Houses

[Stadt]

Sellers solicitors have said that the extension was built without planning permission (approx 30 years ago).

 

"Lastly, there has been a ground floor extension and wall removed at the property. This has not been revealed in your searches, therefore this was completed without planning and building regs. The seller has said this was done over 30 years ago, and as such she is not willing to provide any indemnity insurance for the lack of building regs. Indemnity insurance would come into place in the unlikely ever that the local authority took action against you for lack of building regs. Please let me know if you wish for me to take this out at your expense instead on completion. If I don’t hear from you further on this point, I shall assume that you are happy to proceed without indemnity insurance"

 

Is Indemnity insurance the best way to go here?

 

I looked into a Lawful Development Certificate but my conveyancing solicitor said it'll likely reveal it's not up to modern regs (on H&S grounds) and we'd be liable to rectify it, which I'm not exactly sure is the case but that's from a cursory bit of research.

 

[jgtuk]

7 minutes ago, Stadt said:

Sellers solicitors have said that the extension was built without planning permission (approx 30 years ago).

 

"Lastly, there has been a ground floor extension and wall removed at the property. This has not been revealed in your searches, therefore this was completed without planning and building regs. The seller has said this was done over 30 years ago, and as such she is not willing to provide any indemnity insurance for the lack of building regs. Indemnity insurance would come into place in the unlikely ever that the local authority took action against you for lack of building regs. Please let me know if you wish for me to take this out at your expense instead on completion. If I don’t hear from you further on this point, I shall assume that you are happy to proceed without indemnity insurance"

 

Is Indemnity insurance the best way to go here?

 

I looked into a Lawful Development Certificate but my conveyancing solicitor said it'll likely reveal it's not up to modern regs (on H&S grounds) and we'd be liable to rectify it, which I'm not exactly sure is the case but that's from a cursory bit of research.

 

Indemnity is definitely not a bad option, just bear in mind that when you sell you’ll have the same problem with new buyers so could hamper future sale. 
You could ask a builder to look at it and see what costs are involved in bringing up to standard and applying for retrospective planning. 
I’ve bought and sold a property with an indemnity insurance, cost me about £300 in 2010. 

[VLC86]

26 minutes ago, Stadt said:

Sellers solicitors have said that the extension was built without planning permission (approx 30 years ago).

 

"Lastly, there has been a ground floor extension and wall removed at the property. This has not been revealed in your searches, therefore this was completed without planning and building regs. The seller has said this was done over 30 years ago, and as such she is not willing to provide any indemnity insurance for the lack of building regs. Indemnity insurance would come into place in the unlikely ever that the local authority took action against you for lack of building regs. Please let me know if you wish for me to take this out at your expense instead on completion. If I don’t hear from you further on this point, I shall assume that you are happy to proceed without indemnity insurance"

 

Is Indemnity insurance the best way to go here?

 

I looked into a Lawful Development Certificate but my conveyancing solicitor said it'll likely reveal it's not up to modern regs (on H&S grounds) and we'd be liable to rectify it, which I'm not exactly sure is the case but that's from a cursory bit of research.

 

Solicitors will try to avoid doing what they should be doing here, I’ve seen that a fair bit in a past job.

 

My advice would be to ask the solicitors if indemnity insurance provides you with what you want (stopping the need for retro planning permission etc), they will also need to inform the mortgage provider who will either be happy with the insurance or not.

 

The solicitors are there to protect you and the bank providing the mortgage so if they are saying they are happy the indemnity insurance does this, then you might be ok.

 

Did anything come up about the extension on the valuation?

[Stadt]

15 minutes ago, jgtuk said:

Indemnity is definitely not a bad option, just bear in mind that when you sell you’ll have the same problem with new buyers so could hamper future sale. 
You could ask a builder to look at it and see what costs are involved in bringing up to standard and applying for retrospective planning. 
I’ve bought and sold a property with an indemnity insurance, cost me about £300 in 2010. 

Thanks,

 

Convenyncing solicitor has said it'll cost between £100 - £200 so I think in all likelihood I'll go with that

[kenny]

3 minutes ago, Stadt said:

Thanks,

 

Convenyncing solicitor has said it'll cost between £100 - £200 so I think in all likelihood I'll go with that

I would personally look at a regularisation certificate so that its sorted for when you come to sell.

