Would this put you off?

frafferty

I'm probably being completely daft here but some things have come up in our HIP which I'm worried will put our buyer off

Our HIP was finally completed today and we have been sent a soft copy of it. 3 things have immediately sprung to my attention:

1. We are in a high risk area for Radon gas. First I've heard! We've lived here for 11 years and I've never been aware of this until now. Will this be picked up in the environmental survey and how accurate will the survey be? ie, is it property specific or just postcode, general area etc?

2. The water analysis has come back to say that the water quality failed to meet the standards prescribed...blah...blah. 1 sample in 108 failed for coliform bacteria.

3. Our house used to belong to the housing association, we bought it outright from the previous owner in 1999. I think that around 40% of the houses in this road are still shared ownership (It was 100%) Would an ex-housing association property ring alarm bells for you? It didn't for us in 1999 but HA's have had so much bad press lately....

Opinions please? Am I overthinking this? Is all this stuff pretty standard when buying houses?

Thanks in advance

jenny_13

Personally the thing that would bother me most is bein ex HA. In regards to the HIP we never saw it before we bought the house due to LOADS of problems with the estate agents. What is the water analysis test? Has it actually got anything to do with your house? (Sorry probably a dumb question)

Richard_Webster

1. RADON - if it is high risk then generally quite large areas will be similarly affected. If you buy in Cornwall or parts of Wales or Derbyshire you will know that's the case anyway - you can't get away from it.

Environmental search will show same information. I think they classify the rocks/soil in small areas - 1K square or perhaps smaller and say that given that type of rock there is a x% chance of a house having a Radon level over the safe level. To find out whether there is a problem for a particular house you install a testing device for a time to see whether it picks up high readings.

2.WATER QUALITY. Water companies send people round to do tests in a random sample of houses in each area. I don't know the size of the areas they pick but probably the population would be 25,000 or more. On that basis they checked 108 houses water and 1 of them showed coliforms. This could be to do with the personal hygiene of the occupants or possibly a leaking water pipe near a leaking foul drain? However the problem would only have applied to that 1 houses sampled not to all the water in the area.

3. HOUSING ASSOCIATION OWNERSHIP. Even if it wasn't in the HIP buyer's solicitor would probably tell the buyer that it used to be HA. Very much a matter for the buyer's perception. If it doesn't look run down with unkept gardens etc and is a small development most people won't be too bothered.

frafferty

No, the water analysis is for the zone so basically 1 sample out of 108 had a problem, which the report says could have been as simple as a dirty tap. But my husband's first reaction was that he would walk away from a property which had that in a HIP :wall:

I can't really do much about the HA issue though. I guess it depends on whether our buyer is a snob or not. Our house is a small modern one - mid terrace - and is at the lower end of the price scale. We also accepted an offer for £7.5k below asking price so I'm hoping that our buyer will be chuffed with his bargain rather than worried about it being ex HA. As I say, we have been here for 11 years and would not be moving if we had not had a 2nd baby which was a different sex to our first (we only hae 2 bedrooms)

frafferty

Richard - sorry we x posted. Thank you.
The radon thing was not picked up when we bought 11 years ago. The house is 17 years old so I would have thought that measures would have had to be put in place when it was built? Unless the radon was not present then? The land is ex-MOD so could that be why?

Thankfully the road is lovely and everyone takes good care of their property - there are no dumped cars or litter so hopefully he will still be okay with the fact. There are 19 properties in the road and as far as I know there are 7 or 8 of these that are still shared ownership.

Sammy85_2

Hi,

I believe Radon is a naturally occuring thing. Our area has a moderate risk, didnt put us off, its pretty common in alot of areas.

We also got the water thing on our HIP too! 1 house out of over 100 tested. Again, could be down to bacteria in the kitchen tap, not necessarily the water supply!

As to being ex-HA, thats a personal choice. Some LA/HA houses have a distinctive style that differs from private housing and that puts people off, and for some if the neighbours are still LA/HA then that puts them off due to the possibility of being lumbered with unfavourable neighbours. If its a nice neighbourhood then i wouldnt worry. Perhaps your buyer is aware already? Where i live the older HA/LA houses are easily recognisable, even on the nice developments.

anotherginger

radon is a naturally occurring gas that forms from rocks and soil (thats as simple as i can put it!). ex MOD or not!

the fact that this was not picked up on 17(!) years ago is because i doubt the radon maps were available then. if the information was not available then i doubt there would be measures in place if radon were a problem - but most houses don't have a problem if they are well ventilated etc.

also, radon only became a standard question in the land search process in about 2002.

the maps show indicative levels of radon based on 1km x 1km - not the amount that is in your house. if you were only told that radon was 'high' then you can ring your council to see what the probability actually is for the general area. or if you want to know for sure, then go to https://www.ukradon.org and order radon detectors (it's done by post, takes a month or two, and costs 45 quid).

RacyRed

I've read lots of HIPs lately and have yet to find one that doesn't throw up some sort of problem with the water supply, if that is any consolation to you.

Radon might worry me a bit, it having been HA wouldn't if the "feel" of the street is good.

Stonk

Assuming you've chosen an area you want to live in, there probably won't be any getting away from the radon. If it's high in one location, you can expect it to be just as high next door, and in the next street, and anywhere in the town. When they say HIGH, bear in mind the present state of extreme over-cautiousness about Health & Safety. It might knock about 10 minutes off your life expectancy.

pingu2209

Radon wouldn't bother me. It won't just be your house, it is the whole area so anyone wanting to buy in the area would just have to put up with it. Modern houses are built to counter act Radon.However, the housing association would really bother me. Because there is a % that is still housing association, I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. You could end up with undesirables living next door to you or in the same street. I don't think I am alone with that view.

Trumpeter

pingu2209 wrote: »

However, the housing association would really bother me. Because there is a % that is still housing association, I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. You could end up with undesirables living next door to you or in the same street. I don't think I am alone with that view.

Is there any kind of award for "Snob of the week??" I know lots of "undesirables" that own their own properties. And if you live next door to one, you'll get a lot more help to deal with an "undesirable" LA/HA tenant than an "undesirable" homeowner.