Half Build dream home!

zelemon

I am looking at bargain sites in and around the West Limerck area & I have come across a one & half storey house which is complete to ground floor wall plate & looks good. While the house design & location has a lot of good qualities, ie esp the price! I have some grave concerns, The vendor can only supply me with certification for the foundations (which is not dated), he has no certifaction for any insulation & radon a installed & I am also concerned that a certificate for planning may not be available as its not complete to wall plate throughout, would I be mad to go ahead with any deal for this?

Poor Uncle Tom

At the moment and with the information you have you would be mad to go ahead with it.

At the very least you should insist on a Certificate of Compliance with Planning Permission and Building Regulations for all works to date. It sounds like the date of the planning permission has/isaboutto expire, if that is the case the seler needs to certify that the planning permission has been satisfied and works may proceed to completion, otherwise the site is no good to anyone.

tred

zelemon wrote: »

I am looking at bargain sites in and around the West Limerck area & I have come across a one & half storey house which is complete to ground floor wall plate & looks good. While the house design & location has a lot of good qualities, ie esp the price! I have some grave concerns, The vendor can only supply me with certification for the foundations (which is not dated), he has no certifaction for any insulation & radon a installed & I am also concerned that a certificate for planning may not be available as its not complete to wall plate throughout, would I be mad to go ahead with any deal for this?

This is like me selling you a car with no service history. The cert for the raft, should be a lot more detailed, not just missing dates!. Take a step back and think about this one. Agree 100 percent with Tom. do you mind OC'ing me the price they are looking for, and i cross ref against what it cost me to build my storey and 1.2 to that level.....

sydthebeat

this is becoming ever more popular.

before you decide to purchase you need to:

1. find out when permission is to expire. if it is to expire within a time frame in which you will be building, either do not purchase or demand that the vendor obtain permission to extend the duration of the permission...

2. determine how long the superstructure has been open to the elements. blockwork left open to the elements during a winter will have suffered frost damage and mortar may have weaked significantly. Has first floor timber work been exposed? if so then they need to be removed and replaced. moisture readings and an inspection from a profession will be needed to tell if wet rot etc has set into timber. dates on the certs will tell you how long each stage has been left open.

3. get proper certification for every stage, foundations, ground floor, and current stage. Get a copy of the certifiers insurance and check against dates.

4. check all planning permission conditions to determine what works need to be done to site etc and calculate costs on these.

5. check insurance companies to determine if they have issues insuring structures that have been exposed to the elements for a significant period of time.

AckwelFoley

check the Limerick co co website to see when the property received planning. I know on Westmeath co co and roscommon you can do it by location by scrolling a internet map like google maps on their website.. it will show you who applied, conditions and when it was granted