PROPERTY LAW

SHOCK REPORT

I BOUGHT a house nearly four years ago. A survey was carried out for the bank’s valuation purposes. Now I’m trying to sell, the prospective buyers’ surveyor has discovered so much damp and dry and wet rot that no-one can get a mortgage to buy the house. Surely the bank’s survey should have detected these problems? SEE a solicitor immediately. A survey for a bank or building society is much less thorough than a full private survey, and since it is carried out for the lender rather than the buyer it used to be thought that if the surveyor was negligent the buyer would have no comeback. However there have been some landmark court cases which suggest this isn’t so. Given the extent of the defects to your house you could well have a claim against the bank’s surveyor.

FATHER’S WILL

CAN I get hold of a copy of my father’s will? He died in April last year and his will was dealt with by August. Can a will be altered to include someone else after death? YOU will be able to get a copy of the will if it went to probate. Where money and property was in joint names, or smaller sums are involved, a grant of probate isn’t always necessary. You can apply for copies online, enquire at your local probate registry, or write to the Postal Searches and Copies Department at Leeds District Probate Registry. Alternatively the executors may agree to provide you with a copy. Wills can be altered within two years of death if all the beneficiaries agree and have legal capacity.

WAITING FOR WINDOWS

WE ordered some double glazing 12 months ago, and were told it would be six months before it could be fitted. We agreed to that, but we heard no more from them until a week ago, when they began pestering us to have the work done. Is this delay acceptable, and do we still have to have the windows? FROM a practical point of view it depends whether or not you paid a deposit. It is unlikely that the window supplier would refund the deposit if you did try to cancel the order. Whether or not you can cancel without any risk depends on the contract terms, which will probably say that the time period of six months was only an estimate, and unless you had served notice on the window company, 12 months would fall within a reasonable period.

VANISHING ARTWORK

OVER 18 months ago a friend died and left us a valuable painting in her will. The executors tell us that a family member had been into the house and removed the bulk of her belongings, including the painting. The solicitor dealing with the estate said he could not do anything for us without instruction from the executors, which they have not given. We do not know the family member’s address, and it seems we cannot do anything to get what was left to us. ASK a solicitor to write to the executors, threatening to sue them for compensation for your lost legacy. They should not have allowed family members to remove anything from the house, and it’s their responsibility to ensure your friend’s wishes are carried out. »»Call Bromleys Solicitors LLP on 0161 330 6821 or visit www.bromleys. co.uk. If you have any legal questions, write to Property Law, MEN Media, Mitchell Henry House, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton OL9 8EF, or email mail@lawQs.co.uk