Buying a house

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senz

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#248081 9-Mar-2019 18:29

I would like get your advice on the following issue when buying a house,

LIM Report has the following
Additions to dwelling - Consent approved but a final CCC for this consent has not been issued. To obtain a CCC an inspection to confirm compliance with the approved plans and standards may be sought.

Can you please give guidance?

Thanks

Handle9

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#2194694 9-Mar-2019 18:42

Be very cautious. Is it an auction or a normal sale and purchase agreement?

Basically the additions are legal (ie consented) but not signed off by the council. There could be lots of reasons for that. It could be very minor and easy to get signed off or there could be something fundamentally wrong with the work, you don't know unless you get more detail from the property file and the council.

If it is a normal sale and purchase agreement I would suggest requiring the seller to complete the CCC prior to settlement. If it is auction I would probably avoid if possible.

senz

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#2194710 9-Mar-2019 18:57

Thanks. It is normal sale. Problem is current owner doesn't know what are the changes as they were made before they purchase the house.

BlinkyBill

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#2194739 9-Mar-2019 19:56

senz:
Thanks. It is normal sale. Problem is current owner doesn't know what are the changes as they were made before they purchase the house.

Doesn’t mean you can’t get the current owners to obtain sign off. However, get a building condition report, that’s more important.

Batman

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#2194740 9-Mar-2019 19:58

The council documents will have exactly what was done needing the ccc. The owners doesn't 't know is either a lie or laziness.

Handle9

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#2194747 9-Mar-2019 20:20

BlinkyBill:
senz:
Thanks. It is normal sale. Problem is current owner doesn't know what are the changes as they were made before they purchase the house.

Doesn’t mean you can’t get the current owners to obtain sign off. However, get a building condition report, that’s more important.

Don't fall for this. They are trying to make their problem your problem. You do not want to be in this position where it comes time to sell as it will effect the price and time it takes to sell the house

mentalinc

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#2194756 9-Mar-2019 20:36

INAL or builder, but if the work was done a long time again and you're seeking CCC now, the building code as it stands today is what needs to be met to get CCC.

If it was easy the owners would have done it already

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nzkc

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#2194757 9-Mar-2019 20:36

Handle9:
BlinkyBill:
senz:

Thanks. It is normal sale. Problem is current owner doesn't know what are the changes as they were made before they purchase the house.

Doesn’t mean you can’t get the current owners to obtain sign off. However, get a building condition report, that’s more important.

Don't fall for this. They are trying to make their problem your problem. You do not want to be in this position where it comes time to sell as it will effect the price and time it takes to sell the house

Both the previous answers are accurate. If the requirements to get compliance aren't major then its easy for you to do it after purchase. However; this is definitely a buyer beware scenario! Definitely make sure you understand why compliance has not been obtained and what remedial work, if any, is required.

You do have the advantage to use this against the vendor to bring the price down. In some cases its simply a money thing (the current occupier cant afford to get the paperwork through council). On the other hand it could be something that will cost you $100,000s!

To be REALLY clear: It is up to you to understand what is required to gain compliance and determine if you're willing to take that on or not.

nzkc

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#2194759 9-Mar-2019 20:40

PS: You may find your lender wont lend on a property without code of compliance. All depends on the lender and the circumstances. So check that out too if you really do think you want to push ahead with the purchase.

senz

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#2194830 9-Mar-2019 22:44

Thank you all for your guidance and support

wellygary

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#2194918 10-Mar-2019 08:53

mentalinc: INAL or builder, but if the work was done a long time again and you're seeking CCC now, the building code as it stands today is what needs to be met to get CCC. If it was easy the owners would have done it already

Also CCCs often require documents and certification from the person/company that undertook the work, if it was done ages ago these people/companies may be difficult to track down ...

Getting someone else to certify work that someone else did a long time back can be an expensive if not impossible task, as you are basically asking them to take on the liability..

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#2194927 10-Mar-2019 09:45

Something else you can request from the council is the ' Property Bag ' it's like the LIM report

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irongarment

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#2194936 10-Mar-2019 10:06

Your lawyer should be advising you about this.

eracode

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#2194968 10-Mar-2019 11:16

Whatever you do - do NOT purchase a property where a CCC is missing. Talk to your lawyer.

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andrewNZ

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#2194975 10-Mar-2019 11:26

irongarment: Your lawyer should be advising you about this.

This is the answer.

Our LIM came back saying that the garage didn't have final signoff.
The lawyer just said "leave it with me, I'll sort it".

FineWine

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#2195060 10-Mar-2019 14:50

andrewNZ:
irongarment: Your lawyer should be advising you about this.

This is the answer.

Our LIM came back saying that the garage didn't have final signoff.
The lawyer just said "leave it with me, I'll sort it".

Same here. We are the 3rd owners since an April 2000 build completion. We purchased in March 2014 and on receipt of the LIM report and all other doc's & plans from Tauranga council, noticed that the original plans specified a single garage only but additional secondary plans had a double garage which the council had approved and was built but there was no CCC.

Informed our lawyer. The seller, who incidentally had been our landlord of the property (sweet deal as no real estate agent involvement) was furious that he had not picked up on it (he also had 4 other rentals). Council engineer came out, did a thorough inspection (about 1 hour) and signed off on it. Whilst he was here I asked for some free advice concerning if we had a 'leaky home' build, we don't. 😎 It cost the seller, our former landlord just over $200. 😞

We now had a legal home. 😀

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.