Purchasing a newly refurbished property

Addrianne

We are in the process of buying a property which has been partially refurbished. The guarantees for the work are held in the name of the private builder who the vendor used for the refurbishment. The guarantees state that should there be a problem our first point of contact would be the builder. We understand guarantees such as these  are not worth the paper they are written on. 

How do we protect ourselves if something goes wrong with perhaps the new flat roof, central heating or glazing for example and the builder  is no longer trading?

Can the Vendor provide us with an insurance policy??

Slithery

You pay for your own surveyor to inspect the property before purchasing it. Once it belongs to you it's your responsibility to fix things.

AdrianC

Addrianne said:

We are in the process of buying a property which has been partially refurbished.

Partially...?
How partially?

The guarantees for the work are held in the name of the private builder who the vendor used for the refurbishment. The guarantees state that should there be a problem our first point of contact would be the builder. We understand guarantees such as these  are not worth the paper they are written on.

That's a matter of perception. The vendor clearly thought it was a perfectly reasonable arrangement.

How do we protect ourselves if something goes wrong with perhaps the new flat roof, central heating or glazing for example and the builder  is no longer trading?

In exactly the same way as the vendor would, assuming the warranty from the builder is transferable.

Is there even any kind of documented warranty from the builder, if the work hasn't yet been completed? Would the warranty be reliant on the same builder finishing any outstanding works?

Those sub-contractor warranties may say "first point of contact", but do they allow for direct contact in the event the builder is no longer extant?
Do you have any particular worries about the builder?
Is it a sole trader, small one-man limited, large company?
Is this builder's warranty "My word is my bond, mate, I'll see you right", or is it underwritten by some external provider?

Can the Vendor provide us with an insurance policy??

You can ask them to.
They may very well say no. Would that be a walk-away for you?

eddddy

Addrianne said:

We are in the process of buying a property which has been partially refurbished. The guarantees for the work are held in the name of the private builder who the vendor used for the refurbishment. The guarantees state that should there be a problem our first point of contact would be the builder. We understand guarantees such as these  are not worth the paper they are written on. 

How do we protect ourselves if something goes wrong with perhaps the new flat roof, central heating or glazing for example and the builder  is no longer trading?

Can the Vendor provide us with an insurance policy??

Essentially, your assessment sounds like it could be pretty much correct.  As with all house purchases from private sellers, you are buying the house "as is".

You can try to protect yourself by doing things like getting a survey, looking at any docs like the schedule of work, checking the reputation of the roofers, builders etc who did the work.

There won't be any commercial insurance policy available to the vendor or you, which insures against poor workmanship.

As you can imagine, some refurbs are done to a very high standard. But some 'cowboys' might hide problems by putting new felt roofs over rotten timbers, plastering over damp, plastering over cracks, etc. If problems have been hidden well, it may be difficult for a surveyor to spot them.