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Messages - Olihorton

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Non-motoring legal advice / Re: House purchase - solicitor won’t budge on a buildings regs issue
« on: July 17, 2024, 07:58:17 pm »
Thank you all for your points and replies - you’re a most helpful and knowledgable bunch.

I’ll pass on all the info as I’m not currently aware of what the specific conditions of the mortgage offer were other than the spray foam had to be removed.  Presumably it is fair to assume that this would imply any remedial works would need to comply with building regs even if this isn’t explicitly stated.

I think the easiest option for them is to approach BC themselves or appoint an independent BC to clarify.

Thanks again, all of you!

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Non-motoring legal advice / Re: House purchase - solicitor won’t budge on a buildings regs issue
« on: July 13, 2024, 11:10:30 pm »
@Southpaw82 thank you, again. I will get all of your sage advice back to my friends and hope they can find a way through to a completion.

Oh, and @H C Andersen,  we’re in the wilds of North Somerset where the notion of getting something in writing from building control is as alien as those folk from the next village… It’s not unheard of one BCO advising you to do one thing and once done and needing to be signed off, a different BCO telling you it’s non-compliant and needs to be re-done to their liking!  Still - I suspect if not in writing already, getting this would be somewhat significant in progressing matters.

Thank you both again for your time!

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Non-motoring legal advice / Re: House purchase - solicitor won’t budge on a buildings regs issue
« on: July 13, 2024, 09:57:39 pm »
Thank you for taking the time to both read and reply to this little pickle of a situation.

Regards the building control - this is what doesn’t make sense to any of us. Seems to be that the solicitor does not agree with building control, but have asked my friends raise this same question previously and if they can have building control confirm in writing that the works do not need to comply then on what basis is she refusing to proceed.

I had no idea that the solicitor works for both, but fully understand the reasons why. I suspect my friends (as I have likely done in the past) have just signed on every dotted line put in front of them without paying due care and diligence to the details…

Points fully taken on board and I agree that seems to be the most sensible solution, it’s just very strange that Building Control have stated that the works do not need to comply with building regs, whereas the solicitor has advised they do creating something of an impasse which would, presumably, affect any other buyer until
6 months have passed and an indemnity might be purchased.

One question, if I may. Given, or assumed, that the solicitor is working on behalf of lender also, would they now be duty bound to report this issue to the lender? I’m just wondering if my friends take the nuclear option of sacking the current solicitor, not declaring the works to a new solicitor etc. would this be an absolute folly on their part as the damage, so to speak would already have been done with the lender.

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Non-motoring legal advice / House purchase - solicitor won’t budge on a buildings regs issue
« on: July 12, 2024, 10:44:32 pm »
Hi, asking for advice for a friend - the buyer.
Situation is the house they are purchasing had spray foam insulation in the roof which their mortgage company advised would have to be removed and replaced with non-spray foam insulation prior to them even approving their mortgage offer. Apparently this is not uncommon now.

Vendor and buyer went halves on the cost of this. Contractor spoke to the council to explain what they were doing and how they were going to re-insulate and asked if they needed to comply with current building regs and were advised by the council that they did not need to. Reason for this is that current regs would mean deeper insulation than the existing rafter depth thereby decreasing height in the roof space which is not wanted due to it making the roof uncomfortably low.

Works now completed, mortgage company are happy and have issued the mortgage offer, but buyer’s solicitor refuses to proceed as she says it requires building regs approval. Buyers have stated they are happy to proceed regardless but solicitor refuses saying she has the mortgage company’s interests to be wary of. Indemnity is not possible as works have been carried out in the last 6 months.

Current only feasible solution seems to be sack current solicitor and lose all associated fees etc and try a new one and not disclose the insulation issue, but this will cost significant sums not to mention the delay on an already lengthy process to get this far. Any advice on any polite words/legal terminology to use to “force” the solicitor to move forward would be very welcome as surely she should only be acting in her clients’ interests and as instructed rather than worry about the mortgage company’s interests who have their own surveyors and legal team to think about these things.

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