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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

New house value £0

205 replies

Bananacloud · 17/12/2018 23:50

Aibu to think HOW ON EARTH THIS HAPPENED!!!
So it turns out the developers of the new build I’m currently living in, totally disregarded council opposing them to build on the land they actually built on.
So now, it turns out our houses (13 in total) have £0 value due to being on a former dumping ground (I think) also there’s been some mention of gases (really don’t know what that’s about)! Whatever it is, it’s bad!!
So now I’m wondering, where we stand with

  1. The mortgage lenders
  2. The original conveyancer (who ticked the building off as acceptable)
  3. The developers and our lawyers who dealt with the house purchase?
Any idea what will happen???
OP posts:
thebabysmellsofpooagain · 18/12/2018 11:12

@Chewinggumwalk thanks! ☺️

Ngaio2 · 18/12/2018 11:18

@naiceshoes developers often “suggest” buyers consult tame solicitors which means no independent advice the first time. However lawyers have insurance and further fees ought to be paid as part of the settlement

LovesLaboursLost · 18/12/2018 11:26

I’d guess that the OP doesn’t mean there’s no planning permission. The council opposed the development due to the landfill, the developers won on appeal. Now it turns out the landfill is actually as dangerous as the council said and the homes have become unmortgageable. I’d guess this was discovered when someone tried to sell and a surveyor noticed an issue with the gas build up.

DontCallMeCharlotte · 18/12/2018 11:28

developers often “suggest” buyers consult tame solicitors which means no independent advice the first time.

I would dispute that the advice isn't independent as, when I worked for "recommended solicitors", we had to prepare full legal reports and report to the lenders etc. All it meant was that we could keep costs down and proceed more quickly because every transaction was effectively identical so we only had to do the full investigation for the first property we dealt with on the development, knowing it would be the same for all the others. As much as we might have a good relationship with the developers, we would not have proceeded if anything was untoward.

ThisIsM · 18/12/2018 11:30

Yeah pretty certain you have to have insurance with a mortgage so...🤷🏼‍♀️

SharkSave · 18/12/2018 11:37

I assume the OP meant she didn't think to check if her home insurance had legal cover...

bluefolder · 18/12/2018 11:38

You don't have building insurance for your home Shock

TeaPot496 · 18/12/2018 11:40

A good solicitor will want to see evidence of buildings insurance being taken out upon exchange of contracts. A poor one won't ask for the certificate and a homeowner can avoid it or forget... It's generally a condition of the mortgage that the house is insured. Take out insurance IMMEDIATELY OP!

JacquesHammer · 18/12/2018 11:49

Ok I was a residential conveyancing solicitor.

When you act for a buyer who is taking out a mortgage you - by default - also act for the mortgage lender. It is a condition of mortgage that the property is adequately covered buildings insurance wise - so your solicitor should have asked for proof of insurance before they arranged for the mortgage funds to be drawn down.

So where you stand with the people outlined in your original post: -

1. The mortgage lenders

You have to still carry on paying the mortgage. That is their loan to you secured against the property. They are pretty much in the same boat as you! That said - have you still got a copy of the survey? Do check through as to any comments made by the surveyor although this would likely be a fairly rudimentary check.

2. The original conveyancer (who ticked the building off as acceptable)

Which do you mean? The ones acting when the land was purchased?

3. The developers and our lawyers who dealt with the house purchase?

Ask for a copy of your file from your solicitors immediately. A solicitor can only act on the documentation they have in front of them - a full report on all searches carried out and the survey should have been sent to you. This should include both searches with the local authority and Land Registry searches.

At this point it is difficult to know whether the conveyancer made an error, or simply acted perfectly accepotably and were mislead themselves.

You absolutely should contact the developer and ask for further clarification.

Original poster
Bananacloud · 18/12/2018 11:50

No sorry, you misunderstood what I said. What I meant was we didn’t even think to check our house insurance to see what we are covered for. Of course we have it.
We’ve only known since weekend so still taking time to register it all.

