Suevey Results in - Advice please

Trollfever

I have a friend who is working in LA and renting out their UK property.
(Not yours from the description).

Play hardball and don't forget the time difference.

ognum

To be honest unless you really love this property as a first time buyer I would pass. Some of this is time consuming and could be expensive, do you have a stach of money anywhere to help you through if all the joists are rotten etc.

hostman

Unless the flat is exceptional I would pass this one by. Sounds like there is too much to get done and the vendor unlikely to pay.

bitsandpieces

clutton wrote: »

ask the EA if he can organise builders quotes for you - he will want as fast a sale as possible to earn his fee and may well realise that he can do it faster than a FTB - act a bit Dumb here and plead for help !!

Actually, I wouldn't do this. The EA may be totally above board, or he may be tempted to get a mate to give a quote saying the works will cost £150 all in...

Get quotes from reputable firms (this will cost you nothing). Assuming the work will be costly, make clear to seller that you'll need to negotiate the price down or back out. If they're willing to negotiate, it may or may not also be worth getting a structural survey.

Don't feel bad about doing this. If you have to back out because of the cost of repairs, this will hurt the seller, too: much better for both parties that you negotiate, and you need to look after your own interests.

felix-b

The survey looks fairly typical for what is (presumably) a fairly old building. The damp and the woodworm are things to investigate further, but if these are confined to small areas are probably not big problems.

The most important things are that the survey does not appear to have identified any serious structural problems, nor any serious problems with planning, building regulations etc. The fact the surveyor values the property at what you are paying for it (which means you get the mortgage you expect) is about the 'best' result from a survey of a period property.

As it's a flat, I'm assuming it's a leasehold property. The roof (and maybe other parts) are unlikely to be your responsibility, but that of the freeholder. The surveyor should have indicated this. You are of course still liable for a portion of the costs. Problems with the roof may indicate poor management of the building - though if it's just a few cracked tiles, there may be no immediate problem.