Buy this property or not? downstairs chimney breasts removed

[Will233]

I found a property in December last year. It is a first floor two bedroom 50% share of freehold

The ground floor occupier bought this property in December 2017,she removed chimney breasts in the lounge and rear bedroom without consent of my vendor. She also applied for planning permission to extend into the garden. This was a clear violation of the lease since the lease prohibited any kind of structure alteration.

An settlement agreement was made between my vendor and ground floor occupier in May 2018. The lady downstairs confirmed that she removed the chimney breasts in the lounge and the rear bedroom, the supporting gallow brackets would be replaced with steel joints. Also any extension would be prohibited. A completion certificated issued by local council and structure calculation by structure engineer was attached to the agreement.

My question is how do I ensure the safety of this property? Should I instruct a structure engineer to inspect the property? Do I have nothing to worry if proper support is in place? Would this be a problem and affect my future selling of the property?

Some other information of this property also worries me. Estate agent has been telling me that the property has a long lease of 999 years. My solicitor told me that the seller's solicitor confirmed that the new lease was not registered and they have advised their client to contact the solicitors who acted for him in connection with that. I'm just confused if the lease has been extended or not?

Furthermore, this property is on chain. There are four forward sellers on the chain! What should I do at the moment? Arrange for a survey or negotiate on the price of the property?

Don't buy it. It sounds like way too much trouble.

Run. Very far away.

Sounds like a nightmare

Keep looking

I’d walk away now too.

Dear God, why would you consider living above this woman? Who knows what she’ll do next.

Yeah, you already know she is going to be a nightmare neighbor!

Run away. Too many issues that need resolving. You will never know if you have covered them all.

Look for a simpler place that doesn’t have so many problems

If she is known to have done this, what other changes has she made without permission or involving Buildings Control. Vendor needs to resolve it before selling, a purchaser may not have the same rights. Does downstairs share the freehold, buildings insurance (which is probably now compromised) etc

pull out. too much headache already.

Thanks everyone for the useful comments.