‘We didn’t get a survey. We thought these houses were solid’

‘We didn’t get a survey on this house because we know this area well and we thought these houses were solid. What can we do now?’

Well … your options are:

• Sell up and hope the next buyer doesn’t get a survey done either,
• Raid your pension pot and fix the place up at your own expense,
• Do nothing, enjoy your retirement, stay in the house until the day you die and palm your kids off with the liability!

We’ve been out again recently inspecting houses and we’ve been listening to more homeowners lamenting because they skipped having a survey carried out on their home.

Again, we can’t stress the importance of knowing what you’re buying before you empty your purse on to the table.

Sure, the main house might be built solid and might look great; but what about the later extensions? What about the knock-throughs? The creaky loft conversion? The damp garage conversion? As you can see from the photographs, this property has had a substantial rear extension built on sloping ground and it has rotated away from the main house by a good 20mm – and it’s still on the move.

This kind of problem isn’t easy to spot on a quick property viewing. And if it’s still moving – with no end in sight – it may not be a cheap fix either. If it rotates another 20mm it will be fit for demolition. Rebuilding it will cost North of £15K.

The home buyer was seemingly beguiled by the vendor producing planning approval, building control approval, and builders guaranties for the extension. All well and good of course; but what about nearby drain leaks since it was built? Ground heave? Soil desiccation? Unsettlement of Sheol? All perfectly reasonable excuses to void a guaranty.

If you want to dodge a bullet like this then call us to find out how we can help you.