No sure whether to pull out of house purchase

ThisIsWeird

So if you buy a house with an unknown structural issue that wasn't picked up during the survey, and it causes your house to collapse a year later, that's it - you no longer have a house?

user1977

ThisIsWeird said:

So if you buy a house with an unknown structural issue that wasn't picked up during the survey, and it causes your house to collapse a year later, that's it - you no longer have a house?

Well, what do you think would happen? You own it, up to you to fix it.

jonnydeppiwish!

You’re worrying about just buying a house - nothing you’ve said would indicate any major issues to me

GDB2222

ThisIsWeird said:

So if you buy a house with an unknown structural issue that wasn't picked up during the survey, and it causes your house to collapse a year later, that's it - you no longer have a house?

Insurance only covers specific perils, such as fire, tempest, flood, subsidence. So, if the house falls down due to some other reason, the insurance will not cover it. 

youth_leader

When I downsized to this 3 bed bungalow I did have to claim on my insurance for both buildings and contents six months after purchase.  I suffered damage caused by Storm Arwen and the recorded wind speed was 78 mph.  The company didn't want to pay out for a new resin roof but my surveyor fought my corner for me as a friend.

Around the same time I discovered all the floors were rotten and covered in mould, with the exception of the kitchen extension which is concrete.  I did have a L3 but surveyors cannot lift carpets or move furniture. I spent every penny of the equity I had from my house sale.

The worse thing about the vendor not telling me about this is I think my dog died from the mould, he had been coughing, and had a fungus in his nose when he died. 

Vendors don't have to tell you unless you ask, do ask many questions.  

ThisIsWeird

user1977 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

So if you buy a house with an unknown structural issue that wasn't picked up during the survey, and it causes your house to collapse a year later, that's it - you no longer have a house?

Well, what do you think would happen? You own it, up to you to fix it.

I know it won't cover damage caused by a lack of maintenance, so if a lintel were to fail due to, I dunno, corrosion of the rebar, you wouldn't be covered.
Would the same apply if you bought a house and, say, an internal wall came down due to an inadequate or missing lintel that wasn't picked up during the purchase survey?

GDB2222

ThisIsWeird said:

user1977 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

So if you buy a house with an unknown structural issue that wasn't picked up during the survey, and it causes your house to collapse a year later, that's it - you no longer have a house?

Well, what do you think would happen? You own it, up to you to fix it.

I know it won't cover damage caused by a lack of maintenance, so if a lintel were to fail due to, I dunno, corrosion of the rebar, you wouldn't be covered.
Would the same apply if you bought a house and, say, an internal wall came down due to an inadequate or missing lintel that wasn't picked up during the purchase survey?

You might have a claim against the surveyor, but your house insurance will not cover it. 

Maybe, there’s room for an all risks house insurance company, that will cover anything serious going wrong with the property, but the premiums will be much higher than people are used to.

user1977

ThisIsWeird said:

user1977 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

So if you buy a house with an unknown structural issue that wasn't picked up during the survey, and it causes your house to collapse a year later, that's it - you no longer have a house?

Well, what do you think would happen? You own it, up to you to fix it.

I know it won't cover damage caused by a lack of maintenance, so if a lintel were to fail due to, I dunno, corrosion of the rebar, you wouldn't be covered.
Would the same apply if you bought a house and, say, an internal wall came down due to an inadequate or missing lintel that wasn't picked up during the purchase survey?

Yes. Insurance covers the specific risks stated in your policy - not "all bad things which happen to your house apart from this list of exceptions". 

ThisIsWeird

Thanks both.

In essence, then, when you buy a house, if you do not have a full 'structural' carried out, you are potentially at financial risk. (Not to suggest that everyone should have a full struct, of course, but any house that has clearly been added to or modified, for which the certs are not available).

Or, if the vendor refuses to allow exploratory investigations, say of the type that would cause cosmetic damage, then a watertight indemnity policy should be offered instead.

eddddy

ThisIsWeird said:

Or, if the vendor refuses to allow exploratory investigations, say of the type that would cause cosmetic damage, then a watertight indemnity policy should be offered instead.

I think you might have misunderstood what a "lack of building regulations" indemnity policy normally covers.

• It typically covers costs resulting from the Council taking enforcement action

• It doesn't typically cover any costs resulting from a wall falling down

Also, a buildings insurance policy will list the risks covered, In simple terms, if the wall falls down due to an insured risk, such as...

• Fire
• Explosion
• Impact by a vehicle or aircraft
• A falling tree
• A storm or flood
• Subsidence

... the repairs should be covered by a typical buildings insurance policy.



But if the wall falls down for other reasons, such as...

• Age
• Wear and tear
• Lack of maintenance
• Poor materials
• Poor workmanship

..... a typical buildings insurance policy won't cover that. You as the home owner would have to pay for repairs.
 (Unless you can show that somebody was negligent - like a surveyor, builder, etc. Then you can try to claim the costs from them.)


But if you have a full building survey, and a wall later falls down - that doesn't necessarily mean the surveyor was negligent.