Purchase about to fall through due to misrepresentation

propertyrental

I'd be more concerned about the actual physical risks than the legalities.

was the loft floor strengthened to take the extra weight that goes with it being a bedroom - bed,  wardrobe, other furniture, person etc?

was the access provided to allow for rapid escape in case of fire?

was the roof properly insulated/

etc etc

Building Regs are not there just to 'permit' a new use. They are there to ensure the quality and safety of the conversion

AJM1984

propertyrental said:

I'd be more concerned about the actual physical risks than the legalities.

was the loft floor strengthened to take the extra weight that goes with it being a bedroom - bed,  wardrobe, other furniture, person etc?

was the access provided to allow for rapid escape in case of fire?

was the roof properly insulated/

etc etc

Building Regs are not there just to 'permit' a new use. They are there to ensure the quality and safety of the conversion

The people there now aren't using it as a bedroom so, potentially, no to all of the above! 
It was something on my mind once we found out the situation but we decided that we would just get it converted at our own expense as it was just a bonus area. The surveyor couldn't spot any significant and urgent defects but had to say it can't be classed as habitable for our safety, which was fine. He's not a wizard, he can't see through the walls/floors/ceilings! Storage space is always appreciated though.

We were in a position to accept quite a lof of extra costs as this isn't a property we wanted to resell. It was purely intended to live in, enhance, adapt and personalise to our lifestyle and tastes. (And necessity for safety.) Originally we were going to opt for a 'fixer upper' but weren't deterred at the idea of bringing this house up to code instead but now we're looking at having to dip into our repair funds before even getting proper quotes for everything else and it's just starting to feel very messy. Having to add 5k to our deposit would take from those repair funds. Having the full 95% mortgage would have left a nice pot for sorting everything out. Taking 5k out of that pot, upfront, for something which might also cost thousands to make habitable is quite a frustrating dilemma.

GDB2222

AJM1984 said:

propertyrental said:

I'd be more concerned about the actual physical risks than the legalities.

was the loft floor strengthened to take the extra weight that goes with it being a bedroom - bed,  wardrobe, other furniture, person etc?

was the access provided to allow for rapid escape in case of fire?

was the roof properly insulated/

etc etc

Building Regs are not there just to 'permit' a new use. They are there to ensure the quality and safety of the conversion

The people there now aren't using it as a bedroom so, potentially, no to all of the above! 
It was something on my mind once we found out the situation but we decided that we would just get it converted at our own expense as it was just a bonus area. The surveyor couldn't spot any significant and urgent defects but had to say it can't be classed as habitable for our safety, which was fine. He's not a wizard, he can't see through the walls/floors/ceilings! Storage space is always appreciated though.

We were in a position to accept quite a lof of extra costs as this isn't a property we wanted to resell. It was purely intended to live in, enhance, adapt and personalise to our lifestyle and tastes. (And necessity for safety.) Originally we were going to opt for a 'fixer upper' but weren't deterred at the idea of bringing this house up to code instead but now we're looking at having to dip into our repair funds before even getting proper quotes for everything else and it's just starting to feel very messy. Having to add 5k to our deposit would take from those repair funds. Having the full 95% mortgage would have left a nice pot for sorting everything out. Taking 5k out of that pot, upfront, for something which might also cost thousands to make habitable is quite a frustrating dilemma.

As I said before, and bear in mind that I have not seen the property, what you have there is fancy loft storage space.

To convert that to usable space as a bedroom MAY require increasing the height of the floor joists, which reduces the ceiling height. That may mean that the room is not tall enough to be habitable at all, but even if that’s not a problem it’s bound to reduce the usable floor space.

If you increase the joist height, the existing staircase will not fit, so that will need to be reconstructed.   

The fire protection is probably inadequate.

 The insulation likewise.

 The windows may not provide adequate evacuation potential for the fire brigade.

So, when you talk about a bit of upgrading, you should budget  several £10ks for more or less a complete reconstruction. 

There’s a good reason why this was not done properly in the first place.  

This is unlikely to be a technical breach of failing to get the right certificate. After all, why would someone build it correctly but forget to have it signed off? They almost certainly did not involve BR because it’s a bit of a death trap if us3d as a bedroom. Great for storage, though,  but don’t pay too much for storage.

On the plus side, your valuer only thinks you are overpaying by £5k.

RHemmings

GDB2222 said:

AJM1984 said:

housebuyer143 said:

AJM1984 said:

uralmaid said:

It should definitely have building consent and also has to have fire doors at the bottom of the stairs. If not it does not meet requirements and is not a 3 bedroomed house. The estate agent needs to be stressing this to their vendor, otherwise any other sale where a mortgage is required would also end in failure.

It has a door at the top of the access (fixed) staircase but I don't really know what difference that makes, sadly. We do also wonder if she'll push us away and try to find a cash buyer or use one of those "We buy any house" things, but we still think she'll lose more than 5k doing that.

I think you will find with some time to go away and think she will be back at the negotiating table on Monday, assuming she doesn't lose her purchase. 
£5k is nothing in the scheme of things and now the agent is understanding the issue and explaining it to her, it comes across less that you just want money off, which is probably her first reaction.

I really hope you're right!

Try not to be the first to blink.

Oh, I have to have at least ten characters. 

