What can you do if a property has serious issues?
When you find a property you love, you should always take a close look at the Home Report and associated documents, prior to even booking a viewing, so that you know if the property has any problems that you should be aware of.
A Home Report looks in-depth at the property's condition, while the seller’s questionnaire will give you a personal insight into the wider context of the property, taking into account any changes made (like new windows, or an extension), or things such as neighbour disputes, which sellers are obliged to disclose.
Both of these documents are designed to give interested buyers peace of mind when purchasing a property, but they can also bring up issues that may make you reconsider whether to proceed with the purchase.
So, what can you do if known issues are flagged with a property you’re interested in buying?
Does the property have neighbour problems?
Problems with neighbours can hamper a sale, and your seller is legally obliged to notify you of any official disputes they have had. If you purchase a property where the seller has been dishonest about this, you may be able to take legal action against them.
Neighbour disputes can be anything from barking dogs, loud music or late-night parties, to disputes over fence heights, boundaries and borders, and party walls, so it’s important to get as much information about this as you can prior to proceeding with the property purchase.
If a dispute has been recorded, you should make a decision as to whether you feel that this is something you can live with or resolve before continuing with the process.
Are there Category Three problems on the Home Report?
The Home Report notes the condition of all aspects of the property, and while many buyers are content to purchase where there’s a handful of Category Two classifications (depending on what they apply to), fewer buyers are happy to proceed when Category Three repairs are noted.
Category Three repairs are the most serious and usually require immediate attention, or risk causing long-term damage to the property or safety issues.
If the property you love has some Category Three repairs, you should talk to your solicitor estate agent in the first instance.
It’s recommended that you seek professional advice from relevant tradespeople and ascertain expected costs for the works prior to committing to the purchase, so that you can decide if the repairs are affordable for you.
The property has history of flooding, subsidence or other external factors
Serious issues such as problems with subsidence, the building’s fire history, and whether it has ever flooded must be declared when the property is being listed for sale.
Issues such as the presence of Japanese knotweed must also be disclosed, as this is invasive and usually very expensive to resolve.
With this information, again you can decide whether you are happy to take on the risks involved with owning a property where any of these factors have been a prior or current issue.
Have building works been approved?
If the property you love has undergone building work in the past, but it hasn’t been approved by the planning department, or it doesn’t have appropriate certification, this may cause issues with the sale and your chances of getting a mortgage.
Retrospective planning permission may be granted, but if works don’t meet safety regulations, there could be serious implications – and if you choose to proceed with the purchase, you will become liable.
You could ask the seller to apply for retrospective planning permission as a condition of sale, however you should be aware that this could add months to the conveyancing process. You may also be able to negotiate on price, to counter the costs involved in applying for planning permission yourself.
An alternative option is to apply for indemnity insurance to protect yourself if the local authority takes action against the works (such as where an unlawful extension has been built), but your solicitor estate agent will be able to guide you on your options.
There are building works nearby
Other issues that fall under building works, is the knowledge of any substantial renovations or developments in the vicinity, which must be declared by the current owner and will usually be flagged as part of the pre-sale discovery process. These works are usually relatively short-term, but only you can decide if you are happy to live with the noise, disruption and traffic that large-scale building works can bring.
Ready to proceed?
If you fall in love with a property and find out that there are potentially major issues to reckon with, only you can decide if you love it enough to pursue it.
Your solicitor estate agent will be on hand to guide you in your decision-making process, so it’s important to find one that you trust – search today for one of our 140-plus solicitor estate agency firms who can all guide you on your way to a happy home.