Help needed buying a home

Rian

Me and my partner are looking at buying a home, we have viewed a few houses and found one we liked that was built in 2015 but I noticed there's a crack above the window in the mortar joints. No idea what this is? I also found the house next door had permission to become a HMO in 2015 but the current owner said that although they did they don't have a licence and the house next door is rented to a couple. Lastly I asked about a fancy shed in the garden on the electrics, apparently a friend put it up "professionally" and put the electrics in.

Should I take what I found out as enough red flags and walk away or is this the type of thing you get with buying a house?

Link to the house is here if you want a nose, https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/172331255#/?channel=RES_BUY

littleredhen

Have you asked them about the crack? Have they got a certificate for the electrics to say they are safe?

Rian

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81914282#Comment_81914282

I asked them about the crack. They say they didn't know about it but will address it. No certificate for the electrics is what I'm told.

sheramber

Was planning/building control needed for garden room?

Rian

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81914451#Comment_81914451

I don't think so, it's not very big, but not entirely sure on the regulations. I would say it's a fancy shed but they have put electricity into it.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81914317#Comment_81914317

"They say they didn't know about it but will address it. No certificate for the electrics is what I'm told."

You would need to get a structural engineer to take a look at that crack. The owners 'address'ing it might mean they will get someone to stuff some fresh mortar in the crack in an attempt to make it vanish.

The lack of certificates for electrical work on a modern home is an issue. A 'professional' electrician won't do work without complying with the requirements for testing and certification.

And as sheramber says, the planning and building control situation needs to be confirmed.

lincroft1710

Seems a great house if you don't like gardening. But that crack is worrying

Emmia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6658561/help-needed-buying-a-home

This is what surveys are for... It is a worrying crack though. I'd also want to see the certificates etc. for that garden room, I wouldn't buy it without them.

I personally wouldn't buy it, the concrete back garden (I have a patio only at the moment, and it's fine but I'd really like to actually plant something, not have it in pots that need regular watering in the summer) and the overwhelming decor puts me right off - I'm just thinking about the cost of ripping it out.

SarahB16

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81914618#Comment_81914618

I agree, that crack is extremely worrying. For that reason alone I wouldn't buy it.

OP - if you do really like the house as others have suggested do get a survey however for that crack you would need a survey from a structural engineer.

MysteryMe

I wonder if the cracking in the mortar was settlement after the door was put in?

Rian

Thank you everyone for their input. I think I have come around to the idea that this is a red flag and it's simply not worth my time and money to proceed with the house.

As the house was only built in 2015 I asked the agent if the seller had maybe put a claim on NHBC before it expired but appears they didn't.

There's plenty on the market so I'll just crack on with the hunt for our next home.

Learnings from this experience are:

• Make sure you have a good look around the home for anything like this. I have saved a lot of time and money by not having a survey and finding this out later on.
• Don't always believe what the seller is telling the agent, they just want to sell it after all. The answers I got were quite vague.
• Get a survey no matter what the age of the house. (This one was just 11 years old with the crack above the window).

To make matters worse and put the final nail in the coffin I searched the local authorities planning register and found the house next door was turned into a HMO.