Chimney breasts and lounge wall removed without plan/docs

MikeJXE

It's for your own safety and there's 

Section62

pieroabcd said:

uhm, they are not happy with having a SE engineer doing a survey

Unhappy with sharing the cost?

Or

Unhappy with the potential for damage to carpets and decor and/or inconvenience?

Or

Unhappy the SE will find something the vendors really don't want you to discover?

pieroabcd

Section62 said:

pieroabcd said:

uhm, they are not happy with having a SE engineer doing a survey

Unhappy with sharing the cost?

Or

Unhappy with the potential for damage to carpets and decor and/or inconvenience?

Or

Unhappy the SE will find something the vendors really don't want you to discover?

They said unhappy for the cost and for the potential damages.
I suspect that the last unhappiness is still very much an option.

ThisIsWeird

The ball is in your court.

Question - are you happy to accept the house as it is, not bother to have an SE come out to check it even after you've bought it, content to live in it for as long as you want to without being concerned about the possible risk - small as it is - and then deal with the next buyers further down the line, in the knowledge that another 10+ years of the chimney not falling down adds to the likelihood that it's all actually ok?!

If 'yes', Happy New House.

If 'no', then you cannot force the seller to have this checked out. If the seller just shrugs and says, "Look, pal, it ain't fallen down yet - I ain't doing nuffink about this", then it's up to you whether to proceed at the currently-agreed price, proceed after knocking off a £ouple of £rand in case work is required, or even to pull out.

pieroabcd

Question.
The council told me that for less than 50 pounds I could do a search to show the completion certificates or planning decisions. According to them the search website doesn't show a complete database of applications.
It's way cheaper than spending hundreds of pounds for the solicitor's searches and fees (in fact I still haven't given them instructions).
My concern is: if I did these searches, would the sellers get to know that I did? Do I have to give my name?
Considering that the seller's solicitors wen on holiday until mid January without sending my solicitor the documents that they have, i could use this time for some good.

sysadmin

We had both our downstairs chimney breasts removed about 15 years ago, and a wall knocked out in another part of the house. We used family I trust to do the work and saw them put steels in etc

however I’m pretty sure we didn’t get BC or PP for either of the jobs at the time…

house is still standing with no signs of anything untoward all these years on. Sounds like it could be a pain if we decide to sell up eventually 

Section62

sysadmin said:

We had both our downstairs chimney breasts removed about 15 years ago, and a wall knocked out in another part of the house. We used family I trust to do the work and saw them put steels in etc

however I’m pretty sure we didn’t get BC or PP for either of the jobs at the time…

house is still standing with no signs of anything untoward all these years on. Sounds like it could be a pain if we decide to sell up eventually 

No structural engineer to do the assessment and calcs either?

If/when you want to sell you may want to think about how to handle enquiries about the lack of paperwork.  If the buyer or their solicitor spot the work has been done without following the proper process then it could result in issues.  Typically that can result in having to remove plaster/plasterboard to expose the beams so a SE and/or BCO can inspect - and doing that in the last months before completion of a sale is not the top of most people's list of fun ideas.

FreeBear

sysadmin said:

We had both our downstairs chimney breasts removed about 15 years ago, and a wall knocked out in another part of the house. We used family I trust to do the work and saw them put steels in etc

however I’m pretty sure we didn’t get BC or PP for either of the jobs at the time…

house is still standing with no signs of anything untoward all these years on. Sounds like it could be a pain if we decide to sell up eventually 

It will cause issues when you come to sell, especially if the buyer's solicitor is on the ball.

If you are planning on doing some redecorating anytime soon, it may pay to get the work regularised now. Yes, it will cost you a bit more for S.E. calcs and the BC sign-off, but will save quite a bit of time & paperwork at the point of selling.

pieroabcd

After talking to several structural engineers (that confirmed that the situation can be regularised) I've decided to go on with the searches and fix whatever needs fixing after the purchase.

Yet I can't avoid to think that it's insane that sellers are allowed to sell houses that are non compliant with the regulations.
In most countries in Europe a house in that condition just *can't* be sold, as is fair.
The burden should be on the sellers, not on the  buyers that are at the mercy of solicitors and totally unaware of regulations.
It's paradoxical that sellers make a mess and buyers must fix it.

lincroft1710

pieroabcd said:

After talking to several structural engineers (that confirmed that the situation can be regularised) I've decided to go on with the searches and fix whatever needs fixing after the purchase.

Yet I can't avoid to think that it's insane that sellers are allowed to sell houses that are non compliant with the regulations.
In most countries in Europe a house in that condition just *can't* be sold, as is fair.
The burden should be on the sellers, not on the  buyers that are at the mercy of solicitors and totally unaware of regulations.
It's paradoxical that sellers make a mess and buyers must fix it.

Because building regulations change frequently (especially regarding electrics) the vast majority of properties will not and probably never will comply with current regs. 


There is a very simple solution if you find a non compliant property and are not not happy with it - don't buy it!