Qualification of Title - how much of a delay ? Any other options ?

[dubdub123]

Engineer highlighted some fairly minor infractions regarding planning (I'm the purchaser). Solicitor is trying to get further information from seller and to determine what date the modifications were made. Seller's solicitor is not being helpful in any way and stating that planning not required (even though it actually is). The seller's are in the house less than 7 years, so unless they have documentation from the purchase, we may not be able to get evidence of date of modification

We may have to go down the route of a qualification of title and if so my solicitor would need to write to my lender .

These are minor issues , one can be exempted I'm told, and the other can actually be corrected, but I doubt sellers will want to correct these..

Any idea how long this may take to resolve if goes back to lender? Could we be waiting days or potentially weeks? Also I appreciate it's not a given that lender will agree.

Or would I be better now, just going with a new solicitor, not mentioning the survey and just moving forward with the purchase? Is there any issue around that (apart from increased costs).

 

[Steven Barrett]

Engineer highlighted some fairly minor infractions regarding planning (I'm the purchaser). Solicitor is trying to get further information from seller and to determine what date the modifications were made. Seller's solicitor is not being helpful in any way and stating that planning not required (even though it actually is). The seller's are in the house less than 7 years, so unless they have documentation from the purchase, we may not be able to get evidence of date of modification

We may have to go down the route of a qualification of title and if so my solicitor would need to write to my lender .

These are minor issues , one can be exempted I'm told, and the other can actually be corrected, but I doubt sellers will want to correct these..

Any idea how long this may take to resolve if goes back to lender? Could we be waiting days or potentially weeks? Also I appreciate it's not a given that lender will agree.

Or would I be better now, just going with a new solicitor, not mentioning the survey and just moving forward with the purchase? Is there any issue around that (apart from increased costs).

That would be the wrong thing to do. You are paying a solicitor to ensure that the ownership of the property passes into your hands without issue. What you are suggesting is to circumvent this and actually take ownership of the property with issues that could cause you money and issues in the future. This is the seller's fault, not yours or your solicitors. It will have to be resolved properly. No other purchaser is going to buy a property with planning issues.

Buying a house is a very exciting, stressful and emotive time. Let your solicitor do their work.

 

[Zenith63]

If I wanted the property and was 100% comfortable the planning issues were not going to be a problem for me (eg. an extra window put in when the house was built 20 years ago), I would change solicitor and close the sale. Engineers will often warn you if they uncover something that is likely to jeopardise your mortgage approval, so you can decide if you want to leave it unmentioned to your solicitor.

This is not especially uncommon.

 

[dubdub123]

Its honestly such a minor thing, nothing even as big as a new window.. basically a minor alteration to a wall out front. Could basically be put back as before, for few hundred euro but sure sellers wont want the hassle in the current market.
Honestly really frustrating as it could now delay the whole sale as may not have even been modified by current owners.

 

[dubdub123]

Has anyone any idea how long this might add to the process if we were to look for qualification on title? So stressed now about these ridiculous things.

 

[Leo]

You have the option of instructing your solicitor that you want to proceed, they will likely have you sign a declaration that you accept all risk to ensure you don't sue them down the line if it all goes pear shaped.

In fairness, they are doing what you are paying them for and protecting your interests. One person's minor planning issue is another's showstopper, and if you ever go to sell yourself without resolving the issue you will limit the potential market.