What's reasonable to ask of vendors for inspections?

pelethecat

Our surveyor has recommended that we need further inspections before purchasing - particularly as he's identified a reasonably significant rising / penetrating damp problem and we will need to know the full extent of the repair work required in order to negotiate on price.

He's said we need to get a proper inspection of the roof void and timbers in it by removing the vendor's stored goods, exposing ground and 1st floor internal floorboards to allow inspection and making an access hatch to the roof void of the extension.

Is it reasonable to ask all that of the vendors? It seems like quite a lot to me, and I think that they would be well within their rights to say no. But if I can't get a proper inspection, then it sounds like I would be foolish to go ahead as I won't know how much work I'm letting myself in for.

I'm a bit disappointed as the property is at the top of our budget (and valued at the top end of the current local market) as we thought it needed no work - foolish of us really.

Thanks for any advice!

princessamy86

I think it's certainly reasonable to ask the question, particularly with regards to the damp. For the most part, vendors are normally ok with extra inspections as they know you are serious about buying if you are willing to go to the extra expense of having additional inspections. I'm sure they'll be fine, and if not, then you can decide if this really is the right house.

Fire_Fox

It's usual for damp specialists (not DPC companies) and/ or structural engineers to be instructed and paid for by the vendors as if something major comes up at survey the house won't sell without these additional investigations. Best thing to do is put your concerns into writing, referencing the survey and put the ball in the vendor's court. The vendors will need to empty the loft when they move anyway, the rest is up to them. Are you prepared to pull out? If so make it clear this investigation needs to go ahead for you to be in a position to continue with the purchase.

G_M

The vendors might object, but if they are serious about selling, they shouldn't. You can only ask!

you are planning to spend (and they are hoping to receive!) 1000s of pounds. You have a right to know what you are getting!

It amazes me people spend longer poking around under the bonnet of a car worth £5000 than they do looking over a house worth £300,000!!!!

tek-monkey

I spend longer choosing trainers than I did my house!

pelethecat

thanks for the advice - I will definitely push to get these full inspections done.
I'll have to see whether specialists will want paying to come and quote. I'd been told the EA had people who would do quotes for free, but I would suspect that the free service doesn't normally include lifting floor boards, forming access hatches to roof voids and going up to check the inaccessible bits of the roof.
I do want this house - but part of me would rather now go for a some of the slightly cheaper houses that more obviously needed a little bit of work than this place which had just been redecorated and we'll now have to redecorate again ourselves once the work's done. All depends on how far the vendors are willing to negotiate I guess.

G_M

I'd been told the EA had people who would do quotes for free,

The EA is not impartial. He is employed, and paid, by the vendor so any advice/recommendation he provides is on that basis.

Find your own specialists.

Milliewilly

Fire_Fox wrote: »

It's usual for damp specialists (not DPC companies) and/ or structural engineers to be instructed and paid for by the vendors as if something major comes up at survey the house won't sell without these additional investigations. Best thing to do is put your concerns into writing, referencing the survey and put the ball in the vendor's court. The vendors will need to empty the loft when they move anyway, the rest is up to them. Are you prepared to pull out? If so make it clear this investigation needs to go ahead for you to be in a position to continue with the purchase.

Its not usual for the Vendor to pay - if the buyer wants answers then they should commission their own report and their own Damp / Structural Surveyor then they know its impartial and the Surveyor is acting for them. Its then upto the buyer to try to negotiate on the findings. If they want the cost of the report back then ask the vendor then.

The vendor shouldn't have any issues with the inspection.

Fire_Fox

pelethecat wrote: »

thanks for the advice - I will definitely push to get these full inspections done.
I'll have to see whether specialists will want paying to come and quote. I'd been told the EA had people who would do quotes for free, but I would suspect that the free service doesn't normally include lifting floor boards, forming access hatches to roof voids and going up to check the inaccessible bits of the roof.
I do want this house - but part of me would rather now go for a some of the slightly cheaper houses that more obviously needed a little bit of work than this place which had just been redecorated and we'll now have to redecorate again ourselves once the work's done. All depends on how far the vendors are willing to negotiate I guess.

There is a massive difference between getting a company who install damp proof courses to do a free quote and paying a damp specialist to give you a (hopefully) unbiased opinion. We had 'rising damp' in a cottage according to several DPC companies which required the entire property to be injected and all the plaster hacking off - a massive undertaking.

Rentokil noted that in one area the concrete floor was breaching the DPC (lower floor level or new DPC), another the plaster went down to floor level behind the skirting breaching the DPC (simply remove excess plaster), another an old blocked up chimney was filled with soot breaching the DPC (open vent and clear out cr*p). Others have not had the same thorough service from Rentokil, so might be best to pay a true independent.

pelethecat

Well I thought it would be the vendors who would object, but now the damp specialist is saying he doesn't want to raise floorboards as it'll be impossible if they go under skriting boards and if he damages them I'll get taken to court. Haven't even had a chance to ask the vendors yet.

I'm reluctant to carry on if I can't find out the extent of the problem and what needs doing, but does this sound reasonable? Maybe I should just get another contractor. I don't mind paying for his work, and coming to some agreement with the vendors about how we share the risk of any damage during inspections.

roger196

You can do much of the inspection work yourself. Buy yourself a damp meter from B&Q, about £20. Look on diydoctor.org.uk for instructions of what to do under projects. This will tell you whether you have a serious problem or the surveyor is being overcautious. If you speak very nicely to the vendor, he may help to lift the odd floorboard. Both sides have an interest in sorting out whether a genuine problem exists or not.