 

I would also be looking to knock some cost off the house as the work has been carried out with the necessary approvals in place.

[ketteringscott]

3 hours ago, Stadt said:

Thanks,

 

Convenyncing solicitor has said it'll cost between £100 - £200 so I think in all likelihood I'll go with that

30 years is well outside the enforcement period for either Planning or Building Regulations. As long as you are happy with the construction of the extension an indemnity policy is more than sufficient.

[ajthefox]

3 hours ago, Stadt said:

Thanks,

 

Convenyncing solicitor has said it'll cost between £100 - £200 so I think in all likelihood I'll go with that

 

25 minutes ago, ketteringscott said:

30 years is well outside the enforcement period for either Planning or Building Regulations. As long as you are happy with the construction of the extension an indemnity policy is more than sufficient.

This.

 

I'm not sure I'd even bother with a regularisation certificate unless you're looking at significant works and putting a good wedge into it. If it was built 30 years ago it will be nowhere near current regs and you could be opening up a big can of worms for no reason.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

On 28/07/2024 at 12:47, Stadt said:

I have a burgeoning obsession with mid century furniture, picked up a G plan TV stand for £130 on vinterior as they’re offering free delivery this weekend. Saved £60.

 

https://www.vinterior.co

Always thought you to be more of a B&M greige and crushed velvet kind of guy 

[Stadt]

1 hour ago, ajthefox said:

 

This.

 

I'm not sure I'd even bother with a regularisation certificate unless you're looking at significant works and putting a good wedge into it. If it was built 30 years ago it will be nowhere near current regs and you could be opening up a big can of worms for no reason.

Yeah I'm sign down the indemnity route, if we're buying it this way than any future buyer can do the same.

[Wolfox]

On 28/07/2024 at 12:47, Stadt said:

I have a burgeoning obsession with mid century furniture, picked up a G plan TV stand for £130 on vinterior as they’re offering free delivery this weekend. Saved £60.

 

https://www.vinterior.co

It’s a wonderful period for furniture and you could’ve picked them up for buttons in the 80’s and 90’s

 

i was fortunate enough to inherit a load from my Granny…. 
 

my ercol collection has coffee tables, a bureau and numerous chairs…

 

You can pick them up on eBay for a reasonable price, but they come up lovely with a bit of elbow grease and osmo oil…. So never worry too much about condition…

 

This  Ercol pandora I picked up for £70 and restored…. It was covered in horrible dark lacquer that was not original and had cup stains all over it…

 

 

This (not ercol) was made by a Leicester furniture maker in the 70’s and it has lovely dovetail jointing…. I think I paid £120?  It has the original order note in the top drawer!

 

 

This ercol rocker is pretty nice to sit on!

 

 

 

[Tuna]

Love these furniture pics keep it up

[Tuna]

Also I know british heart foundation are great for cheap furniture, if you are near melton check out the air ambulance shop on Scalford Road, loads of furniture there at good prices

[Lako42]

21 hours ago, ajthefox said:

Wow, that's robbery. Where's that from? 

A house clearance where everything had to go in quick time 

[Tommy G]

On 31/07/2024 at 13:06, Tommy G said:

The people below us, their buyers have had their house downvalued by £25K - so our buyers now dont have a buyer, so looks like we're going to have to go on the market again. Not sure what to say to the Estate Agent at the top of the chain - dreaming up something to say now. Very annoying, need ours to sell quick to avoid the one we've bought going back on the market again.

Things look like they might be back on again, I'm expecting nothing and then you don't get dissapointed. Question though, the sellers solicitors have come back to us today to say their log burner has been serviced and it's got a crack in it, so they are taking it out??

 

Hang on a second, presumably I need to be going back and saying you need to knock £x off the price of the house or installing a new log burner like for like with a guarentee? Said Log Burner is < 2 years old as it was part of the renovation they did, who why isn't it under guarentee? I suspect it's a 2nd hand one....advice welcome. I dont know if a new log burner is £2K or £5K

Edited 5 August by Tommy G

[kenny]

11 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Things look like they might be back on again, I'm expecting nothing and then you don't get dissapointed. Question though, the sellers solicitors have come back to us today to say their log burner has been serviced and it's got a crack in it, so they are taking it out??

