Surveyors Report

[roopower]

I'm not sure I've put this in the correct category, but here goes. My daughter is in the process of moving from a Victorian miners house and they are having problems with paperwork etc. The latest problem is the surveyors report which states that the roof joists have been recently replaced. The mortgage company are refusing the mortgage as they say the house has needed restoration. The joists were replaced by the coal board years ago but there doesn't seem to be any paperwork. I would have thought a surveyor could have told old wood from new. Is it possible to challenge the report or ask for someone else fo take a look. I think my daughters on the point of giving up!

[fiction-factory]

It's the buyer's report though so I'm not sure what your daughter can do. She could commission her own survey and hope the buyer will accept an alternative opinion but the buyer, or more importantly the mortgage lender, will probably stick with their appointed surveyor's findings

[roopower]

Thank you. We'll just have to sit it out for a while and see if the solicitor can sort it out.

[woofgang]

the only thing they might do, if they are determined to fight on is to ask through their solicitor, how long ago the surveyor things the roof joists were replaced and what he bases his opinion on.

[The Builder]

No, don't give up. This kind of thing happens all the time.

I guess you mean the rafters?
They're quite often replaced. That is no excuse in itself.

What we need to know is, is there a structural problem with them?

[fiction-factory]

Maybe worth asking the solicitors- and I'm sure TheBuilder has far more experience than I do about this- but the difficulty I see is that it's the buyer and buyer's solicitor you need to convince to review things.

[davebro]

"The mortgage company are refusing the mortgage as they say the house has needed restoration."

Surely if it needed restoration and has had it done correctly then it should be OK? Maybe the buyers have concocted an excuse 'cos they want to pull out for other reasons.

[Bazile]

So the issue is that the mortgage company's report says that the house has needed some work in the past ; so are refusing to grant the mortgage , because they suspect the structural integrity of the
house ?

So if the buyer is really struck on the house , then it appears that they would need to commission a structural survey at their expense ( assuming the lender would accept it )

If the structural integrity is going to be suspect from other potential lenders , perhaps it might be an investment in you having your own independent structural survey done .

If the sale doesn't go ahead in this instance , perhaps it might be wise to await an offer from another potential buyer and see if their lender has the same issue
If they do then that might be the time to instruct your own structural survey

[Bazile]

//Surely if it needed restoration and has had it done correctly then it should be OK?..//

That thought ran across my mind , as well , when i first read the post

[The Builder]

The trouble is Baz, there's just not enough information.

So it's all just speculation until roo gets back.

[roopower]

Thank you all for your input. Apparently the buyer's bank are going to draw up a document for my daughter and son in law to sign saying there has been no structural work done to the house while they've lived there. Also a neighbour from a couple of houses down has found a letter saying work was done on the houses in the row in 1962 , bless them for keeping it!

[Bazile]

Make sure they read and understand exactly what they are agreeing in signing the document .

[AuntPollyGrey]

The bank will want to be sure the renovations were done before Building Regulations were required as set out in the Building Act 1984, otherwise they would require a certificate. Its quite normal to have sellers in this position sign a Statement of Truth to confirm the renovations were done before they moved in. Its very useful your daughters neighbours have retained paperwork to substantiate this and a photocopy should be sent to your daughters solicitors asap.

[Bazile]

Just out of curiosity - i take it that your daughters lenders had no such issue when they took out a mortgage , to buy the house ( assuming they had a mortgage and it was bought before the Building Act
1984,) ?

[roopower]

Brazile, none of the problems came up when my daughter and sinl bought the house eight years ago. Their solicitor at the time missed things which have fortunately been ironed out this time. Luckily their solicitor now is really on the ball and optimistic it can all be finalised.