Buyer beware rule means home buyers less protected than phone buyer

AMKin

Hi there,

Was wondering what anyone's experience has been dealing with property issues after completion. First time buyer, survey flagged nothing key, 3 year old extension had building regs certificate and permitted development. Found out after completion that extension had major structural issues when checking drains. Council building regs never checked the steel beams supporting the entire extension, only the concrete it is sitting in and things above. The steels are badly rusted/crumbling and were not protected so been advised by 2 structural engineering firms to demolish and rebuild and I'm only 5 months in owning the house. Council said building regs is not true compliance doc although lots of people think it is and is denying responsibility. So far looking at around £76k value loss based on what I paid per sqm, plus cost of demolishing and rebuilding. Building is basically sitting suspended above dirt and those steel beams sit on the corners supporting the entire structure above. Pest control discovered them just lifting dirt off the sides of the extension as you can see but apparently the council couldn't have seen them while inspecting, despite a floor insulation check above and a drain inspection below them and the drains sitting immediately under this particular steel beam. Builder went bust a while back, previous owners don't want to know and council is denying responsibility despite a very obvious oversight not checking what'scarrying the entire structure. I bought this house because this extension had a building regs certificate thinking council did its job. My solicitor said that because of buyer beware, home buyers have less protection than someone buying a phone or kettle.


Cheers,
AMKin

davidmcn

AMKin said:

My solicitor said that because of buyer beware, home buyers have less protection than someone buying a phone or kettle.

Yes, because when you're buying a kettle you don't normally commission your own kettle engineer to inspect the kettle, instruct your solicitor to negotiate a kettle purchase contract, investigate the quality of the kettle vendor's title to the kettle, and spend several months pondering over your transaction.

What sort of survey did you get?

Apodemus

I have great sympathy for the situation you are in but I don't think this is correct:

AMKin said:

So far looking at around £76k value loss based on what I paid per sqm, plus cost of demolishing and rebuilding.

There is either a value loss plus cost of demolishing or there is a cost of demolishing and rebuilding, but not both.

Have your engineers explained why it is not possible to underpin and/or replace the defective support? It may be cheaper to demolish and rebuild, but surely it must be technically possible to rectify what is currently there?

What have your insurers said?

Irishpearce26

This must be an absolute nightmare for you, sorry its happened to you.

Like someone mentioned your loss will be in the action you take not on value, if you demolish and rebuild you'll get the value back. The owners rightly don't want to know as it no longer has anything to do with them and it sucks that the builders have gone bust. Could anything be done to further support the structure that wouldn't cost as much?

If you got a homebuyer survey then there isn't much come back as structural detail like this isn't part of the survey.

I hope you find a suitable and cost effective solution.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

davidmcn said:

AMKin said:

My solicitor said that because of buyer beware, home buyers have less protection than someone buying a phone or kettle.

Yes, because when you're buying a kettle you don't normally commission your own kettle engineer to inspect the kettle, instruct your solicitor to negotiate a kettle purchase contract, investigate the quality of the kettle vendor's title to the kettle, and spend several months pondering over your transaction.

Which is why my purchase of www.kettle-surveyors.com was not as much of a goldmine as I had hoped.

MaryNB

People don't generally buy old phones that have been bought and sold several times already and tinkered with repeatedly. 
If you buy a new build home it comes with a warranty for 10 years.

teachfast

I assume you've scrutinised TA6 to see if there is anything answered incorrectly?

teachfast

And I am really sorry this has happened to you. It must be devastating. 

Tiglet2

What kind of survey did you pay for?   There are four main types of survey: A valuation survey, a condition report, a homebuyers report and a full structural survey.  

ProDave

What is below that beam that made tem build the extension like that?  A basement?

Normally you would dig continuous foundations suitable for the ground.

Section62

AMKin said:

Found out after completion that extension had major structural issues when checking drains. Council building regs never checked the steel beams supporting the entire extension, only the concrete it is sitting in and things above. The steels are badly rusted/crumbling and were not protected so been advised by 2 structural engineering firms to demolish and rebuild and I'm only 5 months in owning the house.

Does the hole in the pictures represent the full extent of the structural investigation?

If so, how was it concluded that the entire extension was supported on those beams?  If I were to take a guess based only on those pictures my first assumption would be that the builder has used steel beams as a lintel to bridge over a drain/sewer.

The quality of the work is appalling, and no doubt defective, but if the problem is limited to part of the extension then the repair might not need to be as extensive as suggested. Also the steel is clearly rusting, but is not 'crumbling'.

What was the 'checking drains' about? Was there a problem, and if so what was the conclusion? Are there damaged pipes, and if so, is it a public sewer?

Also, the neighbour's rain water downpipe discharging directly onto the ground in your direction is something of a red flag that would have made me hesitate to buy without having further investigation into the construction of your extension. Did your surveyor comment on that?