 

Hang on a second, presumably I need to be going back and saying you need to knock £x off the price of the house or installing a new log burner like for like with a guarentee? Said Log Burner is < 2 years old as it was part of the renovation they did, who why isn't it under guarentee? I suspect it's a 2nd hand one....advice welcome. I dont know if a new log burner is £2K or £5K

The burner is cheap ie under £1k.

 

The installation is more and it needs to be signed by a Hetas installer or Building control which is where the cost comes in. Typically, a new installation including burner will be £2-3k.

 

You can easily replace the burner yourself into an existing installation but it won't be 'signed off'.

[FoxesDeb]

20 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Things look like they might be back on again, I'm expecting nothing and then you don't get dissapointed. Question though, the sellers solicitors have come back to us today to say their log burner has been serviced and it's got a crack in it, so they are taking it out??

 

Hang on a second, presumably I need to be going back and saying you need to knock £x off the price of the house or installing a new log burner like for like with a guarentee? Said Log Burner is < 2 years old as it was part of the renovation they did, who why isn't it under guarentee? I suspect it's a 2nd hand one....advice welcome. I dont know if a new log burner is £2K or £5K

I'd want either a new one properly installed, or the price you originally agreed for the house reduced by the amount it will cost you to replace it 

[jgtuk]

24 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Things look like they might be back on again, I'm expecting nothing and then you don't get dissapointed. Question though, the sellers solicitors have come back to us today to say their log burner has been serviced and it's got a crack in it, so they are taking it out??

 

Hang on a second, presumably I need to be going back and saying you need to knock £x off the price of the house or installing a new log burner like for like with a guarentee? Said Log Burner is < 2 years old as it was part of the renovation they did, who why isn't it under guarentee? I suspect it's a 2nd hand one....advice welcome. I dont know if a new log burner is £2K or £5K

If it includes replacement liner then installation cost will be higher. If there is any paperwork showing age of liner, hetas certificate or similar then installer will know whether it’s a straight swap of log burner. 
Don’t buy a cheap one, you’ll regret it when it cracks. They range from a few hundred to several thousand for a decent one depending on output required. 
I live in Wales where everyone has a log burner and I’ve installed my own liner and burner and paid hetas installers too.  
If they take it out and don’t replace you could have a higher bill on installation of a new one. 

[VLC86]

40 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Things look like they might be back on again, I'm expecting nothing and then you don't get dissapointed. Question though, the sellers solicitors have come back to us today to say their log burner has been serviced and it's got a crack in it, so they are taking it out??

 

Hang on a second, presumably I need to be going back and saying you need to knock £x off the price of the house or installing a new log burner like for like with a guarentee? Said Log Burner is < 2 years old as it was part of the renovation they did, who why isn't it under guarentee? I suspect it's a 2nd hand one....advice welcome. I dont know if a new log burner is £2K or £5K

Depends on the log burner, mine was close to £2k but there are much cheaper ones out there.

[Tommy G]

7 minutes ago, jgtuk said:

If it includes replacement liner then installation cost will be higher. If there is any paperwork showing age of liner, hetas certificate or similar then installer will know whether it’s a straight swap of log burner. 
Don’t buy a cheap one, you’ll regret it when it cracks. They range from a few hundred to several thousand for a decent one depending on output required. 
I live in Wales where everyone has a log burner and I’ve installed my own liner and burner and paid hetas installers too.  
If they take it out and don’t replace you could have a higher bill on installation of a new one. 

Thanks I'll make these points - I think I'll ask them to replace with a new one with all the certification.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

Exchanged today on our original purchase. 

 

No idea how it unblocked itself at the top of the chain and frankly I couldn't care less. Can't wait to be in there now, everything we've wanted in terms of a house and somewhere we'll be for a long long time. 

 

[jgtuk]

4 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Exchanged today on our original purchase. 

 

No idea how it unblocked itself at the top of the chain and frankly I couldn't care less. Can't wait to be in there now, everything we've wanted in terms of a house and somewhere we'll be for a long long time. 

