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Yeah, a building survey is what they used to call structural survey, it is what we had done.
Did you ask the surveyor to explain what remediation was required to bring the property to a standard which you thought acceptable, and what it was likely to cost. This is the info you need before you negotiate.0 -
Did you ask the surveyor to explain what remediation was required to bring the property to a standard which you thought acceptable, and what it was likely to cost. This is the info you need before you negotiate.
Yes, we got a builder in to take a look. He kept stressing that the building regs may have passed off the work at the time. I get that, totally.
We are still waiting on the searches from the solicitor that should bring up past building reg approval hopefully. If it doesn't and we have already been told the sellers wont be able to find any certification of building reg approval... Then surely the current loft conversion needs to meet with modern day regulations, which it doesn't so overall doesn't this make it a 2-bed house?0 -
Then surely the current loft conversion needs to meet with modern day regulations,
Regulations change over the years and at some point in time there were potentially no regulations in place.
Something historically built does not need to comply with the most up to date regulations.
It can be sold without regulations it just means from your point of view you have space that is part converted but not habitable.
My personal view is that in buying this property you are inheriting a project,its been started but may need stripping back and redoing.
Wouldn't it be easier to find a 2 bed home without the conversion part in place and starting again?
Sometimes taking on something old and making it comply to current regs will end up costing more than starting a fresh.
Nothing is unsalvageable but be prepared to potentially spending a lot of money to put it right.
You could very well use the extra space as occasional rooms and find you have absolutely no problem structurally or otherwise but think forward to when you may be in position to want to sell and without the then current regulations you will be facing it all again in the same way you are now negotiating with the seller others will negotiate with you.
The question is not really around how much money you can ask the vendor to drop the price,but do you have sufficient money time and energy to finish a project that someone started 30 years ago to a standard that will actually add value to the property going forward?
I think you mentioned that the property was unique and on a good plot of land couple that with the EA asking if you are proceeding with the purchase and it wouldn't surprise me if the next buyers lining up for this property are not in your league but developers who actually want it more for the land in order to totally rebuild and remodel it to something more fitting and saleable in the 20th century.in S 38 T 2 F 50
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Surely whether it satisfied building regs 20 years ago or not is irrelevent. What is important is its current state and the cost to put it right. Perhaps you could get a quote from a local builder if you really want the house, otherwise look elsewhere.0
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need_an_answer wrote: »Regulations change over the years and at some point in time there were potentially no regulations in place.
Something historically built does not need to comply with the most up to date regulations.
It can be sold without regulations it just means from your point of view you have space that is part converted but not habitable.
My personal view is that in buying this property you are inheriting a project,its been started but may need stripping back and redoing.
Wouldn't it be easier to find a 2 bed home without the conversion part in place and starting again?
Sometimes taking on something old and making it comply to current regs will end up costing more than starting a fresh.
Nothing is unsalvageable but be prepared to potentially spending a lot of money to put it right.
You could very well use the extra space as occasional rooms and find you have absolutely no problem structurally or otherwise but think forward to when you may be in position to want to sell and without the then current regulations you will be facing it all again in the same way you are now negotiating with the seller others will negotiate with you.
The question is not really around how much money you can ask the vendor to drop the price,but do you have sufficient money time and energy to finish a project that someone started 30 years ago to a standard that will actually add value to the property going forward?
I think you mentioned that the property was unique and on a good plot of land couple that with the EA asking if you are proceeding with the purchase and it wouldn't surprise me if the next buyers lining up for this property are not in your league but developers who actually want it more for the land in order to totally rebuild and remodel it to something more fitting and saleable in the 20th century.
Well I was told that if building regs cant be proven from back when, then they need to comply to todays? Surveyor went onto to mention that we would need to take out the stairs and put a trap door and have a posh loft space...
It is hard for us, because we have looked for houses for a year and a half since moving here and nothing has come up in a better location, with a nice garden and only one close neighbour.
We value privacy and quality of a peaceful life so if it does end up costing more then I guess it doesn't matter.
That is also the point about the above, I would be surprised if a developer wanted the property as it is outside of the village boundary and they would have to extend onto greenfield site, which I think would be rejected.0 -
It's very hard. I look at Rightmove everyday at the 30 houses that come up that meet our criteria and I probably get excited about 1 a week or a couple a month and this one we actually have had our offer accepted. We do not know if it will take a year and a half to find something else you know.0
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Yes, we got a builder in to take a look. He kept stressing that the building regs may have passed off the work at the time. I get that, totally.
We are still waiting on the searches from the solicitor that should bring up past building reg approval hopefully. If it doesn't and we have already been told the sellers wont be able to find any certification of building reg approval... Then surely the current loft conversion needs to meet with modern day regulations, which it doesn't so overall doesn't this make it a 2-bed house?
It is a 2 bed house with a nice loft storage space. It isn't a 4 bed because it wouldn't be safe to sleep in the loft.
If you need a mortgage will the mortgage company only be willing to lend to the value of the 2 bed rather than the 4 bed or was the house very cheap for its apparent size?0 -
It's very hard. I look at Rightmove everyday at the 30 houses that come up that meet our criteria and I probably get excited about 1 a week or a couple a month and this one we actually have had our offer accepted. We do not know if it will take a year and a half to find something else you know.
Probably better than a house that is going to cost you a lot more in repairs than you can ever sell it for?0 -
The surveyor has just rung me to explain more in depth. He said that if the searches and if we find there is no building regulation approval then we will most likely have to take down the stairs, put a trap door in as they can not be classed as habitable or atleast, bedrooms.
Is this view extreme? That is part of where we are at, is that we paid over asking price, but if we have to pay say £20k or more to rectify the first floor, then we would most likely want to reduce back down to asking price. It is hard to gauge the price of the house in comparison to others because the plot is kind of unique and not many similar properties are on offer but at the end of the day we are approaching what think is the ceiling and the rest of the house needs modernising, so we would need to reduce.
We are just concerned that when we hinted towards us finding out these issues in the survey and what that could lead to, he said the other people that put offers in have been ringing to see how the sale is going to check if it has fallen through etc. He put a lot of pressure on us to make the offer the day we did so, and he lied during that viewing saying the owner had died where we have found out they haven't. Are all estate agents this sly, I know they work for the sellers, but I don;t think I can ever trust an estate agent after this guy...
...until the people desperate to buy have their own surveys done?0 -
Well I was told that if building regs cant be proven from back when, then they need to comply to todays? Surveyor went onto to mention that we would need to take out the stairs and put a trap door and have a posh loft space...
It is hard for us, because we have looked for houses for a year and a half since moving here and nothing has come up in a better location, with a nice garden and only one close neighbour.
We value privacy and quality of a peaceful life so if it does end up costing more then I guess it doesn't matter.
That is also the point about the above, I would be surprised if a developer wanted the property as it is outside of the village boundary and they would have to extend onto greenfield site, which I think would be rejected.
I think your surveyor doesn't understand the nuances of building regulations.Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
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