OP posts:
Coppermine · 18/12/2018 11:55

Have you looked online for the planning application information? Should give you some info on what was or wasn't approved or if it was approved with conditions etc. Might give you more information to take forwards.

If the council did approve it on appeal then it makes me wonder who is ultimately responsible here. Why would they approve something if it wasn't safe?

Jaxhog · 18/12/2018 11:58

It does seem very unlikely that your solicitor and the mortgage company's surveyors missed something as serious as this.

Who is saying your house is worth nothing now?

Lovemusic33 · 18/12/2018 12:03

Seems a bit odd to me, 13 houses and no one has picked up on it? Have you spoken to any of the other house owners?

Terryscombover · 18/12/2018 12:03

Do you have NHBC? Is so the land condition including issues with landfill etc would have to have been resolved and signed off.

And who is saying they are worthless? If it's a failed search for someone buying one that might be causing unnecessary panic.

bluefolder · 18/12/2018 12:11

oh phew. The idea of someone with no buildings insurance was a bit worrying! you may well have legal cover through them.

MorbidlyObese · 18/12/2018 12:30

This reply has been withdrawn

Message from MNHQ: This post has been withdrawn

Original poster
Bananacloud · 18/12/2018 15:16

@loveslabourslost basically everything in this post! It appears the council set two conditions n the developers that they never met - I won’t detail these in their entirety but one was rendering harmless any contamination and the other specified that no development was approved other than permission being given to implement their Reclamation Method Statement and the work on this was completed.

We did have a full survery, including environmental one, carried out at time of purchase and that came back with a big green tick with the caveat given being one that this is based on the developers having done what they should have done. But they haven’t. They’ve cut and run.

We used a conveyancer as recommended by the sellers, as did 6 of the 13 houses.

What’s prompted all this is as the post above from lovelabourslost, one of the residents has looked in to selling and its come back essentially as being you shouldn’t even be allowed to live there! One of the council guys has since been around and has even stated that the council are within their rights to bulldoze the houses which is very worrying.

The posts on here are massively helpful though.

OP posts:
DontCallMeCharlotte · 18/12/2018 15:23

OP are the developers still in existence?

Original poster
Bananacloud · 18/12/2018 15:25

No, they’ve dissolved and now operating under a new name 😣

OP posts:
safariboot · 18/12/2018 15:38

I would expect a lengthy and massive legal battle. Anyone who might be held liable - builders, lenders, insurers, solicitors, whoever - is going to fight tooth and nail claiming that your house is fine and there's no problem, or that if there is a problem it's not their fault.

Worst case scenario, you declare bankruptcy. That will mean considerable difficulty - most landlords won't rent to you for a start. But the bankruptcy will be discharged in time and you can move on.

SharkSave · 18/12/2018 15:40

Who signed off on your houses? The NHBC?

Cuttingthegrass · 18/12/2018 15:52

How long have you lived there OP?

Can't believe it was signed off without the confirmation that the council regulations were completed

Buteo · 18/12/2018 16:21

Do you have a building regs completion certificate?

Since it sounds like the property is built adjacent to a landfill, have any remedial measures such as gas resistant membranes been used in construction? Is there a sub floor void with venting?

Methane is flammable at between 5 and 15% by volume in air, but there could be other gases such as CO2 or VOCs.

Original poster
Bananacloud · 18/12/2018 16:21

We’ve been living here for nearly 3 years. So yeah. Hopefully will see a positive outcome. Can’t see what though Confused

OP posts:
unadulterateddad · 18/12/2018 16:27

I work in the industry dealing with these issues (but not the NHBC) so whilst the issue could be bad, there may be protection for you.There are three key questions here, how old is the development (what was the date the property was first sold?) if it's less than 10 yrs old you might have cover under any building warranty, second is do you have a copy of the building warranty policy? Who did building control?

If you can answer the above, I might be able to give a bit more advice..