Owning your own home

XL electric screws!

XL electric screws!

For extra fun use ones with security torx heads. Someone in a future time will really hate you.

Blimey - you're going to need some huge screws for those!

I think they do box over box. Sparks can work it out on 2nd fix.

The niche has gone :-(
Couldn’t find a suitable trim
Word of warning Matt black still doesn’t have the options of chrome and brushed silver.

Did you put up the stud frame yourself?

So 11.59 clanger in the works has appeared.

Documents through to review last night, great.

However, upon reading the property I'm in the throws of purchasing has been underpinned in the past. Not knowing anything of this up until this stage should I be concerned about this? The mortgage company have clearly given approval but I'm at a bit of a loss as to why none of this was mentioned before now.

I'm also being pushed on a completion date that I'm really not happy with. What can I do to push on this?

upon reading the property I'm in the throws of purchasing has been underpinned in the past.

Ruh-roh

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/15586850/

Hit me up if you want infos, and obvs if you follow that thread Dramatic would be well worth talking to.

Get some building insurance quotes. If it is straightforward and not a million dollars then no problem. If you find you have to spend hours talking to specialist insurers and the premiums are high you might want to renegotiate or walk.

You of course need buildings insurance from exchange day so you need to do this bit anyway.

If it is straightforward and not a million dollars then no problem.

I kinda disagree with this. It would not have been hidden if it had no bearing on the property, spendy building insurance or not.

The least you need to do - along with insurance cost impact - is find out what was done, when and why.

@spenceey will need to know what was done when and why to get the insurance quotes.

I'm of the opinion that properties have histories. The paperwork is often incomplete. There will be things in the past that aren't ideal. As long as it doesn't have a material impact on you when you are living in it then it doesn't matter.

Underpinning is a bit of a mixed bag. In some streets it is good as it means that property has been fixed (assuming it was done right) which is better than the one next door that will need to be done one day. The when can be important too. If it was 30 years ago it is ancient history IMHO, last year not so much.

It's been almost a decade since I bought or sold but I thought underpinned or not was in the property information pack so it seems odd to have come up so late.

You are right, I think. However it’s worth considering that unless you really know what you are doing and are taking advice from people who really know what they are doing, as a buyer ‘underpinned’, no matter when, is not seen as a positive. It’s a huh? moment, at best.

Hence sellers tell buyers late, after they’ve paid costs they can’t reclaim.

One of those things where a local surveyor with bucketloads of experience would actually be helpful.

Hence sellers tell buyers late, after they’ve paid costs they can’t reclaim.

Yeah, the sellers are aresholes.

The costs you can't reclaim kind of go with the territory tough? Last time I moved I think I paid for 3 surveys on houses I didn't buy. In one case the survey turned up things that led us to renegotiate (and they said no but then sold 18 months later to someone else at our lower offer) but the other two fell through for other reasons. Until exchange you need to be prepared to walk away and try again.

The costs you can't reclaim kind of go with the territory tough?

Agree. But (soz) - U/P is a ‘material fact’. Other stuff the surveys turn up can be unknown to the seller or arguable (The Roof is FINE).

In the same way that my other flat is in a car free zone with no parking and no ability to get off street, so any potential buyer needs to be aware of this before they commit anything. As they might need parking. Some people will not buy an U/P house. For good or bad reasons.

I wish my house had been underpinned

Hah! As long as you don’t have to pay for it. Or live there whilst it’s done.

Yours didn’t subside though, right? It has ‘compressed / settled’?

Certainly something to think about at least. I'm not sure when we were told but it was before spending any money. Possibly after telling the agents we were thinking of making an offer.
Based on the way they told us I wondered at the time if a previous sale had fallen through...

Mrs Howard had a theory that on the first serious offer they will hide it and see what happens. It might not matter.

If the sale does fall through because of it they then have to disclose it at offer to the next buyer as they can’t reasonably defend ‘we didn’t know guv’.

My first thought too. However it doesn't look complicated and insurance didn't really have much of an impact.

The current owners have had the house for 6 years and it wasn't done in their time. They don't have the documents to say the work has been done but know that it has been. Should I be suspicious of that?

The other thing is this is a mid terrace and I can't believe the one I'm looking to buy would have been the only one in that block to receive the treatment. I'm going to speak to the neighbours tomorrow and ask them as they've been there for 40 years hopefully they shed some light on this.

Received wisdom is don't do it. It strips the joints and can lead to them falling apart. Infra red stripping is your friend though.

I've seen prices around the £40 mark but some people might just be throwing them in a bath of caustic soda and that can't cost the earth if you don't mind how its disposed of.

We’ve accepted an offer on our place from some first time buyers.
Filling out the Property Information Form for the solicitors and they’ve asked for elec certifs for any work carried out or an EICR.
We had some downlights put in the extension and also lights in new en-suite a while ago. Neither were signed off.
Am thinking of getting someone round to do an EICR.
Will that be enough? I know it’s bound to bring up a fair few issues.

They don't have the documents to say the work has been done but know that it has been. Should I be suspicious of that?

I'm not sure. Lots of people are bad at paperwork. I can't see what paperwork would make things worse so I can't see a reason to hide it but I'm probably being naive.

You could ignore it too, I'd have thought. They could alsways pay for one themselves.

They’re having a full survey done next week so doubtless something about electrics will come up (we haven’t got a modern RCD for starters).
May be a danger of being too honest...