Damp survey?

smokeytea

We're planning to sell our house and have some potential buyers interested (friends of people we know). We had in mind that we would have the house valued and then sell it privately (my partner is keen on doing this to save money but I'm not so sure it's a good idea), but we haven't ruled out using an agent.

There has been condensation and black mould in the house and the potential buyers have said that after it is valued, they would like to arrange to have a damp survey done.

We're pretty confident that the only problem is condensation, and we had thought it would be relatively cheap to fix, so we hadn't thought of having a survey done. But we're not experts.

Of course if the damp problem is serious or expensive to fix then it is fair enough that the potential buyers know about it and that we discuss any repair bill in the value.

But on the other hand we don't want to be in the position of paying for an expensive survey we didn't think was necessary, and we would want to know that any survey undertaken was impartial (of course I know that wanting both of those two things is the same as wanting to have your cake and eat it!)

So basically, is it normal to have a survey like this done, and if so, at what stage of the negotiating process is it usually done, and who pays for it? (The potential buyers have said that they would like to discuss having it done after we have had the house valued).

And also, who would normally be commissioned to do this sort of survey? How is this usually agreed upon between buyer and seller? Are there independent damp surveyors?

And, if the surveyor says that there will be certain work needed, amounting to a certain repair bill, what are the consequences? Is it normal to deduct this from the asking value of the house post-valuation? Is it accounted for in the valuation? If the surveyor underestimates the level of work needed, are they liable for the cost of additional work if proven wrong?

Thanks, wise people - tell me all the things we should have though of but haven't!

kingstreet

I'd get it done in advance, so you know exactly what is needed and you can look to put it right before you sell. Don't employ a firm who would benefit from doing the work to carry out the survey. You can't be sure the work they quote for is actually needed.

This outfit http://www.property-care.org/ is a trade body and you can search for consultants who report on damp issues in your area.

If you leave it to your buyers, you might get stung into reducing the price by more than you need because their contractor "overquotes".

poppysarah

What have you been doing up til now to sort the condensation out? Have you tried a dehumidifier?

(You can fit heat exchange air vents into air brick sized holes that keep rooms ventilated)

smokeytea

Thanks for the suggestions and advice. Kingstreet, you're right - we really do need to get it sorted ourselves - I'll check out your link.

Poppysarah, thanks for the tip about the vents - I'd never heard of those vents! The problem improved a lot after we bought a dehumidifier and scrubbed the offending patches. We've moved out now (renting, while sorting out the place we own to sell it) and as it's been unoccupied and unheated for much of the winter, while containing some of our property that had got a bit musty, the whole place does smell a bit musty.

We were thinking of giving all walls and ceilings a good scrub down and spray-on anti-mould treatment from the hardware store, and weren't sure how to deal with the carpet (other than hiring a carpet steam cleaner). I suppose we ought to put the heating and dehumidifier on after washing the walls and cleaning the carpet.

It's a small two-bedroom box built c. 1980. I'm not aware that any of the terraced houses in the development have any rising damp issues, but I know people who lived in flats in the same area built at the same time - the concrete floors of the ground floor flats are apparently all cracked and they all have damp and mould.

traineepensioner

Hi smokeytea

Try putting a small circle of Blue tack on the wall where the damp is and push a small piece of glass on top, making a seal. Leave it for a day or so and If there is moisture under the glass you know you have damp. If the moisture is on top of the glass you have condensation.
There's not much point using a dehumidifier against rising or penetrating damp....but it does disguise the problem. :-)

HTH