Litigation against surveyor and conveyancer - how to find a decent solicitor?

bobilishious

GDB2222 said:

The PI insurers want to minimise their total spend. That is the spend on paying the claim plus legal fees for both parties. They have bags of experience doing this, and their usual approach is to wear the claimant down. The legal process for something like this takes a long time, and eventually the strain will get to you.

At some point, you will be under great pressure to settle for a fraction of your claim. Indeed, if you appoint a solicitor on a NWNF basis, they may effectively be able to make that decision on your behalf. 

You should be aware that, even if successful, you will be heavily out of pocket, I’m afraid.

I know i'm being naive but is there nothing in the world i can do quickly?
My wife is disabled and is likely to lose her driving license shortly and we are rural (which is the main reason for the move), my 6 year old has kidney failure and my father is terminally ill and i was moving to his village to help.
I just can't get my head around the fact that someone can so something wrong which so disastrously affects the lives of a number of people - and the solution for those affected is years of stress and financial loss.
Anyway, i'm pretty sure i know the answer but life had already thrown enough curve balls, i'd hoped there might have been a way around this one.

GDB2222

I assume the property is absolutely fine to live in, so can you rent it out? 

Alternatively, can you afford to sell to a cash buyer for say £350k, which crystallises your loss? You can then sue for that at your leisure, whilst moving the family to a more suitable location immediately. 

bobilishious

GDB2222 said:

I assume the property is absolutely fine to live in, so can you rent it out? 

Alternatively, can you afford to sell to a cash buyer for say £350k, which crystallises your loss? You can then sue for that at your leisure, whilst moving the family to a more suitable location immediately. 

Thanks for the reply.

It's structurally sound yes but my mortgage doesn't allow it to be let and i most likely can't remortgage as a buy to let as i'm in a fixed term contract for another couple of years (which wasn't an issue moving as i was just porting the mortgage to the new property).

The selling for £350k is tempting to persue however it assumes that i will win the case further down the line  - as my wife deteriorates i'm also likely going to have to give up my own job so nearly all the money i have in the world is tied up in my property - potentially throwing away over 150k when i may have to give up work in a few years and support my wife and 2 kids is a pretty scary prospect.

blue_max_3

davidmcn said:

blue_max_3 said:

A similar thread from a few years ago. Maybe helpful. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5538415/just-found-out-my-house-is-of-non-standard-construction-liability-of-seller-agent/p1

Not all that similar, as that was someone who never even saw a survey.

Only similar in that it was that non standard construction type. No idea if it's helpful or not.

[Deleted User]

Tracking back the process would have me asking what was input on the mortgage application for the construction type?   Scotland is no doubt going to be different process but if a mortgage advisor inputs brick and tile to the application, the lender passes this information to the surveyor, the surveyor may not even visit the property depending on ltv or if they do then they might not look too hard if the picture on the ground looks similar to the information they have been given.   When i last sold, the surveyor for the lender was in my house for just under 2 minutes so you can see how assumptions would be taken as gospel sometimes.  

So I would be finding out the following:

• what was input on the application.  If it was put as standard construction then why?  If put as non standard then where did they get that information
• who was the survey done for the benefit of?  As an example the majority of mortgage surveys in England are done purely for the lenders benefit so you have no comeback on this
• What paperwork would a solicitor have that would indicate the construction type? You should have a copy of most of the paperwork sent and received by your solicitor

Salemicus

Thrugelmir said:

bobilishious said:

GDB2222 said:

As far as your insurance is concerned, I suggest you read this:
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/insurance/misrep-and-non-disclosure

I assume the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 applies in Scotland? This removes the requirement of "Utmost Good Faith" and generally absolves you in the case of a mistake on your part as a consumer. So, no, your insurance is not voidable by the insurance company. Now you know, you should tell them, and it may alter your premium. It may not make much difference, assuming the construction does not alter the main sort of risks the insurers are covering, ie fire, flood, theft, subsidence.

