Probem found after purchase of repossessed house...
Discussion
In a nutshell...
Bought a repossessed house in August 2009. At the time of purchase there was no paperwork at all available for the house, which had at some point had a large conservatory and utility room built (last 6 years or so).
Recent problem with ours and neighbours drains meant a fair amount of investigative work was done which highlighted that the toilet/sink and washing machine waste from the utility are illegally connected to surface water drains.
About 3 months ago next door neighbour (who is 'involved' with previous owner of our spot) has brought round large box of paperwork relating to our house. This includes planning permission for said alterations that were done before she owned it.
Cost to correct drains is going to be a fairly substantial wedge, so, do we have any comeback on anyone involved with original dodgy works??
Should the council have checked all work and signed it off? Is it worth trying to ascertain the company that did the work and getting them to correct it? Or is it a case of tough s
t for us because we bought it pretty blind so to speak?
Thanks in advance PH,
Baldy
Bought a repossessed house in August 2009. At the time of purchase there was no paperwork at all available for the house, which had at some point had a large conservatory and utility room built (last 6 years or so).
Recent problem with ours and neighbours drains meant a fair amount of investigative work was done which highlighted that the toilet/sink and washing machine waste from the utility are illegally connected to surface water drains.
About 3 months ago next door neighbour (who is 'involved' with previous owner of our spot) has brought round large box of paperwork relating to our house. This includes planning permission for said alterations that were done before she owned it.
Cost to correct drains is going to be a fairly substantial wedge, so, do we have any comeback on anyone involved with original dodgy works??
Should the council have checked all work and signed it off? Is it worth trying to ascertain the company that did the work and getting them to correct it? Or is it a case of tough s
t for us because we bought it pretty blind so to speak?Thanks in advance PH,
Baldy
You obviously used a st solicitor....at least it appears so. The planning permission and all related documents are a matter of public record so it should have come up when the solicitor was doing all the normal conveyancing checks before exchanging contracts. I don't think there is a council in the country where you can't check planning permission for specific property online within 5 minutes. At that stage you could also have checked with the council whether the work been signed off as building regs had been signed off by the council.
I am sure the terms and conditions for the solicitor mean you have no comeback and you certainly have no right to seek damages against the builder unless there was some kind of transferable guarantee which there won't have been.
I would also say when buying a repossession common sense says "buyer beware" almost by definition there will be things wrong as the house will almost definitely not have been maintained properly.
t solicitor....at least it appears so. The planning permission and all related documents are a matter of public record so it should have come up when the solicitor was doing all the normal conveyancing checks before exchanging contracts. I don't think there is a council in the country where you can't check planning permission for specific property online within 5 minutes. At that stage you could also have checked with the council whether the work been signed off as building regs had been signed off by the council.I am sure the terms and conditions for the solicitor mean you have no comeback and you certainly have no right to seek damages against the builder unless there was some kind of transferable guarantee which there won't have been.
I would also say when buying a repossession common sense says "buyer beware" almost by definition there will be things wrong as the house will almost definitely not have been maintained properly.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I'm pretty sure we paid for some form of indemnity policy when we bought this house, the paperwork relating to it seems very vague though. I'll have to check through it again.So how is the planning/inspection/sign off thing with a council supposed to to go then? I ask because my last house with the ex wife i had a garage built/kitchen extended and we had council inspections a number of times along the way. However, when it came to me moving out a good number of months after the job was finished it still hadn't been signed off. Ex wouldn't pay me off until sign off was done, quick call to inspector and he came out, checked relevant certificates/completion of work and then issued sign off certificate. Thing is, if i hadn't rung and asked, would the council have ever chased me for sign off?
I'm guessing that may have happened here as well
digimeistter said:
You had a survey prior to purchase i take it?
Was a full drains test not recommended?
A normal valuation would be unlikely to pick this up unless there were external indications of things amiss, not forgetting that most repossessed properties get their water system drained down.Was a full drains test not recommended?
Contrary to popular opinion, surveyors do not ask for reports on spec, but instead only when there is evidence of a potential problem.
I'm in my third reposessed property (bought not kicked out of 
) and the way I've always looked at it is they cost me a lot less than the market value so I take any problems on the chin if they arrise.
How far from the utility is the correct sewer pipe? If it's not at the other end of the house and there's room to run a trench without the house being in the way I'd look at diverting the drains to the main sewer pipe and cap off the surface drain. It's not an impossible diy job if you do the research etc on what fall you need and what the pipe should be bed on etc.
) and the way I've always looked at it is they cost me a lot less than the market value so I take any problems on the chin if they arrise. How far from the utility is the correct sewer pipe? If it's not at the other end of the house and there's room to run a trench without the house being in the way I'd look at diverting the drains to the main sewer pipe and cap off the surface drain. It's not an impossible diy job if you do the research etc on what fall you need and what the pipe should be bed on etc.
Baldy881 said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I'm pretty sure we paid for some form of indemnity policy when we bought this house, the paperwork relating to it seems very vague though. I'll have to check through it again.So how is the planning/inspection/sign off thing with a council supposed to to go then? I ask because my last house with the ex wife i had a garage built/kitchen extended and we had council inspections a number of times along the way. However, when it came to me moving out a good number of months after the job was finished it still hadn't been signed off. Ex wouldn't pay me off until sign off was done, quick call to inspector and he came out, checked relevant certificates/completion of work and then issued sign off certificate. Thing is, if i hadn't rung and asked, would the council have ever chased me for sign off?
I'm guessing that may have happened here as well
wolf1 said:
How far from the utility is the correct sewer pipe?
Oh its a fking nightmare, the sewerage main runs under the conservatory and the manhole is in the conservatory (yes we've had to chop floor tiles up in our conservatory to gain access to the IC - don't go there!!). The IC is like 6 foot deep!! At least two other neighbours st and piss run into our IC then from there it runs into mains that are about 15 foot deep with a manhole for that in next doors garden. It's a reet mess but we're having to tunnel into next doors newly landscaped garden to resolve our issues lolOn a plus, the policy I see we have seems to go by the name of a 'Lack of building regulation consent indemnity' policy, sounds like there could be mileage in pursuing it
Baldy881 said:
On a plus, the policy I see we have seems to go by the name of a 'Lack of building regulation consent indemnity' policy, sounds like there could be mileage in pursuing it
Hmmm, seems that the wording on this policy is a bit of a tricky one - so if a council bod turns up randomly to inspect the building work done prior to our purchase and highlights the drain issue and instructs us that we have to get it resolved then we have a rightful claim against the indemnity policy. However, if we (as occupants) find the issue (which we have) and resolve it then there's no cover.So what would you do? 'Tip off' the authorities and ask them to come round, inspect the work and request to you that you need to get the remedial works done? In which case provided that it looks like they have turned up of their own accord and found the defect then we would be covered?!
If on the other hand we ask a building inspector to come round and sign off the works that were never signed off, and they note the illegal drain and request it be rectified, then we are liable because it is us who have notified the council.
Sounds a bit of a skank to me!
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