FTB. House had dry rot but treated now. Is it worth buying?

rainbowqry

Hi all, we recently viewed a semi detached blonde sandstone property, around 100 years age. The owner said it had dry rot problem and had been treated, with 20 years guarantee. The reason for dry rot is because the gutter at the back close to kitchen was blocked, which caused water leakage or sth like that. The dry rot happened in the pantry at the corner of the kitchen, and the downstairs loo next to the kitchen, which together with the utility room was a later extension. This happened around 4 month ago and when we viewed the house, the pantry and loo was still in plaster, apparently you need to wait for the plaster to dry out before painting or further decoration.

I know dry rot is very serious issue, and it can spread very quickly and penetrate through dry materials. So my concern is although the dry rot is treated now, is it possible that it has already spread to other part of the house and not noticed? The guarantee only covers the area that was treated but not other parts of the house according to the owner. But then again I would suppose the company would check the condition of other areas before they did the work. As it happens at the back of the house, I suppose it is relatively disconnected, is that right? The company also lifted the carpet and did some work to the floorboard of the toilet in half landing, which is just above the pantry. I’m not sure how serious they are to be honest.

We really like the house, but dry rot is not sth we want to inherit. Dry rot happened after the owner listed the house on market, and it hasn’t received much interest so far. My opinion is that since it had dry rot, the house price is supposed to drop a bit to compensate the risk that future owner need to take. But hubby thinks that since owner had spent extra money to tackle it, he would want to get it back by demanding a higher price. Do you think we have big chance in negotiating the price?

All opinions welcome. Thanks in advance.

Angela

rainbowqry

Can anyone with similar experience advise? We are having second view this Thursday so really want to hear some advise before the view. Thanks in advance.

DVardysShadow

Dry rot which has been found and dealt with is less of a bother than dry rot which you find out about later. Get a surveyor to advise on this property - you need a specialist in timber treatment, but not one who is selling a treatment IYSWIM.

On the value of the house, neither of you is likely to be right. The work done puts the house back to the value it had before the rot was discovered, but not higher. If it ahs been fixed, then there is no need for it to be lower value.

Fire_Fox

Is the guarantee on the work completed transferable to a new owner?

rainbowqry

DVardysShadow -- Thanks for the advise. We will definitely get a specialist in to check the whole house before the final offer.

Fire Fox -- Thanks for the kind remind. This is sth to check with the vendor on 2nd view. We want to have a look of the Guarantee/ report but vendor said he hasn't got the report yet because payment hasn't been cleared....

Fire_Fox

Don't check with the vendor they will obvciously say yes! Check with the damp and timber company and get it in writing that you can transfer the guarantee.

DeadCat

First and foremost check that the cause of the dry rot (blocked gutter) has been rectified. Dry rot, despite its name cannot survive in normal dry conditions and needs an on-going supply of moisture to survive otherwise it will die. Any timbers affected by dry rot need to be removed; as well as any sound timber adjcacent to it. Remaining timbers and walls within a couple of metres of the outbreak need to be chemically treated. There is only a small risk that it will spread to other parts of the house; especially if the remainder of the house is 'dry'.

Check the scope of the work which was carried out, get a Surveyor's opinion and clarify the status of the guarantee as others have mentioned.

In a centrally heated house the risk of a dry rot outbreak occuring or re-occuring is pretty low.

Hope this helps