House with No Certificate of Compliance

BarraOG

Hi,

I'm interested in buying a house in the Midlands countryside but it has no Certificate of Compliance. The Estate Agent says this is because the builders who built the house added a room in the attic, including Velux windows facing the back garden, and that this was not included in the original plans.

An offer has been made on the house matching the asking price but the Estate Agent says that this buyer needs a mortgage from the bank. I am a cash buyer.

Since there is no Certificate of Compliance for the house, I am not willing to buy it without peace of mind. Therefore as I understand it, I have no choice but to employ a Structural Engineer to look at the house on my behalf. What should I ask the Engineer for on contacting them, and roughly speaking, how much is this likely to cost and how long is this process likely to take?

The Estate Agent has indicated to me that I could make an offer less than that already on the table since I am a cash buyer. I presume this is because the process of getting a mortgage will take a long time, while on the other hand, I can potentially buy the house much more quickly. But is this only if I don't involve a structural engineer? Or are there other reasons why the process of getting a mortgage will take a long time for the other potential buyer?

Is my next step to involve a Structural Engineer in your opinion? Are there any other questions I should ask the Estate Agent? Can you offer me any other advice?

Thanks very much for your help,

Barry

BryanF

You're interested in The house and have told the estate agent this. From now on, do not listen to a word the estate agent says. Get a structural engineer eng ASAP, you need to pay him to not only carry out a visual survey but also to try his best to get to the bottom of the lack of certification - as that all sounds fishy.

Drift

If the house doesn't have certification the other interested party will not be able to secure a mortgage on it. The estate agent won't tell you this for obvious reasons but he knows it so take your time and call all the shots.

Also the estate agent has no qualifications terms of building regulation compliance so anything he tells you about this is only:

a. Repeating something that someone else told him
b. Unqualified "opinion"

Hire your own professional to investigate. It will cost a few hundred Euro.

Be prepared to walk away if the paperwork doesn't stack up. This means not falling in love with the house and treating it like business deal.

RORY O CONNOR

Its up to the vendor to provide the certification not the buyer! The loft may be exempted development if the veluxes are to the rear. Building regs may not apply if the loft is not being marketed as a bedroom/habitable space because then it is technically still a roof space.

dathi

BarraOG wrote: »

Are there any other questions I should ask the Estate Agent? Can you offer me any other advice?

the only question you should ask an estate agent is "for directions to the property to view it" the estate agent works for the seller not for you and his job is to extract as much money as he can from you for the property. as others have said get an engineer .

realtec

Hi BarraOG

What did you do in relation to the house for a finish? did you get your engineer and sort everythingout or walk away?

BarraOG

We bought the house in the end and are glad we did. The Engineer was happy with the house while our solicitor had a lot of trouble with the solicitors on the other end since we were buying via nama. Our solicitor and engineer advised us as to how we can solve the problem with the lack of compliance down the road.

BryanF

BarraOG wrote: »

Our solicitor and engineer advised us as to how we can solve the problem with the lack of compliance down the road.

What did they advise?