House sale from hell. Please help!

[Cousinit]

Sorry if this is a bit long. I've just had some terrible news about the sale of our house and am still trying to come to terms with it all. Any advice would be much appreciated. We emigrated 6 months ago and put our UK home on the market. Had lots of interest and an asking price offer just before we left, which we accepted. So far, so good. After a few months of nudging our solicitors for news and very little correspondence from them, we were told that all the searches and surveys were complete and satisfactory and completion would be very soon. We then heard from our estate agents that our buyer's buyer had pulled out from their sale so they were no longer in a position to move forward. They then decided to stay put so we put the house on the market again.

After a month, we received some offers significantly below asking price (we were told unfortunately the market had "moved on" since we originally agreed our sale) so we accepted the best we could get and this time a first time buyer so no chain. Again, correspondence from our solicitors has been difficult. They have been mostly unresponsive and most updates have been from our estate agent. We were told by them that completion was likely to be mid-Feb. Now just received an email informing us that our buyer has pulled out due to some serious concerns about our property. Their building survey picked up on some issues that needed further investigation. Agent is now recommending we get a structural engineers report. Even worse than this, we have been told that some alterations to the property were made without consent and the front extension built over drainage system without consent from water company.

All alterations to the property were made before we bought it in 2005. Our own survey highlighted no problems but did mention the front extension. Our solicitor at the time (the same firm we are using now!) brought no problems with consent to our attention so we assumed all was well. When I looked through my files on the house earlier this year, I thought all of the consent documentation was in place and I still cannot believe the alterations were made without consent as the previous owner was a surveyor.

Thanks to anyone who has read this. I feel just a little bit better for writing it all down. Haven't even told DH yet - don't want to worry him while at work. I'm just puzzled as to how nothing was brought up when we were buying and apparently no problems for our original buyers either. If it turns out our original solicitor failed to complete the searches properly do we have any comeback at all or is it just our tough luck?

Am so worried we are now stuck with a house that can't be sold. We can't even be there to discuss in person with those concerned as we are on the other side of the world.

Thanks Reality. I feel sick just thinking about it. But yes, I think legal advice is probably needed.

When you bought the property, the solicitor should have checked that all consents had been obtained. If they didn't, then you need an explanation. Find out exactly what the position is and if necessary, instruct different solicitors to take this forward so you have an objective view.

It may be that the agent doesn't know the full position so give the solicitors the opportunity to report back.

Finally you can apply retrospectively for planning permission / building regs so it may be rectifiable, without too much work.

Hope it gets sorted.

Unfortunately this type of situation isn't uncommon.

It can all be sorted out and you can then progress with sale of house. It will take some paper work and a little persistence from you. But don't panic!

First of all. Did the original vendor (the "surveyor") declared the alterations he made? By that I mean that you have to sign a declaration as part of the house sale procedure and there are a number of statements you have to make. This is called "Sellers Property Information Form". One of those questions relates to structural alterations. If he did not declare, he has committed a criminal offence and you and your solicitor must report him to the police. This means once you speak to Building control and you get your own surveyor or better structural engineer in, your building insurance is likely to pay out on the basis you are the victim of a deception (fraud).

If he did declare. Did your solicitor make the appropriate further enquires? He should have requested Building Control Certificates and poss electrical and gas certifications depending on the work carried out. If he did not do so, then your solicitors Professional Indemnity Insurance will have to pay for any loss you suffer and this includes the time (mortgage payments/potential rental income lost) during the time sales have fallen thru. If this is the case your solicitor has been very negligent and you should receive full restitution for losses suffered and you can add stress to this.

Furthermore in respect of the original vendor (the "surveyor"). Was he a Chartered Surveyor? If so you can have him struck off so that he is unable to practise and you may be able to receive compensation through his Professional Indemnity Policy (if he is a sole practitioner or a Partner in a practise - if he isn't then you can still sue him personally for any costs and injury perceived.

To find out if he is a Chartered Surveyor, you can go onto RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) and search for his name to see if he is listed. Anyone can call themselves a "surveyor" however "chartered Surveyor" is a protected title which requires about 5 years of degree and post graduate training. If he indeed is chartered then he is a fool to have risked everything for a house sale and a declaration to Building Control.

HTH

As Mandy says. Retrospective consents are not a problem and Planning and building control depts do this all the time and will help you with it.

Some great advice there! Hope you get it sorted, don't forget it's wine o'clock

Thanks for your replies. I'm feeling a little less panicked now! I am pretty certain that the vendor declared all alterations on the sellers property information form but I will double check that.

Thanks for the link to RICS, Skandi. I've just looked him up, he is listed on there. As I mentioned before, I find it staggering that he should have made such major alterations without consent but who knows. Really not sure if it is just an oversight on the solicitor's part this time around or what, we just need to get to the bottom of what's going on here. So frustrating that we have to wait until this evening before we can discuss anything with the solicitors.

Runtybunty, unfortunately it is 10am here but am seriously tempted by the thought of right now. Or perhaps something stronger!

Poor you, house selling stress is not good. Just out of interest was it a public drain when the extension was built? If it was private at the time the extension was built this might affect things. I think water companies have only recently adopted previously private drains. I'm no expert but we are having a similar problem as our conservatory is built over a drain and we are trying to sell. At the time the drain was private so no consent from the water company was required. It did however need building regs as far as I understand for which we are providing an indemnity.

Good luck and don't panic. is good.

Good question Strangeways. I can't remember if it was private or public but that could be an explanation if consent wasn't obtained. However, I distinctly remember our building report highlighting the issue as something our solicitors would need to ensure caused no problems.

Good luck with selling your place. Hope it goes more smoothly for you. I am so fed up of the whole thing. Wish we had never bought in the first place!