Tweet
Hi all,
I'm based in Scotland and purchased a property in 2016.
The Home Report/survey at the time made passing reference in the preamble body of the text to the fact the property was originally Dorran but had been completely reclad in a load bearing outer leaf. The "matters for conveyancer" and mortgage valuation notes, simply noted that "it should be checked all relevant paperwork and local authority consents are avilable for the construction of the load bearing outer leaf" - making no mention as to the construction of the property therein or anything else should be checked. We had all the documents outlined so the sale (and mortgage) proceeded.
Fast forward to this year i am looking to sell and the same surveying company did a new survey/home report for the sale which on the face of it is completely different.
What i didn't realise at the time is that a Dorran property is a PRC home and is listed as defective under the 1984 defective homes scheme - i honestly thought Dorran was a type of home like Wimpy or Persimmon!
In the new survey the "matters for conveyancer" lists all sorts of stuff - that the home is considered defective under the 1984 scheme, that the was is "suspected load bearing" that core samples need to be taken to check that the concrete hasn't degraded and that the property has been upgraded in accordance with an approved PRC scheme.
I had another survey done by another company which basically backed up the second survey.
Based on all the information i have, the wall isn't load bearing, it hasn't been upgraded in accordance with any repair scheme and is unmortgagable (based on the fact i've two buyers been unable to secure mortgages with 8 or 9 lenders in total they've tried - all citing that there is no evidence the property has been upgraded in accordance with an approved scheme.
I was just wondering what my first port of call here should be? If i can show that the wall isn't load bearing then it's essentially an unrepaired PRC home which shouldn't have been mortgageable.
I've tried broach the subject with the surveyor directly but back and forth on dozens of e-mails now and they are just saying "you can seek legal action at anytime but we do not believe there is a case to answer here".
Would my first port of call to be to get an expert witness such as a structrual engineer to confirm if the wall is load bearing?
I was also wondering about their duty of care in relation to the first survey, surely any competent surveyor should have noted front and centre that the property was a PRC home and that is needed to be checked it was upgraded in accordance with the available schemes etc.??
As it stands i may well be trapped in an unsalable, unrepaired home which would probably cost well in excess of £100,000 to repair
As an aside, any suggestions on finding a solicitor for this type of claim (assuming of course i have a claim)?
Many thanks for any input.
I'm based in Scotland and purchased a property in 2016.
The Home Report/survey at the time made passing reference in the preamble body of the text to the fact the property was originally Dorran but had been completely reclad in a load bearing outer leaf. The "matters for conveyancer" and mortgage valuation notes, simply noted that "it should be checked all relevant paperwork and local authority consents are avilable for the construction of the load bearing outer leaf" - making no mention as to the construction of the property therein or anything else should be checked. We had all the documents outlined so the sale (and mortgage) proceeded.
Fast forward to this year i am looking to sell and the same surveying company did a new survey/home report for the sale which on the face of it is completely different.
What i didn't realise at the time is that a Dorran property is a PRC home and is listed as defective under the 1984 defective homes scheme - i honestly thought Dorran was a type of home like Wimpy or Persimmon!
In the new survey the "matters for conveyancer" lists all sorts of stuff - that the home is considered defective under the 1984 scheme, that the was is "suspected load bearing" that core samples need to be taken to check that the concrete hasn't degraded and that the property has been upgraded in accordance with an approved PRC scheme.
I had another survey done by another company which basically backed up the second survey.
Based on all the information i have, the wall isn't load bearing, it hasn't been upgraded in accordance with any repair scheme and is unmortgagable (based on the fact i've two buyers been unable to secure mortgages with 8 or 9 lenders in total they've tried - all citing that there is no evidence the property has been upgraded in accordance with an approved scheme.
I was just wondering what my first port of call here should be? If i can show that the wall isn't load bearing then it's essentially an unrepaired PRC home which shouldn't have been mortgageable.
I've tried broach the subject with the surveyor directly but back and forth on dozens of e-mails now and they are just saying "you can seek legal action at anytime but we do not believe there is a case to answer here".
Would my first port of call to be to get an expert witness such as a structrual engineer to confirm if the wall is load bearing?
I was also wondering about their duty of care in relation to the first survey, surely any competent surveyor should have noted front and centre that the property was a PRC home and that is needed to be checked it was upgraded in accordance with the available schemes etc.??
As it stands i may well be trapped in an unsalable, unrepaired home which would probably cost well in excess of £100,000 to repair
As an aside, any suggestions on finding a solicitor for this type of claim (assuming of course i have a claim)?
Many thanks for any input.