BarelySentientAI

RHemmings said:

GDB2222 said:

AJM1984 said:

housebuyer143 said:

AJM1984 said:

uralmaid said:

It should definitely have building consent and also has to have fire doors at the bottom of the stairs. If not it does not meet requirements and is not a 3 bedroomed house. The estate agent needs to be stressing this to their vendor, otherwise any other sale where a mortgage is required would also end in failure.

It has a door at the top of the access (fixed) staircase but I don't really know what difference that makes, sadly. We do also wonder if she'll push us away and try to find a cash buyer or use one of those "We buy any house" things, but we still think she'll lose more than 5k doing that.

I think you will find with some time to go away and think she will be back at the negotiating table on Monday, assuming she doesn't lose her purchase. 
£5k is nothing in the scheme of things and now the agent is understanding the issue and explaining it to her, it comes across less that you just want money off, which is probably her first reaction.

I really hope you're right!

Try not to be the first to blink.

Oh, I have to have at least ten characters. 

          

AJM1984

RHemmings said:

GDB2222 said:

AJM1984 said:

housebuyer143 said:

AJM1984 said:

uralmaid said:

It should definitely have building consent and also has to have fire doors at the bottom of the stairs. If not it does not meet requirements and is not a 3 bedroomed house. The estate agent needs to be stressing this to their vendor, otherwise any other sale where a mortgage is required would also end in failure.

It has a door at the top of the access (fixed) staircase but I don't really know what difference that makes, sadly. We do also wonder if she'll push us away and try to find a cash buyer or use one of those "We buy any house" things, but we still think she'll lose more than 5k doing that.

I think you will find with some time to go away and think she will be back at the negotiating table on Monday, assuming she doesn't lose her purchase. 
£5k is nothing in the scheme of things and now the agent is understanding the issue and explaining it to her, it comes across less that you just want money off, which is probably her first reaction.

I really hope you're right!

Try not to be the first to blink.

Oh, I have to have at least ten characters. 

Oh, thanks, a Weeping Angel right before I head to bed.... 🤣

Jemma01

As a buyer, I wouldn't pay a penny more than what my valuation says, at the end of the day, i want to be able to sell in the future without similar issues. I get you don't intend to sell today, but you don't know what the future holds. You might end up with a nasty neighbour/neighbourhood that pushes you out, or your priorities might change. If you become the seller, and I happened to be the buyer, it'll be on you to reduce the price. if the house isn't worth the extra 5k, tough! That's the seller's problem.

If the seller agrees, great, if they don't, plenty of fish in the sea. Your seller doesn't have an option to look for another buyer two weeks before exchange.

silvercar

Jemma01 said:

As a buyer, I wouldn't pay a penny more than what my valuation says, at the end of the day, i want to be able to sell in the future without similar issues. I get you don't intend to sell today, but you don't know what the future holds. You might end up with a nasty neighbour/neighbourhood that pushes you out, or your priorities might change. If you become the seller, and I happened to be the buyer, it'll be on you to reduce the price. if the house isn't worth the extra 5k, tough! That's the seller's problem.

If the seller agrees, great, if they don't, plenty of fish in the sea. Your seller doesn't have an option to look for another buyer two weeks before exchange.

I don’t agree with this. In the long term, prices tend to go up. In 10 years time you may laugh at the anguish a mere £5k caused in the scheme of things.

Another person who has some skin in the game is the estate agent. If they cut their commission then that would eat some of the £5k. 

RHemmings

silvercar said:

Jemma01 said:

As a buyer, I wouldn't pay a penny more than what my valuation says, at the end of the day, i want to be able to sell in the future without similar issues. I get you don't intend to sell today, but you don't know what the future holds. You might end up with a nasty neighbour/neighbourhood that pushes you out, or your priorities might change. If you become the seller, and I happened to be the buyer, it'll be on you to reduce the price. if the house isn't worth the extra 5k, tough! That's the seller's problem.

If the seller agrees, great, if they don't, plenty of fish in the sea. Your seller doesn't have an option to look for another buyer two weeks before exchange.

I don’t agree with this. In the long term, prices tend to go up. In 10 years time you may laugh at the anguish a mere £5k caused in the scheme of things.

Another person who has some skin in the game is the estate agent. If they cut their commission then that would eat some of the £5k. 

I partially agree with this. Part of house prices going up is the value of money decreasing over time. So, while the nominal price of the house will most likely have gone up by, say, 2044, £5k would be no longer worth the same as £5k would have been in 2024. 

Think of what you can buy with £5k. That's what the OP is missing out on by buying at £5k over value and if they are not able to resell at that value. In the future £5k will be able to buy much less and be less of a worry, but that's not the same £5k. And, the two bedroom house (if issue not sorted by then) may be worth £20k less than it would have been worth had it had the full three bedrooms as originally advertised. (Assuming nothing else has changed.)  I.e. the same amount of value has been lost, not the nominal (and eventually less consequential) £5k. 

EssexHebridean

If you want the house, and do actually have the money to make up the shortfall (even if it will knock some of your plans for refurbishment etc down the road a bit) then I would suggest that the decent thing to do would be to ask the seller if you can meet in the middle - she drops the price by £2500, you add that same amount to your cash input. If that would mean that there were things that “needed” to be done to the house that could not be done, then it would need looking at differently, but if it just affects “wants” then I’d suggest a bit of give and take needs to be employed. What I will say is that any renegotiation of purchase price at this stage will need to be run past your lender, and they will very likely need to reissue the mortgage offer - your solicitor should be able to advise on that, assuming that they are also acting for the lender.