No documents for new roof or damp proof course

HomeownerDreamer

So I have just found out that the house I'm buying had a previous sale fall through due to an issue with the roof. When I viewed the seller explained it had a new roof and there was now no problem with it but didn't tell me about the sale falling through. There was damage to some parts of the house that needed replastering and the seller confirmed she was doing this and has since confirmed it has been done. The issue is that my solicitor has told me that the seller doesn't have any paperwork for any of the work that was done, which is unusual as it was done so recently. Is this something to worry about? I have no plans to pull out over this but I'm buying with a mortgage and wonder if it will be a problem for the lender. Also the boiler is 4 years old and the solicitor has commented that it also has no paperwork and doesn't show on the local search. They've asked the seller's solicitor to provide indemnity insurance for the boiler but haven't said this for the roof or damp proofing. How worried should I be? Is there a way around there being no paperwork. I really don't want a long delay either as we're not far away from completion.

es5595

What sort of paperwork would you like? Any warranty would most likely not be transferable. The most important thing is that it’s watertight. I’d suggest a visit with the intention of going into the loft next time it’s raining. 

HomeownerDreamer

The solicitor said there should be a buildings regulation completion certificate, damp proof survey and guarantee. It means very little to me to be honest as I'm a first time buyer and don't have much understanding of what this all is. I'm viewing it again at the weekend so will have an opportunity to check it out properly.

davidmcn

A new roof or damp proofing isn't going to come with "paperwork" unless there happens to be a guarantee, which there isn't always (and guarantees aren't always much use anyway). The important thing is whether the work has been done properly, which is for your surveyor to tell you about.

Jeepers_Creepers

I think it's perfectly reasonable to ask why there isn't any paperwork - it'll at least test the frankness and honesty of the vendor. My gut tells me it was either DIYed (not necessarily a bad thing - with the necessary provisos) or was carried out 'cash-in-hand' by a proper roofer/installer, but obviously with no paper trail. 

Just about everyone who has had a 'new roof' carried out by a professional roofing company would expect it to come with a guarantee of some sort, sometimes a watertight insurance-backed g'tee (like the 20-year warranty for our recent GRP roof) or at least a company warranty which will be as good as the company itself (and that usually depends on the company's reputation & longevity). I would not expect a 'new roof' to have zero paperwork unless it's one of the two scenarios outlined at the beginning. 

How concerned should you be? As said by others, it simply comes down to how well the work has been done, and that should become clear when you have your survey carried out. When you view the property, is it obvious it's had a new roof? It should be.

Bottom line - if this were a normal house with a normal roof, would you be looking for paperwork? No. Instead you'd be looking at what your survey reported about the roof's condition, and that's all the mortgage company would look at too - the condition report and resulting valuation. It's a shame the 'new roof' doesn't have paperwork, but it really doesn't matter as long as your survey says it's in good condition.

Again, with the boiler it comes down to the quality of installation and its condition (which should be very good after only 4 years). A recent service (which is normally insisted on with a house purchase anyway) should put both issues to rest. But, yes, it does all set the suspicion antennae twitching - is the vendor a DIYer taking on jobs that is usually left to professionals, or is he a cheapskate who is paying 'professionals' cash-in-hand for non-warranted work (in the case of the boiler, I suspect this goes against regs...). A competent DIYer can do both these jobs successfully, but he/she'd have to be amongst the higher levels of DIY ability.  

You'll have lost out on any extended warranty for the boiler - often up to 10 years for certain parts. I don't know if boiler installs can be retro-certified? 

Would these issues put me off a purchase? Not in themselves. But I would insist my conveyancing sol. gets answers to 'why no paperwork?'. I don't see it affecting a mortgage offer, but be guided by your sol. as to what is best done about it.

FreeBear

davidmcn said: A new roof or damp proofing isn't going to come with "paperwork" unless there happens to be a guarantee, which there isn't always (and guarantees aren't always much use anyway). The important thing is whether the work has been done properly, which is for your surveyor to tell you about.

If the roof involved replacing more than 25%, then building regulations kick in and the work should be signed off - This could be done by the contractor if he is registered to self certify, or by local building control.

Any replacement DPC (assuming chemical injection) is not regulated, and any guarantee, even if backed by insurance, is worthless. If there has been chemical injection (obvious from a series of holes in the wall just above ground level), I'd be wanting to know what else has been done with the view to undoing it.

Competsoph

Hi @HomeownerDreamer

I am in a very similar position to yourself.
The house i'm currently buying had a new roof done in 2017. It is obvious on viewing the roof is new. I have requested completion paperwork and the information regarding a guarantee however have been told the vendor does not have any of this. The only thing they provided me with has been a certificate that the work complied to building regulations. I seem to have drawn a blank on whether there is a guarantee or whether this can be transferred to me (from advice on here, the answer would probably be no anyway). As such I am waiting to hear what my surveyor thinks of the roof and I have just accepted this is the case. 

HomeownerDreamer

Thanks for all the replies so far. I think my worry is that it looks like the work hasn't been signed off and fixing this would probably cause a significant delay. Is there a way around it such as indemnity insurance?

davidmcn

HomeownerDreamer said:

Is there a way around it such as indemnity insurance?

Yes, that's one way of sorting the lack of any local authority consents, assuming none of the work is very recent.

HomeownerDreamer

It is very recent. The roof was only done a few months ago.

davidmcn

HomeownerDreamer said:

It is very recent. The roof was only done a few months ago.

Ah well. They might need to sort out the building regulations for it then, if the work was of an extent which required BR involvement.