Re: buying new house - no homebond/no big deal
Homebond covers structural defects and water ingress, strictly - with LOADS of conditions attached.
The options for the builder are
(a) To enter a defects liability the bank for an agreed number of years
(b) To engage the services of a reputable Structural Engineer who will Certify the Compliance of the building with Structural/Building Regulations and the Planning Permission. This would be attached to your deeds. Normally, the bank will accept this.
(c) There is another company other than Homebond (can't for the life of me remember the name, try google) who do cover once off country houses. See if they can help you out
HTH