Buying a house with conservatory extension with no building regs

TheJP

Kittley01 said:

Mahsroh said:

Kittley01 said:

Mahsroh said:

We had exactly the same thing when buying our house. 

The Vendors admitted that they didn't approach Building Control for sign off when they had it built because they knew they'd have to put doors in and didn't want to. They provided us an indemnity policy. 

Surprisingly, ours hasn't had a major impact on energy usage.... but then the glazed roof is tinted which seems to help keep heat in / cold out, and the two side walls are brick walls with cavity wall insulation. 

Hi, it sounds similar to the conservatory extension of this house. It also has two brick walls but the roof is tinted glass. Basically they removed the window and patio doors from kitchen and added a small extension less than 30m2. How long was the extension done in the house when you bought it? Thanks 

Not long.... about 5 years before we bought it. We pushed back originally and told them to put a door in and go and get sign off but then their solicitors sent us a copy of indemnity policy wording which was surprisingly robust so we went with it. 

For us the energy bills aren't a major problem and hopefully you will find the same. But for your own peace of mind maybe ask for a copy of their most recent utility bill and see what the usage is. It's the right time of the year for it to give you a worst case scenario. 

Thie conservatory extension was done 7 yrs ago so similar ish time as when you bought it. Our solicitor will ask the vendor for their most recent gas and elec bill. Thank you so much, really helpful. 

Gas & Elec bill isn't going to tell you anything, they could have the heating on all the time because they like the house hot or they don't have the heating on because they don't feel the cold. This wont tell you whether heat is escaping out of the extension.

Doozergirl

TheJP said:

Kittley01 said:

Mahsroh said:

Kittley01 said:

Mahsroh said:

We had exactly the same thing when buying our house. 

The Vendors admitted that they didn't approach Building Control for sign off when they had it built because they knew they'd have to put doors in and didn't want to. They provided us an indemnity policy. 

Surprisingly, ours hasn't had a major impact on energy usage.... but then the glazed roof is tinted which seems to help keep heat in / cold out, and the two side walls are brick walls with cavity wall insulation. 

Hi, it sounds similar to the conservatory extension of this house. It also has two brick walls but the roof is tinted glass. Basically they removed the window and patio doors from kitchen and added a small extension less than 30m2. How long was the extension done in the house when you bought it? Thanks 

Not long.... about 5 years before we bought it. We pushed back originally and told them to put a door in and go and get sign off but then their solicitors sent us a copy of indemnity policy wording which was surprisingly robust so we went with it. 

For us the energy bills aren't a major problem and hopefully you will find the same. But for your own peace of mind maybe ask for a copy of their most recent utility bill and see what the usage is. It's the right time of the year for it to give you a worst case scenario. 

Thie conservatory extension was done 7 yrs ago so similar ish time as when you bought it. Our solicitor will ask the vendor for their most recent gas and elec bill. Thank you so much, really helpful. 

Gas & Elec bill isn't going to tell you anything, they could have the heating on all the time because they like the house hot or they don't have the heating on because they don't feel the cold. This wont tell you whether heat is escaping out of the extension.

Agreed. 

If you don't know what the consumption was before the build, you don't know the impact. 

And then you don't know whether their usual consumption is anything like yours.  Different people living in the same house will have different needs (or not).  

It's comparing apples with oranges.   

Spreadsheetman

Thrugelmir said:

Kittley01 said:

Does anyone have experience in a situation like this? Will this suffice or will we have a big issue selling the house in the future?

Given the rise in energy costs. Days of cavernous open plan spaces may well be over. The ability to partition as required is one of my current tick list items. 

Exactly. It's one of the many cliches of "Grand Designs Syndrome", but I find it quite a negative point in looking at a house.