Survey disputed by vendors

satchmeister

"Our surveyor is adamant his assessment is correct and says we should walk away"

So walk if you trust your surveyor or if you think he is wrong buy it.

Ulfar

Sorry but not only have they botched the job with the partial roof conversion but they have also botched the roof replacement by having tiles that are too heavy without additional support for the roof, how many signals do you need to run away from this property.

If they have botched these jobs you have no idea what other nasties are lurking.

Jenniefour

Walk away - whoever is right - structural parts removed or roof tiles which are too heavy there's a problem. But the bigger problem seems to be how the vendors are dealing with it. So unless you like loads of hassle and they are prepared to reduce the price to cover the remedial works then move on.

g_attrill

Bits of wood wedged in? Sounds dodgy on it's own. Unexplained cracks are also worrying.

Presumably you trust the family member, and they wouldn't tell you to walk if it wasn't necessary. Did they say to just walk from the deal even if a big discount was offered? The problem is that you would need to quantify any costs to rectify, which could be tricky.

Damaged

g_attrill wrote: »

Bits of wood wedged in? Sounds dodgy on it's own. Unexplained cracks are also worrying.

Presumably you trust the family member, and they wouldn't tell you to walk if it wasn't necessary. Did they say to just walk from the deal even if a big discount was offered? The problem is that you would need to quantify any costs to rectify, which could be tricky.

emotional attachment to house

Doozergirl

You still need the advice of the relevant professional - a structural engineer! Their friend can't provide you with a professional insurance backed opinion, only the engineer can do that. Ultimately it probably isn't an expensive job even if it does need a bit of remedial work.

Both current opinions sound feasible though, so what you want is a definitive yes or no.

darkpool

looking at this issue from the vendors eyes i'd be suspicous of any survey produced by a family member of the potential house purchaser. be honest it does shout bias.

regarding the cracks that could be related to the roof, tbh that sounds like bull5hit to me. i don't see the difference in weight between concrete and slate tiles being enough to cause cracks in the rest of the house.

bris

Looking at it from the sellers point of view, I wouldn't trust the possible buyers realative to do a survey either, even if he is right I would always assume bias there, so wouldn't trust what hid findings were. Whether it's right or wrong , if you really want the house you should get and independant inspection done.

Doozergirl

darkpool wrote: »

regarding the cracks that could be related to the roof, tbh that sounds like bull5hit to me. i don't see the difference in weight between concrete and slate tiles being enough to cause cracks in the rest of the house.

It is very common indeed that lighter slate rooves are replaved with concrete which causes the timber to bow. You'll see evidence in almost any Victorian street.

Cracks I'd think would less common and I'd be more likely to attribute recent cracks either to a lack of bracing somewhere, or the effective drought that affected London a couple of years back that has caused some movement.

G_M

bris wrote: »

Looking at it from the sellers point of view, I wouldn't trust the possible buyers realative to do a survey either, even if he is right I would always assume bias there, so wouldn't trust what hid findings were. Whether it's right or wrong , if you really want the house you should get and independant inspection done.

But equally the sellers have used 'an architect friend'! So potential bias on both sides!