Response to Payment of mortgage

If your house is of recent construction then you would normally have an NHBC guarantee in place for the first 10 years of it's life which would cover construction faults. You may also be able to bring an action in tort against the builder / architect / structural engineer / local authority building control who all share some reponsibility for design and/ or construction faults. Lenders usually only carry out a valuation survey for the purpose of reassuring themselves about the value of the property as security against the mortgage loan, and if you read your mortgage conditions carefully (or the valuation survey small print) you will most likely discover disclaimer clauses. It was your responsibility as a purchaser to instruct a surveyor to carry out the appropriate pre purchase survey and if you did so then you may have legal recourse against said surveyor if the defect is one which was visible in some form or another at the time of the inspection. Again, these surveys usually have disclaimers to cover inaccessible parts of the building such as sub-floors, foundations etc., so even with a survey you may still have to chase the designers/ builders for the cost of repairs. The ownership of a mortgaged property rests with the mortgagor ie you not the lender. The lender holds the title deeds but this is as a surety not as owner. The lender has no responsibility for repair costs, although may take action against a mortgagor who fails to carry out essential repairs since this will damage the value of the property to the lenders disadvantage. I realise that you are in a difficult situation but direct your anger at the real culprits.

[ Previous | Next ]