Feeling lost....any advice for a (kinda) first timer?

[judybloomno5]

I'm at my wits end...trying to 'PM' a house move with a 6 week old reflux baby who had German Measles last week and a 23 month old. I am clearly a glutton for punishment.

I've bought before, 5 years ago and a new build which whilst took 3 months was relatively straightforward as we managed to buy one from a local builder who lived around the corner so it was in his interest to do the job properly and keep us on side. Aside from this, I had my darling DF helping and giving me advice all the way. Unfortunately he died suddenly in the spring. I'm really lost without him on so many levels, DM not dealing with it well which i understand. I'm moving to be nearer to her.

We've sold and are No. 2 in a chain of 4. Our buyers have completed and have moved into a holiday let waiting for us. We've offered on a property in a desirable area. I had a Home buyers survey done last week and its come up that there isn't a door between the conservatory and the dining room which the vendors had fitted. This is against building regs and will mean Ill lose lots of heat in the house.

They have a partly converted one half of the double garage which doesn't have an external window only an internal window into the other unconverted garage. This isn't fire proof apparently and is also against building regs.

My solicitor is crap. I can't get hold of them and the EAs are talking about exchanging.

The boiler is apparently inefficient as its the original one but is regularly serviced.

I'm not happy with these issues, we are paying a good amount for the property and offered asking price to secure it but now I'm thinking if i knew about these issues I maybe wouldn't have offered so much.....

WWYD? Do I speak to the vendors EA and ask them to get a quote for the conservatory doors and then ask for this to be deducted from the asking price? Is it my responsibility to get a quote? Do I do nothing? Do I ask to be met half way?

Hmm. Even I know about the conservatory door building reg rule and I've never installed a conservatory nor had any major building works done, so I would consider it quite worrying. I would be concerned about what else isn't per building regs that you can't see (and might make the house unsafe).

If I were you I would tell them to get retrospective building reg approval for all improvements before exchange or you pull out.

We bought a house without a door between the conservatory and kitchen before the regs came in I assume as nobody mentioned it. It was freezing so we added doors ourselves. I think it cost £600 to have them fitted and the space closed up.

Nothing else is in breach of building regs I had a full survey done.

How do I approach it though?

I was saying things like 'I can't wait to move in' and now I'm feeling ugh. The boiler needs replacing too.

I told the EA and he said to let the lawyers sort it out.

The lawyers can suggest things to minimise your risk, but they can't decide how to proceed - you'll need to instruct them what you want to do (reduce the offer to take into account the issues that need rectifying? Require them to rectify the problems yourself?)

All of these issues are incredibly common and probably not worth delaying a sale over if you want to proceed quickly. Loads of people remove doors between house and conservatory to make it one big space. It doesn't meet building regs mainly due to insulation/heat loss. If you are not happy when you move in it will cost £500 approx to reinstate patio doors.

What have they converted the garage to? Again as long as it's not a crucial room to you in terms of buying the house, just make sure there is a fire door between it and house and ask for indemnity insurance. You have the option of doing it properly in the future. Obviously if it is something like a bedroom that is reflected in the price you will want to renegotiate. But a utility/study- not worth the hassle imo.

All of the above are enquiries you can ask your solicitor to make to the seller's solicitor. These are just part and parcel of making enquiries and hopefully getting satisfactory responses. If you don't get satisfactory responses, you will have negotiate a mutually agreeable compromise.

It may be that the vendor does still have the doors between the dining room and conservatory, just that they are stored (in the garage?) somewhere. If so, the vendor can reinstall them. Otherwise his solicitor may offer an indemnity policy for lack of building regulations.

Nothing much you can do about the boiler. As long as the seller can produce a recent service/inspection report to show it is in good working order, legally that's all he needs to provide. Lots of houses will have original boilers - people don't usually replace them unless they no longer work and can't be fixed.

The garage is a difficult one. The vendor may just state that he will convert it back to a double garage, thereby avoiding the need for building regs and fire risk assessment.

So, you may be able to negotiate on the purchase price. But, the vendor can say no. Do you really want this house or are you prepared to walk away and find another?