Buildings Insurance

sparrowlung

I'm selling a basement flat property and I am ware there is some some damp (none that visible and nothing noticable to me without looking for it). My concern is that if a buyer has a survey carried out it will exaggerate the extent of the damp and force some negotiations on the works required to sort out the problem.

My question is what scope is there generally to claim such repairs are structural under buildings insurance?.

Doozergirl

Buildings Insurance? Erm, none!

Why don't you get the work done yourself? It WILL be a negotiating tool for your purchasers and if you can see it yourself, it will most probably be found and highlighted by the surveyor.

Can you establish where it's coming from? Where is it showing? It might not be rising damp, in which case you may get away without putting in a damp course although some outlay is probably inevitable.

sparrowlung

I've read a lot about rising damp and I don't think it is. It has been visible bubbling under the paint although it is now concealed. I think any surveyor will identify it as an issue and there will have to some negotiation over the problem. My primary concern is that if the surveyor identifies the problem as rising damp it will put the buyer off entirely when it probably isn't rising damp and that's just a term that surveryors use for all damp in basement/ground floor properties. I've also heard that damp-proofing companies who carry out surveys exaggerate the extent of the problem and over-charge for the damp-proofing.

I doubted there'd be scope for claiming for it under buildings insurance, just thought maybe it could be claimed as structural.

Doozergirl

We've only once not been able to work out where damp was coming from, there's always a trail. Is it internal, external, fireplace wall? Can you check the other side to see what is there? We've found dry rot even that stemmed from a wooden peg being knocked too far through from the outside which absorbed water and soaked everything.

Are the walls painted or wallpapered? You can lose the damp patches by sanding back the bubbling paint and painting over 'damp blocker' (or something to that effect) which comes in a tin like paint and is widely available in B&Q and suchlike. It will do what it says on the tin! Don't use the spray stuff and use two coats. You'll have to repaint the patch the next day, but if you have the same tin of paint, it helps, otherwise use the same colour but just paint the one wall exactly. Even if it is a slightly different colour, the way light and shadows play, it will look the same anyway. If it's wallpaper it's obviously more difficult...

sparrowlung

The walls are painted. I've used that blocker stuff on them already but my less than professional approach probably makes it quite obvious as the emulsion in the rest of the room has stained quite badly. My feeling is that because the damp appears in spots it isn't strictly rising but i'm having a builder friend come round on Saturday to confirm. I'm also going to get one of those rip-off damp-proofing companies to survey so that I know the worst I can expect. Thanks for the advice Doozer :beer:

Doozergirl

Redecorating the room might be better than dropping the price?

I just got a bit mixed up with the Birmingham thread I've been chatting on and just had a brainwave that I could recommend a rip-off Damp guy to you, but if you're not in Birmingham or surrounding, I'm not much help! :doh:

sparrowlung

I'm not in Brum but good point about redecorating the room, unfortunately that's the sort of thing lazy !!!!!!s like me hate doing in a small flat with the problems it will cause. Still if it saves me a few grand I might just find the energy.