 

Congratulations, it’s a horrible process to go through but great when it all works out 👍

[FoyleFox]

6 hours ago, Tommy G said:

Things look like they might be back on again, I'm expecting nothing and then you don't get dissapointed. Question though, the sellers solicitors have come back to us today to say their log burner has been serviced and it's got a crack in it, so they are taking it out??

 

Hang on a second, presumably I need to be going back and saying you need to knock £x off the price of the house or installing a new log burner like for like with a guarentee? Said Log Burner is < 2 years old as it was part of the renovation they did, who why isn't it under guarentee? I suspect it's a 2nd hand one....advice welcome. I dont know if a new log burner is £2K or £5K

If the log burner is mentioned in the sales particulars, it's part of the fixtures and fittings so, they can't just remove it. In the same way they couldn't just take the bathroom suite. Can you see it clearly in any of the pictures so you could look up the make / model and establish the cost? 

It's either replaced or financial recompense for you to do the work. 

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

8 hours ago, Tommy G said:

Things look like they might be back on again, I'm expecting nothing and then you don't get dissapointed. Question though, the sellers solicitors have come back to us today to say their log burner has been serviced and it's got a crack in it, so they are taking it out??

 

Hang on a second, presumably I need to be going back and saying you need to knock £x off the price of the house or installing a new log burner like for like with a guarentee? Said Log Burner is < 2 years old as it was part of the renovation they did, who why isn't it under guarentee? I suspect it's a 2nd hand one....advice welcome. I dont know if a new log burner is £2K or £5K

There's a wide spectrum of log burners available. You can spend as much as you like.

 

I sold my flat to a couple with a cat. He asked if we were allowed cats in the flat through the estate agent, I said yep, we've had a dog for 4 years with no problems. He didn't believe me, asked the leaseholder and got charged 400 quid then tried to knock 400 quid off the price. I ignored him for a week and he ended up going through with it. His wife was furious as they were homeless for a week.

 

Morale of the story is for something as meaningless as that I wouldn't bother as if you're trying to be petty, there's someone out there that can be far more petty than you.

[FoyleFox]

50 minutes ago, Chocolate Teapot said:

There's a wide spectrum of log burners available. You can spend as much as you like.

 

I sold my flat to a couple with a cat. He asked if we were allowed cats in the flat through the estate agent, I said yep, we've had a dog for 4 years with no problems. He didn't believe me, asked the leaseholder and got charged 400 quid then tried to knock 400 quid off the price. I ignored him for a week and he ended up going through with it. His wife was furious as they were homeless for a week.

 

Morale of the story is for something as meaningless as that I wouldn't bother as if you're trying to be petty, there's someone out there that can be far more petty than you.

It's not quite the same thing. A pet is a choice not a fixture that you're buying as part of the sale. 

If it's built in you can't remove it. 

 

Our buyers initially kicked up a fuss that we weren't leaving the cooker, they thought it was built in, as it was well fitted between some cupboards. It was easy for me to prove it was a free standing range. And we were allowed to remove. If we'd said we were taking the fridge, which was built in, we'd have been in trouble. 

 

Imagine going to view a car, it has 4 wheels. You agree a price. You go to collect the car and it's only got three. The seller has removed one due to a flat tyre. You're going to be out of pocket and not very happy. If Tommy has agreed to buy the house, including the log burner, that's the deal. 

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

6 hours ago, FoyleFox said:

It's not quite the same thing. A pet is a choice not a fixture that you're buying as part of the sale. 

If it's built in you can't remove it. 

 

Our buyers initially kicked up a fuss that we weren't leaving the cooker, they thought it was built in, as it was well fitted between some cupboards. It was easy for me to prove it was a free standing range. And we were allowed to remove. If we'd said we were taking the fridge, which was built in, we'd have been in trouble. 

 

Imagine going to view a car, it has 4 wheels. You agree a price. You go to collect the car and it's only got three. The seller has removed one due to a flat tyre. You're going to be out of pocket and not very happy. If Tommy has agreed to buy the house, including the log burner, that's the deal. 

So you'd rather buy a car with a flat tyre here?