Survey shows problems - help!

stupot101

Hi,

I agreed the purchase of my first home a few weeks ago. I paid for a home buyer's report and it came back today. The valuation was £90k, which matched the agreed sale price. However there are two issues.

1. Rising damp. It is "widespread inside" The surveyor is recommending a chemical injection damp proof course and replastering.

2. The electrics haven't been touched in years. The surveyor calls them "of considerable age" and recommends an electrical survey.

I wasn't expecting either of these to come up to be honest. The valuation of £90k is what the house is worth before any work is done. So the vendor I'm guessing will just say the valuation price and sale price match. Which is right, but my problem is I can't afford the damp proof course, never mind the electrics and all the redecoration.

So my only plan at the minute is to say the sale is off unless she makes the repairs, or lowers the price. I really don't want to lose the house as otherwise it's great. The only thing I could do is offer to pay for the electrical survey - but the vendor would again have to pay for the (inevitable) repairs or lower the price.

The surveyor is independent, and reputable.

Also, my father is telling me not to provide the survey to the vendor and only to disclose to her that these two things need fixed. ie, not tell her that the house was valued at £90k before any repairs are done. I'm not so keen on his suggestion but I see where he is coming from in terms of using it as a bargaining chip.

Any advice would really be appreciated, as I'm fairly close to having a nervous breakdown :-)

Sandra2

Hi,
What age is the property? In old houses damp always comes up and an injection may not be the best option - in our house it is a case of exposing the air bricks and lowering ground levels - the quote was around £700. There are many threads on here about damp and survey results which are worth searching for and reading through.
In my experience the vendor may already have knowledge of the age of the electrics and the damp so I would say that these points have come up and see what they come back with. Most people are reasonable and in this market a buyer is worth quite a lot so with some negotiating you should be able to come to a place you are both happy with. Anyone else that has a survey will come back with the same things so they will have to sort it out one way or another - if the mortgage company didn't put a retainer on it then they aren't that worried - but try and get some estimates for anything "urgent" and negotiate a discount.

poppysarah

rewire is 2-3k.
plastering and damp proofing could be anything depending on what happens when plaster comes off. Get quotes. deduct the amount at least plus 10%. Living in a house whilst you're doing work is a pain and you will need to get both done almost immediately if the wiring is dodgy)

Get quotes off workmen for the work - arrange for them to go round (speak to ea about it... but perhaps say if they're not keen on reducnig price at least 4k (my estimate) then you're not interested in going further)
Ask workmen to not speak to the vendors about cost of work too.

Fire_Fox

Get a proper damp survey done as you need to know why there is damp - has a damp course never been installed or has it been breached? I found Rentokil much better than the average damp company. Be aware that the mortgage company may elect to retain a portion of your mortgage until you complete these works.

steve_hurst_2

Do not even consider paying the full asking price for this property, if you really, really want it then use the negative aspects of the survey as a leverage to get at least £5k off the asking price.

stupot101

Sandra2 wrote: »

Hi,
What age is the property?

It is c. 1920s.

Sandra2 wrote: »

In old houses damp always comes up and an injection may not be the best option - in our house it is a case of exposing the air bricks and lowering ground levels - the quote was around £700.

This is definitely worth checking out - I assumed it just needed a DPC and that was the end of it.

:T

stupot101

poppysarah wrote: »

rewire is 2-3k.

I'm guessing it needs nothing less than a complete rewire. If you're tearing the wall apart to do the DPC it would make sense to rewire at the same time?

poppysarah wrote: »

Get quotes off workmen for the work - arrange for them to go round (speak to ea about it... but perhaps say if they're not keen on reducnig price at least 4k (my estimate) then you're not interested in going further)

Yeah, if she doesn't agree to reducing the price then there's no point paying for an damp/electricial survey on top of the home buyer's report which cost me £300. Money well spent it seems.

:T

pawpurrs

Theres no way I would reduce the price without seeing the survey, and if it has not been downvalued?

stupot101

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Get a proper damp survey done as you need to know why there is damp - has a damp course never been installed or has it been breached? I found Rentokil much better than the average damp company. Be aware that the mortgage company may elect to retain a portion of your mortgage until you complete these works.

Never been installed at all according to the survey. :eek:

stupot101

pawpurrs wrote: »

Theres no way I would reduce the price without seeing the survey, and if it has not been downvalued?

If I was in the vendor's shoes I'd probably insist on seeing it too. No, the valuation didn't downvalue what I agreed with the vendor. So my guess is she will say the purchase price and the survey match, so get stuffed.

poppysarah

stupot101 wrote: »

Never been installed at all according to the survey. :eek:

House we viewed was built straight onto dirt- a 30s semi that side wall was completely rotten.
The owner was very open about the problems - he reckoned it wouldn't take him much effort to do it if it didn't sell as it was (a mindblowing 130k for the dampest house I've ever seen! with other problems too!) so why he hadn't I don't know!