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1) Yes, you're right - the only real difference is what happens if one of you dies. If your wills both provide that the other would have your share of the house anyway then you might as well go with a joint tenancy. You can turn a joint tenancy into a 50:50 tenancy in common (severing the joint tenancy) by simply serving a notice on your co-owner. Unless you want to own the house in shares other than 50:50, or leave your share to someone else on your death, then there's really no reason not to go for a joint tenancy.
2) NHBC certificates aren't worth the paper they're written on. I'm acting for some clients at the moment who bought a house off-plan from a major UK house builder. It came with an NHBC certificate despite the fact that (amongst a long list of other faults) the builders had completely forgotten to install any of the cavity wall insulation, hadn't fitted cavity drip trays, one of the walls had to be completely rebuilt and the PV panels on the roof were fitted so badly they were dangerous. Oh, and most of the metal face plates on the ground floor plug sockets weren't earthed properly. It also wasn't built in accordance with the planning permission for the house, so needs an application for retrospective consent. None of which the NHBC inspector either noticed or considered an issue.
If the property isn't completed I'd suggest waiting until the builder gives you the notification of practical completion, and then getting a surveyor to come along, do a full survey, and produce a full snagging list and advise whether or not it has actually reached practical completion.
3) Dunno.
Brommers-
NHBC certificates aren't worth the paper they're written on.
Also @ewanmac
This.
Having done remedial work on houses covered by nhbc certificates and subsequently felt guilty charging already upset home owners a small fortune to put right some seriously shoddy workmanship. I'd strongly recommend getting an independent surveyor to look things over.
I'm surprised that a financial advisor is offering advice on stuff like this. Did they come recommended by the developers?
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It has said that at times you feel that BC and HB/NHBC are in cahoots so dangle a carrot sign away to get the property finish.
I dont know which of the developers are bad but we are seeing an increase of development here in the midlands and surrounding.
and if you do proceed make sure everything works - a relative of new is renting a new build and somehow they managed to forget connecting up the inbuilt fridge/freezer
Bobbo
musa
Going through the first set of paperwork from our conveyancing solicitor and have a few questions.
1) Joint Tenants vs Tenants in Common with equal shares:
My fiancé and I are purchasing the house together and have made approximately equal contributions to the deposit and anticipate equal contributions to the mortgage. Our wedding is planed for 2022 so we will not be married for at least the first portion of our ownership. Am I correct in assuming that the only difference between JT and TiC is what happens in the event of a death... namely that if we are JT then the property would pass automatically to the other, whereas under TiC the property would pass to whoever is named in our respective wills (who may or may not be the other tenant)? Is there anything else important to consider?
2) Surveys
The house we are purchasing is a new build and will be covered by a 10 year NHBC warranty. Our financial advisor told us that it would be unusual to commission either a home buyers report or a full structural survey on such a property because he could not imagine such a survey revealing anything that wouldn't already be covered by the NHBC warranty. Is this reasonable advice and if not, what sort of faults might the survey uncover that would not be covered by NHBC? An additional complication is that the house is not fully built yet (final build completion expected October) and so when would the surveyor complete the survey - when the property is only part built (but before exchange of contracts) or after the property is completed but thus also after exchange of contracts?
3) Local search and Environmental search
The property is on a new development built on a disused WW2 airfield (since used as agricultural buildings), and the site borders land that has been and is currently being used as a waste disposal site. I've lived in neighbouring villages for years and never heard complaints about either of these two issues but presumably these make the local and environmental searches even more critical - is there anything we should be especially alert to in the reports or that we should request be specifically investigated?