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problems with the survey

candy656
Posts: 31 Forumite
we have put in an offer on a house we see as our forever house, it was built in 1901 and although it's not perfect as we want it we can see the potential. we have had our accepted and just had the results of the survey...
these are what they found:
1)Electrical test and implementation of all recommendations for upgrading
2) Further investigation of localised areas of dampness and guarantee treatment
3)Roof repairs
4)Overhaul rainwater fittings
5) repair/renew defective areas of external render
6) External redecoration
7)structural Engineers report to identify causes of cracking to the flank wall at it's junction with the rear extension and to advise the remedial repairs required..
We noticed the crack and we know it is a non load bearing extension - our plans do incorporate in a few years knocking this down and building a two storey extension. The others except the roof & damp seem minimal.. we are having to pay for a structural survey but I want to find out what we can ask for if anything..??
We managed to purchase the house for 19K less than the asking price and there is no chain but part of the home buyers report has valued the property at 4K less than our offer price.. Do we proceed or do we need to walk away??
these are what they found:
1)Electrical test and implementation of all recommendations for upgrading
2) Further investigation of localised areas of dampness and guarantee treatment
3)Roof repairs
4)Overhaul rainwater fittings
5) repair/renew defective areas of external render
6) External redecoration
7)structural Engineers report to identify causes of cracking to the flank wall at it's junction with the rear extension and to advise the remedial repairs required..
We noticed the crack and we know it is a non load bearing extension - our plans do incorporate in a few years knocking this down and building a two storey extension. The others except the roof & damp seem minimal.. we are having to pay for a structural survey but I want to find out what we can ask for if anything..??
We managed to purchase the house for 19K less than the asking price and there is no chain but part of the home buyers report has valued the property at 4K less than our offer price.. Do we proceed or do we need to walk away??
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Comments
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Its up to you - if its long term then 4K is neither here nor there. A house from 1901 is not going to be perfect.0
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thanks - but I wondered it if would be wrong to ask for the vendor to partially pay for the structural survey and if the roof and stuff does need doing - we haven't budgeted for that - would you ask for money off bearing in mind we knocked 19K off the asking price (although I think it was on for too much anyway...0
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we had a similar problem with property we are buying survey recomended roof repair. We forwarded the report to builders and got quotes and decided the cost involved was minimal so we are proceeding with buying as we both decided it was our perfect house.
suppose you can ask for money off the sale price as any offer is subject to contract, depends on how much the repairs are going to be and if you could bear walking away.0 -
The asking price is largely irrelevant, land registry sold prices and the condition of the property dictate it's value. If your lender says the house is worth £4K less then you won't get a mortgage for the full amount so you will either have to find the difference or renegotiate. There is little point in paying for a valuation/ homebuyers report/ full structural survey and then ignoring it!Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0
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They are still giving us the full amount we have asked for, so now i'm confused. The basic home buyers survey they have said the price is valued at 316k and with the work done 320K (which is what we have offered) still waiting for the more indepth report to come across..0
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We've bought a few older houses (one 1910 and two 1930s), and seen the kind of comments that have come up on your survey. Without knowing how significant the problems are, it isn't easy to comment - roof repairs might mean anything from replacing a couple of tiles to completely redoing it.
My instinct is that you are bound to get some comments about repairs to roof, damp, electrics with any house of that age, so I wouldn't panic just because the surveyor has mentioned them. I'd go back, have another look, and make your own judgement on how significant/expensive they are to fix. In my experience, you should budget for doing a bit of work to any house you buy - the chances of buying a house and not wanting to change or update anything is pretty minimal.
I'd have said that the surveyor is estimating the work that needs doing at £4K (the difference between his valuation with & without the work done) - that doesn't sound like a big deal to me if you like the house. You could probably live quite happily in there without doing anything - the present owners obviously are.0 -
Thank you - just taken the report to a mate who is a builder! he told me he wasnt suprised i wanted to run a mile but said he'd buy it with what work that was needed, so makes me feel a little better..
we are in a good position as have nothing to sell, neither do the vendors so we are goin to send the report to the agents and say we need some incentive to keep going with the purchase.. and see what happens.0 -
They are still giving us the full amount we have asked for, so now i'm confused. The basic home buyers survey they have said the price is valued at 316k and with the work done 320K (which is what we have offered) still waiting for the more indepth report to come across..
Why did you only have a Homebuyers Report when the property is over a century old and you know it isn't in great condition?Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0 -
Hello!
Some advice would be gratefully received! We are buying a 1930s semi and there is work needing doing that was visible on looking round.
We had a detailed building survey carried out which has revealed that insulating the loft badly has caused massive condensation, the result of which is some damp timber that is now suffering from both fungal and beetle infestation. The felt and tiles are good, but we will need vents installing. In addition the chimney flashings need overhauling as some water has penetrated and dampened the roof.
So - in summary - this is what needs doing. Any ideas on how much this would cost:
Treatment of timbers
Possible replacement of some timber
New flashings and minor repointing for chimney
Cutting back insulation and installing either tile vents, soffit vents or both
We also need to commission a drainage inspection and report as when he ran the water and flushed the loo, the surveyor couldn't trace it through the drains when he lifted the covers.
Any advice on the costs, both separate and combined, would be great. If we did have to replace loads of the wood, felt and get new tiles - what would the whole thing cost??
Should we be asking for money off the asking price now, as this is all 'unseen' damage that we couldn't reasonably be expected to know about on viewing?
SirSaverOBE1st September 2007
Credit Cards: £960
Personal Loan: £4700
Overdrafts: £2000
Total = £7660
Debt when joined MSE Feb 07 = £13613
Olympic Challenge (Mar07-Sep07): Target: £2000 Current: £5953
Savings for house deposit since Mar 07: £1000
Bank Charges reclaimed: £733 (Barclaycard)
I MUST...I MUST...I MUST NEVER GO BUST!0 -
No point in having a survey unless you're going to use it to haggle.
Get some serious written uotes from builders about sorting the issues out.
Deduct that plus 10% or ask them to get the work done.0
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