Could do with some house buying advice ...:(

[holidaybug]

So have found a house etc but in the buying process have uncovered:

loft conversion done without regs. Vendors had stated on form that no consents were outstanding but this was later discovered by solicitor (think they were trying to cover it up). Further works have been carried out now and a regularisation certificate has been provided. We have not been given any guarantee though for the building work that has been recently carried out.

open plan conservatory - no regs again. Indemnity insurance was offered or re-instating external doors. We didn't want either as we liked the open plan feel so that is staying as it is. Vendor wouldn't approach Council for an energy assessment. At some point, we will probably replace that with a garden room.

As it is a modern house, permissions should have been obtained from the developer for the alterations. Retrospective permission cannot be given but the developers have confirmed in writing they would have granted permission if it had been requested at the time and wouldn't take action.

Now discovered that the house has been burgled in the last year or so and there has been an incident of car crime too.

I don't know if I am over-reacting but it feels like this is a bit of a problem house ... What do others think?

Seems like you are loosing faith in your sellers - not a surprise but not unusual i'm afraid!

Take a step back - look at why you went for the house to begin with, do any of the material facts you have uncovered change that?

From memory I don't think they have to state no regs on things like loft conversion - but cannot advertise it for example as a bedroom if it doesn't have building cert.

I would go with the indemnity insurance unless you have reason not to as it doesn't cost you anything and doesn't mean you have to do anything but have a bit of backup.

Unfortunately most houses do not come with any guarantees - and it is the stuff that you have not noticed/picked up on which will bite down the line I expect.

Energy assessment of the conservatory should be included in the energy cert for the house - which vendors legally have to have to put property on the market I believe unless something has changed.

Hi, a building regularisation certificate has been obtained so indemnity insurance isn't required for that. The EPC for the property is fine although I'm not convinced they are much use.

Yes, you're probably right that I have lost faith through the process. I think they did lie on the forms as it asked if any building consents were outstanding and they said no. The sale of this house has fallen through before so I think they would have known about this.

I'm in a similar position, holidaybug, with the same building issues (but not the burglary one). It sounds like my situation has been eased by better communication with the vendors, tho'... We've had several direct conversations, and I've been able to explain my concerns directly and suggest solutions.

I can't work out whether my vendors lied on the inquiry form, or whether they were just hopelessly naive. I've decided to give them the benefit of the doubt.

In your case, it sounds like you have already resolved some things, and I think you have a few further options, e.g.:

• An indemnity policy for the conservatory. I'd recommend that, and I've opted for one (plus a structural survey to confirm its soundness) because like you I want to keep the open plan feel, and if the council ever took enforcement action to make me close off the space, I'd be annoyed to be paying for something I didn't really want.

• Loft: a lot of building work has no guarantee, and the fact that you have a regularisation cert means that building control think it's well built and safe... So you probably don't need to worry about this. :) If you don't feel that's enough, you could pay for a limited structural survey (it would cost you £2-300 I think) and a surveyor could confirm its soundness - but that doesn't sound necessary under the circs. I guess you might also be able to pay for some extra insurance (which is after all what a guarantee is) - but I'm not sure...

• You've had suggestions about the burglary/car crime situation on your other thread, and I have nothing to add, except that a chat with the vendors might really help. You'll quickly get a sense of any underlying issues, I think - things the crime stats alone won't tell you.

Whether you actually do any of this depends on whether you still want to proceed. I think you should get this clear in your head, because if you've gone off the house and now want to withdraw, it would be unfair to ask the vendors to do more...

Thanks flow. It's good to get the perspective from someone going through the same. Our surveyor had a good look at the conservatory and we have spoken to him since. The conservatory seems sound - it's just the potential energy loss that would be the issue. Because it has been there for a while, Building Control wouldn't take action apparently. I guess I'm less concerned about the conservatory because they tend to have a limited life span so we will probably have to replace at some point anyway and then would upgrade to a garden room. if Building Control did get involved, we could put doors back on, not ideal but it is an option.

I'm more nervous about the loft because it is what we are paying extra for but yes it has been signed off, so has had more checks and scrutiny than anything else. I take your point about guarantees.

I guess I'm just suspicious because they weren't honest from the start so it goes through my head 'what else might they be covering up? ' We still really like the house but it would have really helped our faith in them if they had been open from the start.