we planned to save up and re-do the entire extension, so as long as our mortgage provider was happy (which they were), we were happy.


To me, this clearly looks like negligence on the part of the surveyor who carried out our initial mortgage valuation survey - we should never have been allowed to buy the property! I am currently pulling together as much evidence as I can to submit a complaint to the surveyor/firm who carried out the survey, but was hoping this forum of knowledge and experts might have some advice on how likely it is that our complaint will be upheld/what sort of compensation we might be looking at.

you were all happy with the situation back when the house was purchased
It was your decision to purchase the property and I suspect if the surveyor had been so forceful as to not allowed you to buy the property you would have potentially either ignored them or complained about the tactic they were using.

A surveyor is there to present the facts to you to allow you to make an adult decision,they are not there to forcefully stop you purchasing.

Situations clearly change and its now not the time to be blaming a surveyor for the situation you find yourself in both in terms of needing to sell your property because of your relationship breakdown or the financial hit you could have to take simply because you didn't fulfil your original plan to remodel the extension in your own time.

FTBAngst

I almost bought a house that had significant structural movement. The bank’s valuation came back at asking price and so bank was happy to lend the amount required to purchase. The surveyor I paid said he considered the property to be 50k+ overpriced. If mortgages were dependent on the house being up-to-date on building reg’s, nearly everyone would either have to buy a new build or use cash.

You might have a case if we're talking about a significant defect which ought to have been apparent to your surveyor.

It sounds like it was their surveyor who flagged that it was not up to building regs.

Our great nation has not quite plumbed the depths of the nanny state where we refuse to let home buyers buy a property because of the lack of official paperwork

Nanny state combined with blame claim culture :wall:

davidmcn

FTBAngst wrote: »

It sounds like it was their surveyor who flagged that it was not up to building regs.

Yes, I've just noticed that they're talking about suing the mortgage valuer. I'm now even more confused about what their argument is.

Doozergirl

What happened to the magic indemnity policy in this case? Has someone been in contact with the council directly?

Are your buyers aware of what an indemnity policy is?

The usual system is what you were party to. Surveyor highlights that an extension should have BCA. Solicitor checks. If there is no certificate then the buyer has choices, one of which is to make a decision that they don't mind about the lack of regs and one of the solicitors purchases an indemnity policy to cover potential (but near zero) risk of enforcement and satisfy the lender.

Either your buyers aren't divulging something, or you aren't, as to why an indemnity policy isn't acceptable.

Your homebuyer's surveyor is liable to you but has acted appropriately. The lender's valuation is for the lender only and they are not liable to you at all. The house met the lending criteria at the time.

I still think this a potential storm in a teacup but don't know how, without more info.