Looking for advice......

sarahmog

Hello,

I am looking for a bit of advice and would be grateful for any comments or suggestions.

Me and my fiance bought a 2 bedroom self contained flat last June for £214,000 and it was valued at £215,000.

We have decided to sell up and it has been valued at £215,000. Thankfully it has not lost any value however we have done a bit of work on the property including getting a new bathroom put it and internal decoration and carpets. On the whole we have probably spent at least £5000.

Our solicitor has advised that it would be worth getting the roof and guttering looked at as there is damp in the kitchen wall.

My question is would it be worth getting the damp looked at and repaired? As we will be shelling out money and possibly getting no return for it. However, it may make the property more sellable.

I would be interested to know what other people would do in this situation? As i really do not know what would be the best way forward.

Thanks for any comments

Sarah

spadoosh

You could try putting it on for a few months as it is and see what responses are like!? I tihnk at the moment most buyers will be reluctant to pay asking price as its seen as a 'buyers market' and think it more likely you will recieve reduced offers with or without the damp issues. Id test the water and see how it goes first and try and get feedback of viewers

silvercar

Most people look for quick fix solutions if they are selling.

If there is an obvious and cheap to fix guttering problem, I would tackle it. If a major roof overhaul was needed I would patch up.

poppysarah

Sort out the issues that damage the structure of your property.

After all if it doesn't sell then you'll be living there for a lot longer.

sarahmog

Hello

thank you all for the very quick replys.

I have organised for a damp surveyor coming round on Thursday so will see what he says. If it is only going to be a couple of hundred pounds to sort out these issues then we will get it done, however, if it is going to run into the high hundreds/thousands then we will have to think more about what to do.

The thing is the property will sell as it is in a very desirable area, however, how much of a hit are we willing to take?!? I don't mind going very slightly under the valuation price but i will just feel like a fool for losing money on the house though!

I have a feeling that i am going to get very stressed!!

Once again thank you for everyone for taking time to respond

Sarah

poppysarah

sarahmog wrote: »

I don't mind going very slightly under the valuation price but i will just feel like a fool for losing money on the house though!

It's the TV's fault for not clearly stating on every property !!!!!! program over the last ten years "The value of your house can go up as well as down"

sarahmog

Hello

Poppysarah you made me laugh and you are very right.

I suppose i just have to put it in perspective, i really want to move and it will make me happy and my fianc! happy (because i will be happy!) when we do move.

And you can't put a price on happiness really.

Sarah

silvercar

How bad is the damp?

Is there a smell as you walk in?

Yellow stains on the wall or ceiling?

Crumbling plaster? Black mould spores?

Was it there when you bought? Did you spot it?

sarahmog

Hello Silvercar

I have responded to your questions in bold

How bad is the damp? - I don't notice it at all, you wouldn't know it was there unless you saw the survey.

Is there a smell as you walk in? - No

Yellow stains on the wall or ceiling? - No

Crumbling plaster? Black mould spores?- No and no

Was it there when you bought? Did you spot it? It was there when we bought the property, it was highlighted in the home report but the surveyor said he thought it would be the roof/guttering. We are actually the ground floor flat so we thought if it is really bad then the flat above us would have the worst of it.

The big problem was i saw the property and fell in love with it and bought the property using my heart and not my head! And now we have to move (not due to issues with the damp). However when we get another home report when we put the property on the market this will highlight the same issue and our solicitor said that the less issues there are the more likely it will be that the property will sell quicker.

Thank you for taking the time to respond

Sarah

mlz1413

Put it on the market for 4 weeks, don't sign a long estate agent contract.

See what comments and offers you get, if the damp is an issue an interested buyer will offer you a reduced price or ask you to fix the problem for them to continue the purchase.

Most property has gone down in value so if you make a small loss you are doing well, at least its not a large loss! and it means you can move on.

silvercar

sarahmog wrote: »

Hello Silvercar

I have responded to your questions in bold

How bad is the damp? - I don't notice it at all, you wouldn't know it was there unless you saw the survey.

Is there a smell as you walk in? - No

Yellow stains on the wall or ceiling? - No

Crumbling plaster? Black mould spores?- No and no

Was it there when you bought? Did you spot it? It was there when we bought the property, it was highlighted in the home report but the surveyor said he thought it would be the roof/guttering. We are actually the ground floor flat so we thought if it is really bad then the flat above us would have the worst of it.

The big problem was i saw the property and fell in love with it and bought the property using my heart and not my head! And now we have to move (not due to issues with the damp). However when we get another home report when we put the property on the market this will highlight the same issue and our solicitor said that the less issues there are the more likely it will be that the property will sell quicker.

Thank you for taking the time to respond

Sarah

So you can't notice it unless you get a survey. I wouldn't worry about it at this stage. You've lived with it and your buyers may also do so. Shockingly 50% of buyers never bother to do more than a basic mortgage valuation - probably greater for flats, so it might not even show up.