Survey back - new roof?!?

AAS

Thanks for all your replies. I will get quotes for the work and ask the surveyor for quotes before/after the work is carried out. You are right - it's better to find out now and walk away if we need to. I get the impression the vendor won't want to budge on the price but they are stupid if they don't as I'm sure most buyers would get a full survey on an 1800s house! Is it usual that the cost of repairs is taken off the price if they won't fix it? I'm happy to sort out the guttering and minor repairs ourselves but feel the roofing & chimney should be fixed/deducted from the price. Does that sound fair?

The_Drama_Llama

I just had a really similar situation: survey showed a chimney breast had been part removed and left unsupported, and the roof looked very dodgy. Surveyor valued the property at £7k less than I was going to pay, but the vendor refused to budge and I walked away.

It is true that building regs have become more stringent, so what was OK 30 years ago is now classed as needing attention, but I was shocked at the vendor's attitude. He said that it had been fine so far, so there was no need to worry!

Anyway, as others have pointed out, another buyer having a survey done will discover the same thing, so if they won't move on price then they're foolish. You also need to consider the hassle of having the work done - I was told that to support the chimney breast I'd need to remove part of the roof and install a steel beam.