Finally, are you saying the same surveyors have done the latest surveys as well as the original one? Is that not quite a coincidence?

Surveyor carried out a survey in 2016 and on the basis of that I purchased the property

im currently in the process of selling and my estate agent instructed the same surveyor to carry out a new Home Report/survey which threw up all these issues.

Was it an issue in 2016 for the lender? 

Dorran was listed under the Housing Defects Act, making it unmortgageable, all the way back in 1984.

davidmcn

Deleted_User said:

• who was the survey done for the benefit of?  As an example the majority of mortgage surveys in England are done purely for the lenders benefit so you have no comeback on this

The Home Report is commissioned by the seller and is for the benefit of the purchaser and their lender.

GDB2222

bobilishious said:

GDB2222 said:

I assume the property is absolutely fine to live in, so can you rent it out? 

Alternatively, can you afford to sell to a cash buyer for say £350k, which crystallises your loss? You can then sue for that at your leisure, whilst moving the family to a more suitable location immediately. 

Thanks for the reply.

It's structurally sound yes but my mortgage doesn't allow it to be let and i most likely can't remortgage as a buy to let as i'm in a fixed term contract for another couple of years (which wasn't an issue moving as i was just porting the mortgage to the new property).

The selling for £350k is tempting to persue however it assumes that i will win the case further down the line  - as my wife deteriorates i'm also likely going to have to give up my own job so nearly all the money i have in the world is tied up in my property - potentially throwing away over 150k when i may have to give up work in a few years and support my wife and 2 kids is a pretty scary prospect.

I don't suppose that your lenders would know if you let it out temporarily.   If they did find out, I doubt they would object if you explained that you were doing so to move closer to your father. I think I would just let it, and hope not to have the discussion, to be frank.

bobilishious

Deleted_User said:

Tracking back the process would have me asking what was input on the mortgage application for the construction type?   Scotland is no doubt going to be different process but if a mortgage advisor inputs brick and tile to the application, the lender passes this information to the surveyor, the surveyor may not even visit the property depending on ltv or if they do then they might not look too hard if the picture on the ground looks similar to the information they have been given.   When i last sold, the surveyor for the lender was in my house for just under 2 minutes so you can see how assumptions would be taken as gospel sometimes.  

So I would be finding out the following:

• what was input on the application.  If it was put as standard construction then why?  If put as non standard then where did they get that information
• who was the survey done for the benefit of?  As an example the majority of mortgage surveys in England are done purely for the lenders benefit so you have no comeback on this
• What paperwork would a solicitor have that would indicate the construction type? You should have a copy of most of the paperwork sent and received by your solicitor

I did the mortgage application myself and to be honest i have no memory of what i input or was asked at that time. I likely just used the information contained in the Home Report and the "paperwork" was mostly done over the phone if i recall however as i understand it the lender will lend of the basis of the surveyors report and surveyors transcript - is that not the case?

The survey is done for the benefit of the seller - the "Important Notice" at the beginning of the Survey reads as follows:
:
"This report has been prepared for the purposes of and use of <<name of seller here>>.
If you are a potential purchaser of this property you may then present your personlised copy of the report to your advisers or mortgage provider with a view to them requesting a transcription report from the appointed Chartered Surveyor. Only the appointed Chartered Surveyor can utilise the information contained herein for the purposes of providing a transcription report for the mortgage/loan purposes".

On the solicitors paperwork - i don't think they would have a great deal; title deeds, plans showing the upgrade and extension to the property in 1991 and associated completion certificate.

thearchitect

OP

I'm afraid that professional negligence claims are rarely, if ever, resolved quickly. 

You noted the house is Dorran, it was upgraded in the 90’s, but don’t have any certification to say it was done correctly.  Is the issue therefore perhaps whether sufficient disruptive and other inspections can be carried out by surveyors, architects, engineers, and others to demonstrate that it has been completed to an acceptable standard?   That is likely to be far cheaper than court action.