Should we proceed with an Indemnity policy for a property with planning uncertainty

dark_knight005

TheJP said:

I think this is all down to terminology and has no bearing whatsoever. How old is the house? Sometimes developers add something as a playroom to make it more attractive to potential buyers. 

The house is around 6 years old.

dark_knight005

TheJP said:

dark_knight005 said:

@user1977 Ye I feel that sometimes that they doesnt have a clue ... they also arent very good at communicating . Our first experience of solicitors isnt a good one. Thanks for this, it gives us a bit of confidence now to move forward with the purchase. I think the main thing we were worried about is that potential buyers in future will look at it as a 3-bedroom property and try and negotiate down.

Potential buyers will see that its a 4 bed when they view. I'm sure thats why you offered in the first place. Just because a piece of paper calls it a playroom doesnt change the floor space so wouldnt affect the price nor be grounds for renegogiation.

Thanks for this, gives us confidence to move forward.

loubel

With a 6 year old house you should be provided with a copy of the planning permission in order to check for any breaches of conditions. Ask your solicitor to send you a copy and to highlight what the issue is.

dark_knight005

loubel said:

With a 6 year old house you should be provided with a copy of the planning permission in order to check for any breaches of conditions. Ask your solicitor to send you a copy and to highlight what the issue is.

Ah ok. She has sent the original plans and we have compared it to what we have seen and it looks the same. Only thing in question is that its 3 bedroom and the "fourth" bedroom is originally a playroom on the plans. Is there meant to be like a list of conditions in this document or is there a separate document we can request?

user1977

The planning permission will have conditions. Those are immensely unlikely to say anything which prohibits you from calling the playroom a bedroom, but they should be read anyway.

dark_knight005

user1977 said:

The planning permission will have conditions. Those are immensely unlikely to say anything which prohibits you from calling the playroom a bedroom, but they should be read anyway.

I just actually checked the planning permission document and couldnt see anything specific in there. The proposal is "self build project the erection of a three bedroom detached house" that's the only things that mentions the rooms, not sure if this is ok.

TheJP

dark_knight005 said:

@user1977 @Hoenir I believe the sellers are paying for the indemnity policy to be put in place (although I need to double check this).

I would say this would constitute a cost to you due to your concerns/risk not the seller. Its unlikely to be expensive £50-£200 potentially but i dont think its needed, the house is 6 years old and if anyone was to take action it would be outside the 7 year window for the council to take action anyway.

user1977

dark_knight005 said:

user1977 said:

The planning permission will have conditions. Those are immensely unlikely to say anything which prohibits you from calling the playroom a bedroom, but they should be read anyway.

I just actually checked the planning permission document and couldnt see anything specific in there. The proposal is "self build project the erection of a three bedroom detached house" that's the only things that mentions the rooms, not sure if this is ok.

Yes, if the planners didn't add a condition then there is no restriction on how you use the rooms.

loubel

I agree. If it's been built according to the plans and there's no condition relating to the use of the room then you should be fine to use the room however you want.

EssexHebridean

dark_knight005 said:

Hi @EssexHebridean thanks for the reply. So unfortunately its not really in like a big estate. Its a small estate where all the houses I think have been built by different developers so they are all pretty unique. Ok would you advise going ahead with the indemnity policy and through with the purchase? Everything else on the house seems fine its just been this stumbling block really and we don't know if we are making an issue out of nothing.

The only person who can advise you on that is your solicitor - they have seen the paperwork, and can advise you where you stand legally. In terms of whether you should go ahead with the purchase, that comes down to whether you are content with the report from the solicitor. 

You may have no choice about the indemnity policy (although if the sellers are paying for it, you may as well have it anyway if you are proceeding I would think) as it sounds as though your lenders are in agreement that it should be put in place. 

I'm with the others though - if the room has always been there, there doesn't seem to be any reason for it not to be able to be used as a bedroom from what you have said. What did your surveyor say about it? (apologies if you have already mentioned that and I've missed it).