Advice on a loft conversion on house i am would like to buy

Floopy2009

Hi there,

I am sure there are previous posts on this with different scenarios regarding the above but here is my story. So i have found a house i would like to put an offer in. It was advertised by the estate agent as a 2 bedroom property with attic space currently used as a bedroom. It goes on to say "The loft area which the current owners have chosen to utilise as a bedroom cannot be recognised formally as a bedroom due the absence of Building Regulation approval. Therefore we are marketing this property as a two bedroom, detached property"

Now the agents have been honest and open about it being a 2 room but will this be an issue for getting a morgage, especially if the surveyor goes to the house and sees a single bed, etc up there. Apparently the owners cash buyed the house in 2019 from the previous owner you had done this to the loft. The purpose i would use for the loft is storage and possibly a desk when wfh. The loft has been done up, has no doors to it  just steps, windows in the roof and i could stand up all 6ft 3 of me with no issues. Possibly in the future i may look into trying to do make it compliant into a 3 bedroom but for now it will be a storage/office area.

Any advice or experience with the above would be appreciated

Thanks in advance

Section62

Floopy2009 said:

...The loft has been done up, has no doors to it  just steps...

The lack of a door is likely to be the main issue and potentially one of the hardest to resolve.  You need (a) a door and (b) a 'landing' between the door and the top/bottom of the stairs.  One of the reasons people don't put a door on an iffy loft conversion is the difficulty in doing so whilst maximising the usable space.

What do you mean by "steps"?  Is there a proper staircase, or just some form of ladder?

Floopy2009

Section62 said:

Floopy2009 said:

...The loft has been done up, has no doors to it  just steps...

The lack of a door is likely to be the main issue and potentially one of the hardest to resolve.  You need (a) a door and (b) a 'landing' between the door and the top/bottom of the stairs.  One of the reasons people don't put a door on an iffy loft conversion is the difficulty in doing so whilst maximising the usable space.

What do you mean by "steps"?  Is there a proper staircase, or just some form of ladder?

A staircase which runs from a small box room on the first floor of the house to the converted loft. The stairs are quite narrow.

sheramber

My son bought such a flat with a mortgage. The previous owner had a bed in the attic. It  was reached by a ladder in a kitchen cupboard. 

My son used it for storage. 

It was priced and sold as a one bedroom flat. 

He sold it easily so I don’t think it was a problem then either. 

Doozergirl

It isn't a problem getting a mortgage as it isn't being sold as a room. 

I suspect that the lender may still expect an indemnity insurance policy put in place, which isn't expensive and you can probably ask the vendor to cover.  

It's an incredibly common issue. 

Do get a proper survey carried out.  Whilst you're not expecting it to meet the regulations you still want to ensure they haven't compromised the integrity of the roof by removing anything important.  

YBR

Agree, do get a survey.

When we came to sell a house with a loft conversion without Building regs sign-off, we found that the joists that had been put in rested on a non-structural internal wall rather than reaching to both external walls. Getting this fixed was very disruptive.

If it's been done safely, and you know what you're getting, you can make a good decision for you.

propertyrental

I'd be more concerned about safety Fire escape? Strength of flooring. Insulation.

Floopy2009

Thanks all for your comments, put my mind at rest but agree need a survey done, would that be part of the mortgage survey or shall i get an independent one as well

Yorkie1

A survey purely for the mortgage is just a survey to let the lender whether the property is worth what the lender is lending. 

You will need to book a higher level survey, whether by the surveyor who also does the mortgage valuation, or an independent surveyour, if you want to have a report on safety etc. for yourself

propertyrental

Floopy2009 said:

Thanks all for your comments, put my mind at rest but agree need a survey done, would that be part of the mortgage survey or shall i get an independent one as well

The mortgage lender does not do a survyey. They employ a surveyor to do a Valuation, the purpose of which is purely to ensure the lender would be able to get back what you've borrowed if you failed to repay your mortgage.

mexican_dave

Get an independent RICS Level 3 survey, might cost around £500. Being cynical I am expecting this loft conversion to be built off the ceiling joists, so NOT to Building Regs.