New property - structural report

[ladymuck]

We are in the process of buying a new build, the house we have seen has a steep banking with old large trees on the top 20 ft from the house, we have been told by the builders that they have an architectual structual report & they needed to do this before they could build the property, apparently the report is better than a Zurich or something like a NSBC (Can't remember the initals). Can anybody offer any advice?

[buildersmate]

Sounds like house-seller's sales spiel to me.
They would have had to get a report on the trees so that much is true - but the reason is to ensure they wouldn't damage them when the earthmoving / construction took place. Check with the local council whether these things have TPOs on them - they almost certainly do or the builders would have removed them. That's not necessarily a bad thing - (we all love trees) but think about how big these things are going to grow in the future. You are unlikely to have issues with the depths of your foundations in relation to the trees because Building Control will have ensured that foundations were deep enough in spite of them. The main problems are overshadowing, leaves in the autumn and whose going to pay to prune them occasionally.
Zurich and NHBC provide structural warrantees for up to 10 years on a new house in the event the builder messed up the foundations / structure - I don't see a link between these policies and the liveliness (or otherwise) of the trees.

[bezzapebo]

I agree with buildersmate as far as the trees are concerned, but you have to have NHBC or Zurich or equivalent as well as an architectural report. A new property without one of these guarantees will never be acceptable as collateral for a loan from any lender

[Nether Edge]

Architectural certificate (by properly-qualified person) and professional insurance of that architect will give same protection as Zurich/NHBC- see para. 6.6.4 of part I of Council of Mortgage Lenders' Handbook.

[ladymuck]

Thanks for your advice, I will phone the council today. The builder (who is a friend) is on holiday until this weekend so we have time to get some work done. We've got a structural engineer going out on Friday to give a visual opinion, my main concerns are the banking - if we had a big rain fall or snow fall where would this go? & you can grab some of the rock away & if the builder starts chopping down the trees like he said he would, are the roots holding the banking up? & are the trees safe?

[ladymuck]

Another thing that I am worried about is that the builder has loads of projects on the go so I'm concerned that people will do things for him because they get a lot of business from him. It might be me being cynical but we really love the house & want it badly but the banking & trees are the only major concern

[mjmills]

This is nonsense.

They would have required a structural engineers, and possibly a highways engineers report in order to fulfill the requirements through planning and building control prior to the work taking place.

The engineers (Consultants) would have been required to provide professional indemnity insurance (As is the want of the developer) to cover any defects in their professional design / remedy of any situation.

It is unlikely, that you would have third party rights to this insurance / warranty.

DO NOT RELY ON THIS!

Your NHBC should be sufficient, and is a separate warranty, passed to you, and ensures that the conditions set by planning, and building control have been met by the delveloper during construction.

ANY DEFECT MUST BE RECOVERED THROUGH NHBC.

If you do not have NHBC or similar on offer - DO NOT BUY THIS HOUSE