Owning your own home

The legislation was created in partnership with govt, lenders and the RICS. It is not advisory it is binding and surveyors who are members of RICS are bound to uphold it.

The only way around it is to gain a survey from an RICS surveyor who properly understand the EWS1 application and is confident and competent enough to provide a valuation without an EWS1 form. There is apparently some weird thing around insurance of their valuations being an issue and surveyors not being willing to provide a valuation that they might be held accountable to.

I have made official complaints to the surveying company that contracted the surveyor, the RICS and also brought it to the attention of my MP (Neil Coyle).

Anyway, it's a filthy fucking mess and I'm up to my eyes in it.

Surely this will be a problem for thousands of people and will need rectifying ASAP to avoid everyone ending up in the same position.

Yep.

I think the TL;DR of it is that nobody is dumb enough to certify the safety of a building they didn't design or build.

The only way around it is to gain a survey from an RICS surveyor who properly understand the EWS1 application and is confident and competent enough to provide a valuation without an EWS1 form. There is apparently some weird thing around insurance of their valuations being an issue and surveyors not being willing to provide a valuation that they might be held accountable to.

Thank you for this info it saves me a lot of legwork researching. However I guess that suitably qualified surveyors are rocking horse poo rare.

We are currently stuck paying a buy to let mortgage that has gone on to a punishing variable rate - at the moment tax and interest means we are paying into the mortgage as it's not being covered by the rent. We cannot sell for another 6 months if we are able to do so at this point; who the fuck knows. We need to sell in 6 months or write off the additional 3% stamp duty.

We've been trying to remortgage for about 3 months now.

It's all getting a bit stressful.

Actually, designers and builders are also unwilling for fear of culpability.

Hah, yeah. True. At least building control looks after that for them.

Both freeholders and external surveyors are so far away from what was actually done in the build that they would be a bit mad to happily put their name to it I'd have thought.

Or they have really great insurance... oh wait :(

Out of interest.. and this goes out to anyone on this thread: RICS - I've had experience of them, or at least a certified professional. Was not impressed really and now this - are they mad?

this is really fucking shit news dude. hope something gives.

@ChasnotRobert

Bit late to this but that's my next door neighbours' place, so let me know if you want any (very) local info. The seller is a massive bell-end who considers himself some sort of local celebrity because he runs a business sticking bits of mirror to things ("Mirror Ball Paul"). His dreadful taste in music, braying friends, ownership of a 'man cave' and disregard for basic social behaviour are the reasons that I have never been able to enjoy my own garden in the seven years I've lived next door to him.

Can't fucking wait for him to move out.

Mirror Ball Paul

"It’s not just mirror balls; mirrorballpaul can transform almost anything into a glittering, mirrored piece of art, from animal sculptures and a high-end P.A system to an original Vespa, which are all available for dry hire."

Mirrorballpaul can get fucked.

From my wfh shed, I've just listened to him effectively winding down his business from his back garden in a voice so loud and piercing that I couldn't concentrate on my own work. I'm not often one to wish ill on others but I genuinely hope the only sector of the economy not to recover post-lockdown is the 'sticking bits of fucking mirror to things' sector.

PS @Howard, are you the Howard that joined me and a mate for the last stretch of the Ditchling Devil a few years back? If so, hi!

I didn't realise that @edmundro was actually called Paul.

Hm, I think we know one superb craftsman who works for Paul ...

Spoke to the mortgage advisors yesterday and everything looks a okay.

However I've just viewed a house and prepared to put in an offer. I spoke to the agent and they suggested speaking to their mortgage advisor (even though I've insisted that I've got my mortgage agreed) in order to be in a better position when they put my offer forward.

What fuckery is this?

Typical estate agent corruption.

I've often wondered when I've walked past that house why he had a disco ball on the ceiling. That's solved that one then.

Yeah, the estate agents clearly told him to tone down the mirrors for the listing images, because almost every surface and object in the house and garden is covered in mirrors, including three or four that send blinding flashes of light directly into my eyes if I try to stand in my own kitchen.

It's quite a nice house tho I have to say. Im not overly bothered about moving but if a wreck came up on bushwood for 750/800k I'd definitely consider it. It's a lovely road.

I hold absolutely no ill will for any other catoptric artisans. If @edmundro is one of Paul's employees, he has my best wishes for replacing that income stream elsewhere.

Dodgy estate agent shit.

Send the agent your agreement in principle and leave it at that.

It really is. I'm in a flat converted from the bottom half of the house next door, but even that is lots of space and (neighbours aside) we've loved it here. Can walk out of our front door onto Wanstead Flats and pick a route into Wanstead Park or Epping Forest barely touching a paved road...

Wanstead Heath, estate agents are calling it now.

Yeah, that's a real stretch.

"I understand the discovery of such unusual pieces of ammunition may concern members of the community..."

Weird though, as insurance exists (and in an industrial setting, all sorts of dodgy shit is certified because there are standards to test against).

Cunts thats what it is.