CG100

Hi everyone, I’d really appreciate some advice from anyone with experience of buying a converted property where the new-build/structural warranty is missing. I’m in the process of buying a house that forms one half of a converted mill building (the whole building was converted about 3 years ago). Before I offered, I asked whether there was a new home warranty and was told yes. I’ve now found out that: the house I’m buying has NO warranty at all the house next door (same building, same conversion, same developer) DOES have a warranty Checkmate (the warranty provider) say they will NOT issue a certificate for mine and won’t explain why the developer cannot be contacted and appears to have stopped operating the seller’s solicitor says there is an “indemnity policy” instead I know indemnity does not cover structural issues – it only covers legal risk for the lender. My mortgage broker (Nationwide) says it may still be acceptable from a lending perspective because the property has been lived in before and has building regs sign-off, but that the final decision will depend on: my solicitor’s report, and the valuation/survey. I will be getting a Level 3 survey if I proceed. My concerns are: why the next-door property got the warranty but mine didn’t why Checkmate won’t issue the certificate and won’t give a reason whether indemnity-only is actually safe whether this will affect resale in the future whether I should proceed if the survey is good what size of price reduction is reasonable in this situation (they may well not offer one) I’ve told the agent I can only move forward if the price is reduced to reflect the increased risk. Has anyone bought a house in a similar situation? Would you proceed with indemnity only if the survey was clean? And how much of a reduction would you expect for a missing warranty on a 3-year-old conversion? Any advice or shared experiences would be hugely appreciated. Thanks! Corinne