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misskindle
Posts: 4 Newbie
Hey guys first time posting and I need your help.
I have had an offer accepted on a house. Results of the survey came back saying there was damp (the scary word)!
I had decided upon this house in particular as I felt it didnt need a lot of work so the damp thing has scared me a bit (im purchasing this house on my own and every penny I have is basically taken up by the deposit). However I got a damp specialist in to assess what needs doing basically to see if the work was something i'd be willing to take on.
So the overall cost of the work has been quoted at close to 5K.
I informed the estate agent of this and having spoken to the vendor they have agreed to do the work before completion. The estate agent also said he would be getting his own contractor in.
Now everyone I have spoken to have said " its very strange that the vendor has agreed to do the work". Youd expect them to knock the price off the cost of the house? And thats setting alarm bells ringing for me. Are they trying to hide something else? How do I know they will do the work that my guy says needs done.
I'm just so clueless at all of this and im so scared of making the wrong decision and losing the money ive scrimped and saved. Any help as to how I should approach the situation would be amazing as I have no family that can assist. Like how should I proceed from here?
Information on cause of damp as per damp specialists report:
CONCLUSION
The investigation has found the following issues;
• Leak in fresh water pipe situated around the under stairs cupboard area.
• Break down in D.P.C (damp proof course).
• Wet rot fungus.
Work that needs doing:
1. Remove ground floor skirting boards and radiators.
2. Repair leak in water pipe situated under the screed floor in under stairs area. Repair small leak in hallway radiator.
3. Hack plaster of all ground floor load bearing walls (excluding the kitchen wall adjacent the dining area), 1m high or 500mm past last signs of damp.
4. Install damp proof course into load bearing walls.
5. Remove sections of rot infected door frames (x3).
6. Install new sections of door frames (x3).
7. Replaster walls to specification.
8. Re-instate skirting boards and radiators.
I have had an offer accepted on a house. Results of the survey came back saying there was damp (the scary word)!
I had decided upon this house in particular as I felt it didnt need a lot of work so the damp thing has scared me a bit (im purchasing this house on my own and every penny I have is basically taken up by the deposit). However I got a damp specialist in to assess what needs doing basically to see if the work was something i'd be willing to take on.
So the overall cost of the work has been quoted at close to 5K.
I informed the estate agent of this and having spoken to the vendor they have agreed to do the work before completion. The estate agent also said he would be getting his own contractor in.
Now everyone I have spoken to have said " its very strange that the vendor has agreed to do the work". Youd expect them to knock the price off the cost of the house? And thats setting alarm bells ringing for me. Are they trying to hide something else? How do I know they will do the work that my guy says needs done.
I'm just so clueless at all of this and im so scared of making the wrong decision and losing the money ive scrimped and saved. Any help as to how I should approach the situation would be amazing as I have no family that can assist. Like how should I proceed from here?
Information on cause of damp as per damp specialists report:
CONCLUSION
The investigation has found the following issues;
• Leak in fresh water pipe situated around the under stairs cupboard area.
• Break down in D.P.C (damp proof course).
• Wet rot fungus.
Work that needs doing:
1. Remove ground floor skirting boards and radiators.
2. Repair leak in water pipe situated under the screed floor in under stairs area. Repair small leak in hallway radiator.
3. Hack plaster of all ground floor load bearing walls (excluding the kitchen wall adjacent the dining area), 1m high or 500mm past last signs of damp.
4. Install damp proof course into load bearing walls.
5. Remove sections of rot infected door frames (x3).
6. Install new sections of door frames (x3).
7. Replaster walls to specification.
8. Re-instate skirting boards and radiators.
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Comments
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I wouldn't let the vendor organise it or have it carried out.
Whatever they do has to last three months maximum until the place is sold.
That is a lot of quite disruptive work and needs doing asap while the property is empty AFTER you have bought.
I'd be looking for a price reduction and a couple of quotes to back it up.0 -
misskindle wrote: »Hey guys first time posting and I need your help.
I have had an offer accepted on a house. Results of the survey came back saying there was damp (the scary word)!
I had decided upon this house in particular as I felt it didnt need a lot of work so the damp thing has scared me a bit (im purchasing this house on my own and every penny I have is basically taken up by the deposit). However I got a damp specialist in to assess what needs doing basically to see if the work was something i'd be willing to take on.
So the overall cost of the work has been quoted at close to 5K.
