EEK! The surveys reporting urgent problems

ellewellyn

Hi all

would be very grateful to get some advice. We're first time buyers and have had an offer accepted on our dream house (sort of!). Its a bit run down but in a great location and perfect size etc. We're all ready to go to exchange and have got the mortage etc all set up, solicitors instructed etc. So good so far...

except we had the homebuyers survey done last week and the report has thrown up several urgent problems: dampness in ground floor walls, a small flat roof that needs compleltely re-doing, some re-wiring and also problems with sub floor ventilation (part of the house has a solid concrete floor). Plus there may be asbestos tiles in the ceiling which need removing at some point.

This is obviously quite concerning. We were prepared for some work, as the house is clearly in need of a bit of love (has been on the rental market for years) but we were not prepared for big things like these.

But we do still love the property, and dont want to pull out. We've arranged to have several specialist surveys done over the next few days, so are planning to get quotes for repairs and then negotiate with the vendor. But the vendor is keen to exchange before next Tuesday because Capital gains tax increases. So its all a bit of a rush!!

So please could we have some advice about what to do! Does anyone know anything about capital gains tax, and what might happen to the vendor if we cant exchange by Tuesday???

And also some advice about negotiating a price reduction would be sooo helpful??

Thanking you all in advance!

x

clutton_2

if the vendor knows what rate Capital Gains Tax will/may increase by next Budget day then he must have the ear of the Chancellor.....

IF it increases from 18% to 40% (as is rumoured) then his profit from the sale will go down by 22% ...... But realistically he cannot find anohter buyer before Tuesday so i wouldn't worry and i would not be put into a stressed position of HAVING to make a decision before you are ready

re the works.... no one on here can tell you whether these are expensive jobs or not.. the damp could simply be a damp course which is covered by soil... or it could need a whole new DPC.... wait for your specialists to come back to you.. but ... i would get in one good builder and get his opinion rather than a Damp Specialist who will always find damp so that he can get a contract out of it. IF up need a whole new DPC i wou ld advice getting it done before you move in, if at all possible, as it is a Very messy job.

None of the above works sound seriously important to me.. and unless there is water pouring through the flat roof.. i suspect you can do them bit at a time over the coming months...
DONT show the survey report to your specialists...

ellewellyn

oh gawd... i sent a copy of the survey report to the damp proofing specialists coz they asked for it? have I been a complete fool?? We only need a quote of estimated costs from them though, so we can put it to the vendor...so I guess its not in their interests to overexagerate the problem?

Eek.

ellewellyn

Also, if the Capital Gains tax does increase, will it just increase automatically overnight on Tuesday? or will it be after a set date (eg. On August 1st 2010) so that people have time to sort themselves out?

If its the latter, then hopefully we've got a good chance that the seller wont pull out if cant exchange by Tuesday.

LittleMissAspie

ellewellyn wrote: »

Also, if the Capital Gains tax does increase, will it just increase automatically overnight on Tuesday?

It would be suicidal to increase it with a period of notice, as this would cause a large amount of BTL property to be dumped into the market. It would most likely take effect within 1 or 2 days of the budget.

G_M

dampness in ground floor walls, a small flat roof that needs compleltely re-doing, some re-wiring and also problems with sub floor ventilation (part of the house has a solid concrete floor). Plus there may be asbestos tiles in the ceiling which need removing at some point.

Don't let them rush you. These could be trivial, or could be serious/expensive.
Damp and ventilation might be related? Take care with specialkist damp companies: they send 'surveyors' who are generally 'salesmen'. You really need several opinions as to the cause.
Rewiring - dangerous? or just not up to current Building Regulations standards?
Asbestos. Nasty. Need specialist dealing with. "may be" or is...?

blukas49

We've just got our survey back that say we should have an electrical safety check done and get a quote for work required. Do we then a. inform vendor and try to drop price. or b. get them to rectify.

ps were FTB so all help appreciated

ellewellyn

yeah the asbestos is a 'maybe' and the wiring is not dangerous, just needs a new fuse box and a new 'earthing' wire extended or something.

A family friend had a look around yesterday too and thought the damp problem was not as significant, if at all, as the survey makes out.

But obviously the gloominess of the survey is making us think really about whether we can financially afford a property that needs alot of urgent work.

We're FTBs so perhaps naiive, but are all surveys overly depressing and make out that problems are worse than they really are? We dont mind work that needs to happen over the next few months or years, but cant afford to do loads of immediate work.

ellewellyn

Blukas49- I was told that it would be best to get the estimates for repairs first, and then present to the vendor. I guess its up to you about whether you negotiate a drop in price, or if you want them to do the work for you? I personally would prefer to do it myself and at least no that a good job was done, rather than allowing the vendor to use some cowboy fixer-upper which solves the problem in the cheapest possible way...

G_M

ellewellyn wrote: »

yeah the asbestos is a 'maybe' and the wiring is not dangerous, just needs a new fuse box and a new 'earthing' wire extended or something.

A family friend had a look around yesterday too and thought the damp problem was not as significant, if at all, as the survey makes out.

'Maybe' asbestos is not good enough! You need to KNOW. Phone the surveyor, and take a look at the HSE site. Or the AIC.

Did the friend say there is or isn't damp? If there is, why? " thought the damp problem was not as significant...." either it's there or it isn't. If it is, the cure might be simple. or expensive. Is the friend a) an expert or b) able to answer these questions?

Many houses have perfectly safe old-style fuse boxes. an extended earthing wire should be trivial/cheap to do.

ellewellyn

G_M- the family friend is a good handyman/DIY expert so I do trust his opinion but he's not a surveyor so we're taking it with a pinch of salt.His thought was that the small amout of obvious damp (in the ceiling) is a consequence of the flat roof, which definately needs repair. He didnt see any evidence of rising damp, although again he is not a damp expert.

We've instructed our solictory to find out re: the asbestos as apparantly legally the vendor should confirm that there is NOT asbestos in the property. so if he cant do that, they it means that the tiles probably are asbestos so we have some lever to negotiate with him.

The electrician thought the urgent wiring costs would be approx 200-300 pounds, plus labour costs. So its not a deal breaker at least!

The question is, when do you know when to walk away...?