Building Survey Report

1echidna

There can be a lot of grey areas in a survey. If one goes in very heavy and takes the worst case scenarios and heavily loaded estimates it is likely that the vendor may well not budge on price thinking, perhaps with some justification, that you are going over the top and that he can find a less picky buyer, particularly if a lot of the items have not given him cause for concern.

We have just bought a 30's house and the survey pointed out some essential repairs and checks and some items where improvements could be made. We got the house for what we considered a fair price allowing for the age and the fact that things would need to be done. The price was well within our budget and we have resources for a considerable repair/improvement budget. We did ask the vendors though to pay about £1600 being half the essential repairs and they agreed to this. The roof was part of the grey area in our purchase but we have decided to pay for a refurbishment with relaying the tiles with a breathable felt, flashing, ventilation, extra insulation, guttering and woodworm treatment. We really like our new property and had a great deal of difficulty in finding somewhere we felt was suitable, perhaps all the roof work not absolutely necessary but we feel more comfortable having it done.