Selling inherited house

Millsandovis

Exactly my thoughts! I don’t understand why people go for Victorian properties and then act surprised by what they entail. 

Thanks so much for confirmation of what I thought though, did think it was just a case of saying ‘no idea, guv’ but glad to have it confirmed. Will be giving the questions like that as short a shrift as I can now. 

Cheers all 

RAS

Plainly, if you know that the windows were replaced a few years ago and have FENSA documentation, or can get detailed from their web-site, there's no harm in sharing that info. But I can't imagine someone in their early twenties being that interested in the replacement main board, even if you lived there. So NK, probate property is fine.

FreeBear

sheramber said: would there be such a thing as building control 40 years ago?

Building Control was certainly a thing when an extension was built here back in the 1970s.

Building Regulations (for England) in one form or another go back to the Great Fire of London, although it wasn't until 1965 that we had the Building Regulations Act. This then had a fundamental overhaul in 1984. Enforcement through the ages has been a function of local councils, and it is only relatively recent that private companies have been able to perform the task.

Potted history here -> https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/The_history_of_building_regulations_and_building_control

Bigphil1474

Generally - anything built after 1983 would have needed building control sign off and you can get regularisation retrospectively. Anything built before that can't be regularised. There is a basic theory that if something was built over 40 years ago and is still standing, it's probably okay. The problem is that BC need to see the structure of any building works not the finished product, so can often be difficult to get retrospectively. 

We are selling FIL's house and they did a DIY chimney removal on ground and first floor many years ago, but chimney is still there (unsupported) at the top. No BC sign off. A fairly simple fix, gallows bracket or something, but in this case it is better to say it was done before 1983, get it fixed and signed off by BC, than say it happened after 1983 and need to pay the extra cost of regularisation. As it is, we think it was done about 40 years ago, so we went for it being done 42 years ago and saved some money.

OP, when I sold my dads house as executor I did a lot of don't knows. The persistent questions kept coming from the buyers solicitor to be honest, but they'll be juts covering their backs so have to cover every minute detail, understandably I suppose. They did get fixated with the conservatory which my best guess was some 30 years old at the time of sale. I couldn't provide any info on it at all. 

Millsandovis

Bigphil1474 said:

Generally - anything built after 1983 would have needed building control sign off and you can get regularisation retrospectively. Anything built before that can't be regularised. There is a basic theory that if something was built over 40 years ago and is still standing, it's probably okay. The problem is that BC need to see the structure of any building works not the finished product, so can often be difficult to get retrospectively. 

We are selling FIL's house and they did a DIY chimney removal on ground and first floor many years ago, but chimney is still there (unsupported) at the top. No BC sign off. A fairly simple fix, gallows bracket or something, but in this case it is better to say it was done before 1983, get it fixed and signed off by BC, than say it happened after 1983 and need to pay the extra cost of regularisation. As it is, we think it was done about 40 years ago, so we went for it being done 42 years ago and saved some money.

OP, when I sold my dads house as executor I did a lot of don't knows. The persistent questions kept coming from the buyers solicitor to be honest, but they'll be juts covering their backs so have to cover every minute detail, understandably I suppose. They did get fixated with the conservatory which my best guess was some 30 years old at the time of sale. I couldn't provide any info on it at all. 

Thank you for the insight. And they were happy with the answers? It didn’t result in any insurances policies or a price reduction?