Survey on house we're buying is awful!

Miss_Penny_Pincher_2

The house we had survey on it was just a case of the owners being lazy I think! I mean in our survey one of the minor things is that they have left the gutter drain blocked with leaves which could cause damp. The vendors paid for their own survey after ours and it picked up the same issue - 5 seconds work, you would think!

Our surveyor was very concerned that cos they hadn't put proper under floor ventilation in the whole of the downstairs could have dry rot (just one of the many issues). TBH your survey doesn't look too bad in comparison it's just with the surveyor implying so much has been done to a poor standard...

rovers wrote:

I'm really surprised the surveyor was straight with you about walking away, I thought they'd have to be more discrete! My husband will speak to him today so I'm looking forward to seeing what he says. We've got someone having a look from outside to see what he thinks and I'm feeling far more hard-line about meeting the owner, unless he is going to resolve all the problems we'll have to pull out. Whatever will be will be I guess.
Some really good advice coming through here, I really appreciate it everyone. :T

In our survey intro he wrote that we should 'carefully consider whether to purchase the property'!! So I phoned him and asked him straight up and pointed out that we were naive FTBs but even then he was cautious with his wording. He said he thought we should look at similar properties in the area rather than this one as he had surveyed a few nearby that were in far better condition!

quietheart

Well frustratingly the surveyor had gone away for the weekend when we made our planned call..... but the meeting with the builder went well. He's arranged for a structural engineer to see the roof and paid the £500 that we thought we would have to pay, he's got someone else reviewing the chimney/damp problem and said any recommended work would be carried out. We went through the house together and he's agreed every bit of work the surveyor questioned and a couple more beyond that. He's explained the "sloping" floor is where they had planned to tile the floor in the dining area the same as the kitchen but the EA advised them that carpet would sell it better, so it all made sense. He was happy to pull up the new carpet to show us the floorboards and all in all convinced us he was a good guy. Hope we've not been hood-winked! He also said if anything came up when we've moved just to call him and he'd sort it. So we are putting everything agreed in writing, he'll sign it and it'll go to our solicitors. I'm hoping this is a result but we'll see what the surveyor says on Tuesday.
Thanks a million for all the invaluable input, it's really helped!:beer:

Doozergirl

Sounds like you got a good 'un there, rovers. I'm pleased it went well.

All credit due to your vendor, too.

TJ27

I've not much to add really but the main problem seems to be the roof deflection. You can have a look along the ridge and tell for yourself if it's straight or if there's a dip in the middle of it. Sometimes the walls are pushed out slightly at eaves level too.

Quite a common cause of this is to tile a roof which was previously slated. Concrete tiles are generally cheaper than slates, so builders save money, but they are also heavier and the roof timbers aren't designed to support them.

Just a thought.

devils_advocate

rovers wrote:

He's arranged for a structural engineer to see the roof and paid the £500 that we thought we would have to pay, he's got someone else reviewing the chimney/damp problem and said any recommended work would be carried out. We went through the house together and he's agreed every bit of work the surveyor questioned and a couple more beyond that.

I'm probably just an old cynic, but it looks like the builder has agreed to get a few pals to put right what the builder should have put right in the first place. And is your surveyor going to go back to see if its really put right?

I really, really think that you should walk away from this.

He's bought the place to do up and make a profit. If you don't buy it, does he make a profit? After you've bought it, will he turn up to cope with anything else?

Doozergirl

I'd beg to differ, devils advocate. The estate agent has good things to say about the builder and the builder has immediately agreed to get in a structural engineer and to rectify any problems. That's better than you'll get from your average homeowner; virtually all Homebuyers reports throw up something.

Yes, he's bought the place to do up and make a profit and in order to do that, the house will have to pass every possible buyer's survey. It's in his interest to rectify any problems.

real1314

rovers wrote:

He's explained the "sloping" floor is where they had planned to tile the floor in the dining area the same as the kitchen but the EA advised them that carpet would sell it better, so it all made sense. He was happy to pull up the new carpet to show us the floorboards and all in all convinced us he was a good guy.

Hmmm, so are the floorboards sloping or not? Maybe he was planning on covering this up by tiling it level, but sloping floorboards could be an indicator of subsidence, as could hairline cracks.
Also, why has the extension been pebble-dashed? This is a good way to cosmetically disguise cracks in the brickwork.

The poor floorboards in the cupboard are presumably the only ones visible? So the ones that can't be seen, what state are they in?
The loose doorframe!! How on earth can any builder fail to fit a doorframe properly?
Some of these problems suggest a very sloppy approach.

I'd be cautious.

quietheart

devils_advocate wrote:

I'm probably just an old cynic, but it looks like the builder has agreed to get a few pals to put right what the builder should have put right in the first place. And is your surveyor going to go back to see if its really put right?

I really, really think that you should walk away from this.

He's bought the place to do up and make a profit. If you don't buy it, does he make a profit? After you've bought it, will he turn up to cope with anything else?

I don't have a problem with a builder buying a place to do up for a profit, that's just business after all. It's his own company, he does most of the renovations in the area and our own estate agent (the one selling our old house nothing to do with the new one) rates him. It wasn't well finished off but will be now and we will be getting someone in to check the work is done.
I'm just glad we had the homebuyers survey, it's saved us a lot in the long run.
Quite a common cause of this is to tile a roof which was previously slated. Concrete tiles are generally cheaper than slates, so builders save money, but they are also heavier and the roof timbers aren't designed to support them.
It's the original roof just repointed and new flashings so it's worth getting it seen.
Hmmm, so are the floorboards sloping or not? Maybe he was planning on covering this up by tiling it level, but sloping floorboards could be an indicator of subsidence, as could hairline cracks.
Also, why has the extension been pebble-dashed? This is a good way to cosmetically disguise cracks in the brickwork.

The poor floorboards in the cupboard are presumably the only ones visible? So the ones that can't be seen, what state are they in?
The loose doorframe!! How on earth can any builder fail to fit a doorframe properly?
Some of these problems suggest a very sloppy approach.
I'd be cautious
The builder had a timber/damp report done and replaced and the joists and boards that were recommended, the cupboard wasn't recommended so it wasn't done so it's just the old floorboards, he is now replacing them. We have seen other new boards which look good.
The extension floor isn't sloping but it is at a slightly lower level than the rest of the room which was as they intended to tile it (it's an area which could be seen as the kitchen or dining room the EA decided it would be best for it be be carpeted like the dining room not tiled like the kitchen) we are probably gonna have it tiled and then it will be level.....
Be interesting to see what the structural surveyor thinks.
Have fun guys.