No Original Certification for Foundations

I was hoping to buy a partially built house but my solicitor has major concerns because the original certification for the foundations is not available. I have been advised the engineer who originally completed the visual inspection at the time of pouring has issues with his insurance & cannot therefore certify. Another engineer has checked bore holes dug and certified that the foundations and ground conditions are suitable for the house. This house is in a housing estate and three of the houses were sold to the council about three years ago. Four others have supposedly had their sales completed in the past few weeks. I do really like this house but obviously need to listen to advice from my solicitor. I'm just wondering if anyone has any input or advice they can offer on the situation.

I should have said the house is built about 7 years.

If the original engineer is not in a position to certify then there is not much you can do about that. You could always try and contact him "informally" and see if he can offer any advice or let you know if he had any concerns about the construction of the foundations at the time.

With regards to formal certification. It sounds like the best you can get is the report from the engineer who has investigated the foundations. If he does sufficient investigation work i.e. through excavations and boreholes and confirms that the foundations and ground conditions are ok then I'd be happy enough with that.

You could also check with the owners of the adjacent properties if they have experienced any issues with their foundations.

Have spoken to the neighbours who have no issues and had an engineer do inspection of the house with nothing being highlighted. I also contacted the engineer who supposedly did original inspection of foundations & he is going to check if he can do anything & revert. I suppose I feel as the house is now 7 years old and all seems ok that maybe it is worth taking a chance. I wonder if I went to sell the house lets say in 10 years time if this might still arise as an issue with a potential purchaser or if it is something that might not be given consideration with the passage of time. The fact that other solicitors closed sales must mean they are happy with certifications given. It seems therefore it is just down to individual opinions.

Does the house have a Home Bond structural or similar guarantee?

Generally speaking if there were serious problems with the foundations, it would be apparent by now.

Having said that it may make it slightly more difficult to sell this house in the future if some of the important documentation is missing. I would be asking the seller for a small discount for the inconvenience.