We've reached a stale mate with the vendors who have been less than honest. And things are likely to get more complicated. Made an offer 7 weeks ago on a 300 yr old cottage which has had a sizeable extension and an annex added. After a little investigation online it seems that the vendors were refused planning twice for the annex. When forced on the issued they claimed that they had simply completed works done by the previous owners and were unaware that planning was needed. Now were sure its the current owners who made the current changes because we called the agents who marketed & sold the house back in 2010 and they confirmed our suspicions.
The vendors want to apply for retrospective planning which if I understand correctly means we will be unable to get an indemnity insurance on the property. Worst case senario, the council are alerted to the extension and the vendors are forced to remove the annex.
Also other 3 bed cottages in the area sell for up to 90k less than we've offered. Would it be reasonable to expect a significant reduction in the asking price and for the vendor to pay the indemnity? Or should we let them re-apply with a great chance that they'll be rejected again? (Its in a conservation area and they probably deemed it an overdevelopment of the site.) And how long does it take to make/ review a planning application?
Were not in a chain so in no great hurry to move but obviously we've now invested in this house, we'd quite like to see it through. Any advice appreciated!
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Any experience buying a house with no planning permission on an annex?
20 replies
jammybean · 15/10/2012 11:07
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