Some post survey advice please

Imelda

Good morning all,

An update on our situation: DH decided to go ahead with viewings and we found a house which is ideal for us

Things have moved very quickly and we are now in possession of our survey report

I know these things generally do not paint a pretty picture but, in short, the list of problems include:

• extensive damp to one room (a sub basement), potential damp elsewhere and possible rotting timbers as a result
• the roof needs urgent repairs and a total replacement in 5-10yrs, together with guttering
• the boiler is over 15yrs old and his guidance for replacement is £6- £12k (is this right?? my parents have just had a new boiler for £5k and it's all singing and dancing)

on top of that the surveyor recommends the following:

• getting the drains checked
• checking out a tree in our neighbours garden
• replace some of the gas pipes
• descaling of the water tank
• new insulation in the loft
• replace some of the ceilings

Obviously if we want the house we're going to have to undertake some major works and want to make further checks before committing to the purchase (having negotiated a discount of course ).

However, what I wanted to ask is- how far should we go? So far we are definitely going to have a damp survey commissioned and some estimates for a new roof but DH is also talking about getting the drains checked, the tree checked out, the boiler serviced (the vendors say it was recently serviced but have yet to produce documents to this extent) etc.

This is an older house and previously we have only bought flats and so aren't entirely sure what the process is now.

Many thanks

poppysarah

Ideal apart from some pretty big issues repairs wise.

You should either invest more money in getting damp specialists to quote for work , builder for new roof and gas man for new boiler system, or walk away.

Why check a tree? Is it huge? Is in the drains causing problems? Is it likely to sour your relationship with the neighbour before you've even moved in?

I'd go find a better one to buy.

LandyAndy

When you've spent the £30k or so that seems likely in 'immediate' repairs etc. will it be worth what you've paid out?

I think the survey may have done you a big favour. Keep looking.

Imelda

Thanks for the replies.

I didn't even notice the tree when we viewed the property!

So, in your opinion, we should walk away and not even negotiate to get the £30k off the asking price? We're happy to have some work done, in fact we expected it as the house is pretty old and we were planning on doing some things anyway.

God, I sound soooo stupid :-(

LandyAndy

Imelda wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

I didn't even notice the tree when we viewed the property!

So, in your opinion, we should walk away and not even negotiate to get the £30k off the asking price? We're happy to have some work done, in fact we expected it as the house is pretty old and we were planning on doing some things anyway.

God, I sound soooo stupid :-(

Well, those are the things the surveyor spotted. Ask yourself how much else may be wrong that is hidden. The sort of stuff he has pointed out often exposes more problems when repairs begin.

Only you know the financial aspects and how much you are prepared to risk.

Personally I would keep looking.

rrf494g

the survey has found two "real" repairs . . .

the damp and the roof - I would recommend that you have to follow these up.

The other items seem to be the typical "bottom covering" statements that don't really say any thing about real problems

the boiler's not new
we haven't checked the drains (but we don't want you to balme us if there's a problem)
there's a tree nearby
the property is in a hard water area
some ceilings had cracks (but we don't know why)
we saw some old-fashioned gas-barrel steel gas pipes, that today would be fitted in copper tube
etc
etc

for these "possibility" problems I would ask a builder to have a look over the property, but would put them in a different category all together from the real problems. Good Luck.

LandyAndy

rrf494g wrote: »

the survey has found two "real" repairs . . .

the damp and the roof - I would recommend that you have to follow these up.

The other items seem to be the typical "bottom covering" statements that don't really say any thing about real problems

the boiler's not new
we haven't checked the drains (but we don't want you to balme us if there's a problem)
there's a tree nearby
the property is in a hard water area
some ceilings had cracks (but we don't know why)
we saw some old-fashioned gas-barrel steel gas pipes, that today would be fitted in copper tube
etc
etc

for these "possibility" problems I would ask a builder to have a look over the property, but would put them in a different category all together from the real problems. Good Luck.

That's probably a fair assessment. Although I would think 'some ceilings need replacing' may indicate more than some cracking.

What we can't know without further investigation is the extent to which those two 'real' problems have compromised the house structure.

Also lenders may be quite reluctant to lend without retention etc.