I informed the estate agent of this and having spoken to the vendor they have agreed to do the work before completion. The estate agent also said he would be getting his own contractor in.
Now everyone I have spoken to have said " its very strange that the vendor has agreed to do the work". Youd expect them to knock the price off the cost of the house? And thats setting alarm bells ringing for me. Are they trying to hide something else? How do I know they will do the work that my guy says needs done.
I'm just so clueless at all of this and im so scared of making the wrong decision and losing the money ive scrimped and saved. Any help as to how I should approach the situation would be amazing as I have no family that can assist. Like how should I proceed from here?
Information on cause of damp as per damp specialists report:
CONCLUSION
The investigation has found the following issues;
• Leak in fresh water pipe situated around the under stairs cupboard area.
• Break down in D.P.C (damp proof course).
• Wet rot fungus.
Work that needs doing:
1. Remove ground floor skirting boards and radiators.
2. Repair leak in water pipe situated under the screed floor in under stairs area. Repair small leak in hallway radiator.
3. Hack plaster of all ground floor load bearing walls (excluding the kitchen wall adjacent the dining area), 1m high or 500mm past last signs of damp.
4. Install damp proof course into load bearing walls.
5. Remove sections of rot infected door frames (x3).
6. Install new sections of door frames (x3).
7. Replaster walls to specification.
8. Re-instate skirting boards and radiators.
I wouldn't want the vendor to do that, who knows what sort of cowboys they will get in.
And I wouldn't want to get it done when the house was mine unless I had a MASSIVE reduction in price far beyond the cost of the work referred to. Who knows what else may be uncovered as well, if the vendors let it get this bad.
Given your comment about not wanting to do a lot of work, I think you should walk away.
Consider your survey money very well spent (for once, in general I'm very sceptical on surveys but this one was worth its weight in gold) and so though you'll lose money on this, you've avoided buying a money pit.0 -
AnotherJoe wrote: »I wouldn't want the vendor to do that, who knows what sort of cowboys they will get in.
And I wouldn't want to get it done when the house was mine unless I had a MASSIVE reduction in price far beyond the cost of the work referred to. Who knows what else may be uncovered as well, if the vendors let it get this bad.
Given your comment about not wanting to do a lot of work, I think you should walk away.
Consider your survey money very well spent (for once, in general I'm very sceptical on surveys but this one was worth its weight in gold) and so though you'll lose money on this, you've avoided buying a money pit.
Thanks for your advice. Im sort of in the situation where i really dont trust them to do the work. My offer on the house was 97k and im tempted to eb cheeky and reduce it to 90 and do the work myself.0 -
misskindle wrote: »Thanks for your advice. Im sort of in the situation where i really dont trust them to do the work. My offer on the house was 97k and im tempted to be cheeky and reduce it to 90 and do the work myself.
I dont think thats at all "cheeky", I'd say its more than fair.
If the quote is for £5k, whose to say that they wont uncover more stuff once they start digging about and pulling stuff off walls (this has a habit of happening with any building works) and then you've got the mess and disruption as well.
I suspect they will reject your offer, spend £2k or £3k on a quick cover up and repaint and remarket at a slightly higher price.0 -
Independent surveyor you paid for the inspection and report, or 'free report' from someone who makes a living carrying out damp course installations and timber treatment?misskindle wrote: »I got a damp specialist in to assess what needs doingI am a mortgage broker. You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. Please do not send PMs asking for one-to-one-advice, or representation.0 -
£5k for the work that you have mentioned seems quite excessive. If I was the seller, I would prefer to get my own quotes to see how trustworthy/accurate the original quote is. This would then allow me to make a decision on whether I want to reduce the price or get the work carried out myself.
The seller may have done this and has every right to do so.0 -
kingstreet wrote: »Independent surveyor you paid for the inspection and report, or 'free report' from someone who makes a living carrying out damp course installations and timber treatment?
This is key!
Does the £5k quote happen to be from the person who said you needed a lot of work doing?0 -
Who was the damp specialist?misskindle wrote: »........ However I got a damp specialist in to assess what needs doing
Was he
a) an independant damp surveyor who you paid for a report, but who does not actually do remedial work?
or
b) a [STRIKE]surveyor[/STRIKE] salesman working for a damp/wood company that specialises in remedial work, who gave you a free report?
If I were your seller, the answer to the above question would make a massive difference to how I would respond.0
This discussion has been closed.
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