What kind of guarantee would you expect a developer to offer?

[FrodisCapering]

For anyone who contributed to my last thread, the house we were initially interested in remains on the market with no price drop. We have decided to walk away from that one.

We viewed another property last week. It's an old house that is being significantly extended and modernised by a a very small development company.
It sounds like it's going to be great and the space is what we need.

The issue: they are going to get final sign off by a building inspector but they aren't prepared to give us any kind of guarantee for the work.
They aren't shonky but I know that issues with extensions can take a year or two to show up.

Please could someone with experience tell me what exactly it's reasonable for us to ask for/whether you'd walk away in these circumstances?

It’s an older property with an extension. So not quite sure what your expectation is there.

I would expect any appliances to have warranties that are handed over.

Id expect any snagging to be fixed by them on the areas they have worked, perhaps agree a two weeks to a month for you to highlight anything. They may say no.

When you say older, what age is it? I’m asking as this is relevant to the work they have done and the issues that may arise.

Building regs sign off may or may not be worth the paper it's written on, I would say they should guarantee the new work and it's connection to the existing, but not any pre-existing problems. The trouble is unless they have had an insurance backed guarantee in place during the works they would have to back the guarantee themselves, so it would be as if you'd got a builder in to do the work - if the company folds you're left with nothing regardless.
Perhaps a really thorough survey including opening up anything deemed critical would be the best investment, but even if it does find things they may just refuse to make repairs and put it back on the market.

There should be roof and window guarantees. There should be certificates for any new electrical work. Building regs sign off isn’t a guarantee of anything other than they met code. A structural warrantee might be suggested but I’ve sold houses I’ve extended and never provided that. Other than that it’s caveat emptor so get a good survey - perhaps ask for the structural engineer drawings a they used?

OP I certainly would t walk away for this reason, it’s not actually a reason unless you want an excuse.

I would want to know what era it is to establish if appropriate work has been done.
I also wonder if an older house is right for you given your concern.

I'd say the original part is probably 1930s.
I've read that it can a year for foundations to settle and there can be cracks/structural issues so it was that I was thinking about some kind of indemnity for.

Thank you so much. I didn't realise this.
Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Our current house is from the same period.
I'm not worried about the original bits, but there's a significant extension upstairs and downstairs. It's that I'm worried about.
Certainly not looking for an excuse to walk away...it's in a brilliant location and will look fantastic!

As long as the original has a cavity wall then I wouldn’t be concerned.
the link is obviously the area that could go wrong but you are unlikely to get any guarantees for that.