Buying a flat, damp smell, help!

BitterAndTwisted

Of course you can get a full survey done. I would still consider chatting to the neighbours. They often have a great deal of useful information to impart, even if it's not about possible causes of damp. Maybe the person living upstairs is deaf and has three Rottweilers up there or several young children who are learning to tap-dance on the laminate flooring.

olly300

BlondeHeadOn wrote: »

What I will never understand is why people so often are reluctant to have a full survey done on a property they are about to buy, saving a few hundred quid while buying something for thousands.

Get a proper survey done.....

Unfortunately for flats you cannot always get full access to the roof space especially if access to the roof space is via the upstairs flats.

In all the flats I've stayed in and seen that my friends' have lived in built after 1980, the roof space above each upstairs flat and extending partly into the corridor belongs to that flat.

So if someone in a downstairs flat wants access to the roof they have to negotiate with each flat holder via the management company.

Homebuyers reports can really vary with the information given and the amount of work the surveyor is prepared to do. Mine did more work than I expected as I was told to rip out something urgently the vendors had put in.

Though to be honest I was told to rip everything out by a mate of mine who is a keen DIYer. So the first thing I would advise anyone to do is look at a property with someone who is a builder or renovates properties.

Actually in your case instead of paying for a full survey I would get a damp specialist in. As the property is leasehold if the damp is from the structure of the building you don't pay for it directly.

olly300

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Of course you can get a full survey done. I would still consider chatting to the neighbours. They often have a great deal of useful information to impart, even if it's not about possible causes of damp. Maybe the person living upstairs is deaf and has three Rottweilers up there or several young children who are learning to tap-dance on the laminate flooring.

Agreed.

Talking to the neighbours is one thing you must do if you want to move into a flat.

You need to find out what sort of people live in the building. For example if all the other properties are rented to private tenants then expect problems with maintenance, people breaking rules about leaving things in the corridor and not caring.

If you are cr*p at making small talk then drag a friend or family member along who is good at it.

Another that is worrying about this flat is the laminate flooring. While not generally a problem with downstairs flats - you need to check that the lease allows you to have such flooring in the living rooms of the flat (bedrooms and living room).

One of my friends' lives in a flat under 10 years old which is apparently a good development and has no sound problems but no flat is allowed to have hard flooring.

southerngirl_2

If I was in your position I would arrange an independent damp specialist to view the flat, determine if there's a damp problem and if so how big an issue is it, what's causing it and what treatment is necessary. Once I have that information then I'd be in a position to know whether I'd want to proceed with the purchase or not or renegotiate the sale price if damp treatment is necessary.
Find out what the management company are prepared to do if anything if there is a problem with damp.

gratefulforhelp_2

clutton wrote: »

i doubt they will be single skin if they are only 3 years old....

Me too. Also at this age you have ruled out the problem of lime plaster being incorrectly replaced with gypsum plaster.

Have you tried to call the original surveyor yet?

If it is not single skin in the kitchen, you should have cavity walls. Water should not be coming across the cavity unless the cavity is filled with something that is "wicking" the water across it.

Have you asked about what is in the cavity insulation-wise?

warehouse

Walk, absolutely 100% walk now.

Why?
There is a damp issue, obviously, hence why the owners had the windows open.
Serious damp issues need to be discovered and remedied, worse case is it can't be or can cost you thousands.
Health issues: living in a property with damp can cause serious health problems
ReSelling: Good luck selling in the future if the problem isn't 100% fixed.
The smell: You'll never ever forget the smell of living in a damp house. Our first flat had the smell and it lives with me now.

This is a buyers market, use that to your advantage and walk on.

Ulfar

I have to agree with Warehouse on this one walk away. If it wasn't serious then the vendor would have fixed it and may not then be selling.

The fact they had all the windows open screams that they are trying to cover it up.

Unless you have a full survey done the report you get is not worth the paper it is written on, even with a full survey you need to check the terms and conditions of the survey to make sure the surveyor will be liable in the event of there being a major problem.

I always take my father and grandfather to viewings, they have both been in the building game for over 30 years. With three sets of senses we tend to pick up everything, even if we don't pick up something sometimes a property just won't seem right and I have walked away.

We are an estate agents worst nightmare especially at block viewings. Quite often estate agents are surprised when we ask about something that is quite obviously being concealed or they want to try and gloss over.

The suggestion of talking to the neighbours is a good one, this is why viewing at weekends in the summer is handy as before we have had chats to people doing their gardening. Another tip is to arrive 15 mins early to a viewing and walk all the way round, you will also catch the EA opening all the windows if the property is empty and there might be a damp problem.

springmum4

If they are that new, check with the NHBC. Tel. 0844633 1000. They MAY be involved.

hazyjo

My take...

I'd get a timber & damp specialist round. A full structural survey will only point out any damp - same as a homebuyers' report would. They use the same pronged tool (no idea what that's called) and stick it in walls. If there's evidence of damp, both reports would say 'get a timber & damp specialist in'.

We had a homebuyers' report (HR) on the one we're buying, and my buyer had a full structural survey (FSS) on mine yesterday. The surveyor didn't even open windows, yet on the HR we had done, they opened them all and pointed out a problem with one. Just trying to say it probably won't actually bring up anything you don't already know about. I wouldn't have had a FSS on a 3 year old flat either.

I could smell wet dog the other day (no, we don't have a dog) and eventually worked out it was my hubby's slippers! (They're now in the bin!) When he was selling his flat, it was empty for a lot of the time and when we went round there, we'd open all the windows to let it air - sometimes before a viewing. It always smelt horrible (nothing to do with the slippers lol) and I got some plug-in air fresheners to try and improve things. There wasn't any damp in the flat, just lack of air.

By all means get a damp specialist in and say you want flooring looked at, and to know if there might be any leaks underneath the flat which are causing the smell (would it be possible to check under any floors? maybe not...). It might just be a skanky pair of trainers (or slippers!) lurking under a bed or in a wardrobe, and coupled with the fact the flat's left locked up for most of the time, it's probably not helping.

Definitely ask at neighbours' flats, especially those on the same level to see if they've had any damp problems.

Good luck!

Jx

shimano

Might not be worth worrying about. Had the same in flat I just bought, the problem was straightforward and as I expected anyway - condensation.

The previous occupants had ran central heating pipes in front of a full face window (yes madness I know) which caused excess condensation, and they never ever opened windows for circulation - hence a "stale" smell.

Didn't matter anyway as I knew I was going to renovate anyway and just finished replacing the whole central heating system (inc putting all pipes in screed rather thana cross walls). Now it is absolutely fine. May just be they are not circulating the flat at all to be honest...

Condensation is completely preventable as long as you be sensible with getting air in and don't have 5 people living in a flat...like previous family in our place!

Agree with suggestions to speak with neighbours - even better would be to get a viewing with someone you know well in the trade (I done this) to understand the root cause. Damp and condensation are two different things...unfortunately everyone cries wolf/damp...