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First time buyer - need advice on damp

in_dulge
Posts: 6 Forumite
Hi all
I had gone to measure up the property I am buying, for furniture etc, when I noticed some damp! There is a big patch ( apprx. 3 sq ft) in the living room, next to the open plan kitchen, which the agent thinks might have been caused by a leakage from the dishwasher, which has since been treated.
There are a also a couple of smaller patches in the master bedroom and the ensuite bathroom.
The vendor has offered to leave all the furniture/appliances (used by the tenants), in lieu of getting the damp treated.
Should I accept his offer? How much would the damp treatment cost? The property is an appartment on the raised ground floor of a 1999 purpose built development, opposite the river.
The dishwasher leakage also left the laminate floor in the kitchen a bit bubbled and squeaky. Any idea how much wd it cost to get it repaired?
Thanks in advance
I had gone to measure up the property I am buying, for furniture etc, when I noticed some damp! There is a big patch ( apprx. 3 sq ft) in the living room, next to the open plan kitchen, which the agent thinks might have been caused by a leakage from the dishwasher, which has since been treated.
There are a also a couple of smaller patches in the master bedroom and the ensuite bathroom.
The vendor has offered to leave all the furniture/appliances (used by the tenants), in lieu of getting the damp treated.
Should I accept his offer? How much would the damp treatment cost? The property is an appartment on the raised ground floor of a 1999 purpose built development, opposite the river.
The dishwasher leakage also left the laminate floor in the kitchen a bit bubbled and squeaky. Any idea how much wd it cost to get it repaired?
Thanks in advance
0
Comments
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Hi,
If you are actually purchasing this property then please please get a thorough survey and valuation undertaken by a Chartered Surveyor and act upon all the points they raise including any further investigation by NICEIC electricians, Gas Safe registered plumbers, roof inspections, drainage and damp, timber and cavity wall tie surveys etc and have your legal advisors do all necessary enquires regarding who is responsible for what which is so so important especially with multi occupancy dwellings or those previously rented out.
Purchasing a property means you are entering into a contract to pay thousands and thousands of pounds and you need to make absolutely sure that the property warrants such investment and those who inspect it on your behalf are fully insured to protect you from suffering a loss.
Until such investigations have been made I certainly would not accept the offer of furnishings in exchange for you taking responsibility for the dampness and its consequences as what you are seeing could well be the tip of a financially crippling iceburg until proved otherwise.
Kindest regards, David Aldred Independent dampness and timber surveyor.0 -
Haven't you had a survey carried out?Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0
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There's damp in several places, in a pretty new property? I'd be worried that the standard of building was carp, leading to damp problems. I take it the buyer didn't mention the damp - they're only offering to throw in free stuff because you spotted it? I'd definitely want to get the place checked out thoroughly before buying.0
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Thanks for your replies guys! Can you tell me what kind of survey wd be best, and how much wd it cost? My mortgage advisor will get one done also, for valuation etc.
I am kind of operating on a very tight budget here!0 -
David_Aldred wrote: »in addition to checking there are no County Court Judgements on that address which may impact upon your credit worthiness through no fault of your own once you move in.0
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The donation of furniture instead of repairing damp doesn't seem much of a good deal to me - the first thing that goes mouldy through excess moisture is the furniture - you may end up with green furry furniture if there are significant damp problems, though these can be caused or aggravated by occupant lifestyle (failure to heat and ventilate the property) as well as maintenance defects (leaking pipes/guttering and so forth).0
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Apologies re last post - tbs664 is quite right re: CCJ's apply to persons not properties. Equifax and Experian, the two main credit information providers in the UK, confirm that a postal address cannot be blacklisted and that credit reference agencies do not officially hold credit blacklists. However what can happen is a dodgy previous tenant will not notify their new address and will carry on using the one for the house you are buying for which some debt collectors will pester you to death about even though you simply state time and again that person no longer lives there.
Even though a basic valuation survey is for the lender not the person buying the house a duty of care is owed to the buyer as it is reasonable for them to act upon the contents of a valuation survey especially when this is by far the most common type.
Homebuyer surveys and full structural surveys are more expensive but you get what you pay for.
I would just add that a lot of surveys are very 'wooly and padded out' such that they describe a property very well but don't tell you much other than to recommend (or pass the buck depending how cynical you are) that other people inspect various things in more detail and for those other people who inspect later to take the liability rather than the initial surveyor. It is not uncommon to pay close to a thousand pounds for a structural survey only for it to say: get a structural engineer in, get a drain survey, get a roof inspection, get an electrical and gas report, get a survey from a tree specialist, get a damp / timber / wall tie survey and then you think hang on what did I pay the Chartered surveyor a thousand pounds for other than to walk round in a suit and describe what the property looks like, especially when you read the fine print exclusions they put into their reports.
Kindest regards, David Aldred independent dampness and timber surveyor.0
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