Taking on a new property

[kai1]

I'm in the process of buying a grade II listed property. The vendor assures me that there is nothing in the flat that he has changed that would have gone against the local conservation department's permissions but of course, he would say that!

I've spoken to Conservation officer and he said that once I owned the property, I would be responsible for anything done to the property that hadn't had the correct permissions, even if the pervious vendor was responsible.

Would it be best to ask the Conservation officer to look at the property before I exchange contracts, risking the wrath of the vendor and possibly getting him into trouble?

 

[alice]

What is wrong with thoroughly researching what is probably the biggest investment of your life?

When my husband and I decided to buy a retirement place next to my mother's we told her that the market might be hot and houses sell in a minute but that I wasn't going to even consider a place that a good surveyor couldn't get in to. It's too big an investment to buy into blind.

A friend of mine bought a place in the same area a few months later and the vendor wouldn't let her surveyor in, but she was in love and bought anyway....do I need to go on with the story?

alice

 

[Nemesis]

Your Conservation Officer is correct - any work done without authorisation which changed the character of the building can have action taken against any future owner to put the building back to as it was before.

However, the CO possibly has no idea what was there, unless he or she has been inside or something is detailed in the listing description.

The vendor will be asked by your solicitor if any work has been carried out, and the solicitor will seek copies of consents. I'd ask the vendor what works have been done to the building.

I doubt the CO will respond favourably to being asked to view the building which you don't own.

 

[Greg.hart]

you could go to the planning dept yourself to see if there are any applications / plans from a previous time and compare with the current condition of the property.

Having said that it could well be the case that there are none.

 

[glayzell]

i had something similar.....

go to the council offices and look at the listing.

With my house the CO had no idea what had and had not been done to it since it was listed, but i am taking on the task of restoring the house to its former glory.

It is somewhat bizzare though that i have to get LBC to remove a modern 'improvement' to restore something to its original standing.....

to save taking the CO round, why not take lots of photo's of anything you think may be suspect.

 

[Nemesis]

Listing is probably here

http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk


But - it's not a comprehensive view of what is listed... everything is listed. warts, modern additions and all. So no it isn't odd - additions over time are listed too, scraping back to some specific date or period in a building's history isn't usually a sound move. Having to apply for LBC means that the CO has some input into what is happening to the building.

 

[Penners]

The vendor will be asked by your solicitor if any work has been carried out, and the solicitor will seek copies of consents. I'd ask the vendor what works have been done to the building.

I agree. That's the standard procedure whenever a property changes hands.

If the vendor declares that he/she has done nothing, and it subsequently comes to light that they carried out alterations without LBC, you then have legal redress against them.

PS: I'm not a legal expert.

 

[kai1]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll certainly ask my solicitor to check in the first instance, and if it seems that I need to get further permissions/clarifications etc I'll get back in touch with the LA Conservation Officer.