Burst tank after offer put in for house..should we lower our offer? How much by?

BitterAndTwisted

I think you should pay particularly close attention to CloudCuckooLand's post. I wouldn't buy this house now.

googler

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I think you should pay particularly close attention to CloudCuckooLand's post. I wouldn't buy this house now.

As a first-time purchase, for you and your family, given all that's been said.... what is the appeal of this house? What redeeming features does it have?

hazyjo

If the one owner is someone who never maintained the house (since 1927), I would definitely walk away. Even if it's only in the last 4 years it's not been maintained, there could be tonnes more problems than you're seeing on the surface. Don't underestimate the damage water can do! My kitchen ceiling collapsed after a very slow water leak above (a drip every minute or so over probably a long period of time) and the walls and skirtings/frames downstairs have now all split too. What state is the roof in? And the guttering? If they're both shot too, they could have been causing a whole other lot of damage to the house. And the window frames... I'm guessing they're still wooden? What state are they (and the windows) in? If the roof isn't underfelted, I presume the joists and attic, etc will have been affected by water (rain, snow, etc) too?

If you find a builder who's qualified re electrics, gas, etc, yes he'll be able to quote on everything (as far as I'm aware). I agree it's sounding like a money pit though. If this is your family home and you're not an investor or builder with any experience of this, I'd run a mile if I were you. It's not always just a case of throwing money at problems. Sometimes there are just more problems than available money. Surely it would be more cost effective to buy something else, especially if you have a young family. You don't want to risk a ceiling collapsing on one of them, surely! Factor in renting costs (gawd knows how long for, but you'd have to take a 6 months' rental to start with, I think), and get further advice. But don't be blinded by the thought of a 'bargain' or if you'd like the house when it's all done. This is major work you're talking about here.

Jx

googler

purple2480 wrote: »

I dont think the vendor has insurance on it because its been empty since his mother died 4 yrs ago.

If a repossessed house is to be left vacant, even for a matter of weeks, the lender will insist on the water tank(s) being drained down, precisely to avoid problems like this.

What can one say about someone who apparently thinks it good policy to leave water tank(s), presumably, full to capacity for FOUR YEARS?

And let's not go into the effect on the neighbouring property, and the possibility of them claiming against you in years to come...

shimano

See if you can get a friend round who is in the know (eg builder etc). I done so citing issues. With the lower amount I paid, I put the residual into renovation, and ending up with a flat done the way I want it - sockets, network points, speakers etc all chased and where I want them, lovely new kitchen, new central heating etc etc.

I was stressed about it but in hindsight I am glad I done it - a golden chance to basically dictate where you want everything in a flat

getmore4less

purple2480 wrote: »

Hi

I dont think the vendor has insurance on it because its been empty since his mother died 4 yrs ago.

If this place has been empty for 4 years and neglected I bet there is more work to do that you think.

1 owner since 1927 when was the last bit of modernization done?
damp proving
windows
electric
heating
insulations (walls and loft)
Kitchens
bathrooms
plumbing
roof
brickwork pointing
chimneys

maninthestreet

Did you get a FULL survey carried out on this property??

purple2480

Um no we hadnt got a full survey done as the offer was subject to survey and contract, which I understood to mean that we could pull out if adverse issues we are not experienced to spot were raised.

Prior to the burst pipe, we were happy with the condition of the house, there were no cracks in the walls (inside or outside) or ceilings, there are some new Everest aluminium double glazed windows. The electrics SEEMED fine before (we tried them when we went for the second viewing). We were surprised when we found out the house had been empty for 4 years because it doesnt look neglected quite the contrary, it looked like an old person had either gone to a home or died recently.

We also brought a ladder for the second viewing so we could go into the roof space and check out the timber roofing etc. It all looked ok according the research we had done about what to look for. It was dry with no obvious signs of wet or dry rot.

We also went and spoke with the party wall neighbour who said that there was no damage that came through to his side of the property. He seems to think that the most damage that was done was to the ceilings (he was the one who saw the leak and called the police round so they could cap off the water) and the electrics. We spoke to him 8 days after the event.

Everything was hunky dory till this thing happened!!

sonastin

Tell the EA that you want your surveyor in to look at it before you give him a "best and final" offer.

Arrange a full survey. When you are booking it, tell the surveyor that a) the property has been empty for 4 years and b) there has been a major water leak. Tell him you want to know what damage those facts might have caused.

Consider having a gas check and electrical survey as well - its unlikely that the building surveyor is qualified to check these and will probably recommend that you have specialists in to check them.

Give the EA your final offer based on the worst case of what its going to cost to do ALL of the work that the surveyor picks up.

If the mysterious "other couple" have already put in a better offer, consider yourself lucky that you haven't ended up competing for a lemon!

Doozergirl

A blessing in disguise I think. First time buyers with no experience of renovating a property and offering without knowing what needs doing beforehand.

You don't check the electrics by turning stuff on.

If the house was built in 1927 then I can tell you free that the plasterwork is probably already blown and hte house needs replastering anyway. So, if I were buying the house, it probably wouldn't affect my offer by very much at all as I wouldn't anticipate the work costing much more than I was going to need to spend anyway - ie it already needed the plasterwork sorting, however I don't think you've taken into account the amount of work that will need doing beforehand.

First thing you do before offering on a house that needs work is find how much it will cost to fix.

You need a proper survey, or at the very least a builder to give you an idea of what must be done. That is your starting point.