chris French wrote:

We are selling our house, we have a carport (built we assume at or
around the same time as the extension and the garage - late '60's - we
bought the house in 1997)

The buyers solicitor queried if we had any building regs approval for
the car port (we did have the plans etc. approved for PP as it happens
for the extensions). Of course we didn't.

So a letter arrives today saying he is saying that we take out an
indemnity policy because of this (to cover the buyers against whatever
potential liability they would be exposed to). Now in this instance he
seems to be talking out of his arse as AFAICS a carport of 30m^2 floor
area (which I'm sure ours is) is exempt, so will sort that out tomorrow.

But it got me wondering as to what liabilities - if any, someone would
have this sort of situation if BRA was required?. Is there some sort of
open ended liability for things built without BRA (like there is for
listed building consents say)?

Went throuigh similar shenanigans selling me mums house a couple of
minths ago.

Basically te purchasers solicitors may be linbale to be sued if they
fail to dot every I and cross every T - in our case it was rihht of
access via a private road which had been used uninterruptedly for 50 years.

The amount of delay that it cost me in refusing to pay the 300 or 400
quid indemity, was instrumental in losing about 1500 interest on the
money if the sale had completed earlier. Needless to say no one told me
it was just a one off payment of a few hundred quid.

In the end I just said '********, I haven't got all the guarantees on
the windows, me mum is dotty and doesn't know what its all about, the
road is there and everyone uses its and if you don't want the sodding
house stop pratting about and I'll sell it to someone else'

This relayed in a slightly more polite way via the estate agent, did the
trick.

From what I can establish it was just lawyers making work for
themselves. Its a lwayer scam and an insurance scam. Each gets profit
out of providing extra cover that is totally uncesesary. Bit like
extended warranty at dixons.

My experience in other case of this nature involoving lawyers is to make
a firm statement that wot you see is wot you get, the price is for the
property as seen and with such guarantes as I am able to provide, and if
you don't like it sod off and stop wasting my time.

I really get ****ed off with people who make an offer and then start
trying to screw the price down once they have eliminated the competition.