Advice following valuation report

jaffs

So my lenders have had the valuation report back on the property that i am purchasing and have approached my with some queries (i havent recieved my homebuyers survey back yet)

Basically they are asking for some specialist reports to be done on the property regarding dampness, wood boring infestation to floor joists and a structural engineers report regarding possible movement to the property.

My question is where do i go from here, do i need to contact the estate agent, my solicitor, just go ahead and get the reports done?

Help, is this going to cost me lots of money?

evoke

Walk. End of.

billricardi

jaffs wrote: »

Basically they are asking for some specialist reports to be done on the property regarding dampness, wood boring infestation to floor joists and a structural engineers report regarding possible movement to the property.

OK, well these questions are usually asked for a good reason. When so you expect your homebuyers survey to come in?

Either way, you should be on the phone to your estate agent, asking questions. Drill down to the financial burdon of discovery.

Because at the end of the day, it requires the seller's cooperation right? You can't send ninja engineers in there to secretly get what you need for these reports, so this clearly requires an open line of communication between buyer and seller.

Besides, your estate agent will know how motivated the sellers are, and maybe the sellers are willing to pay for some or all of the cost of discovery. Communication is key here. When you have all of the information, you can make an educated decision based on risks, repair costs, and the property's history.

m_13

Our mortgage lender accepted our valuation value but asked for gas and electricity safety reports.

During the inspection for the gas safety report the boiler was condemned. The heat exchanger has rusted and caused more gas than can be burnt to be released into the boiler. It can't be reconnected.

The electrical survey ended up with it nearly being condemned and it has been marked unsatisfactory on multiple issues. The backboxes to the sockets and switches are wooden, the light pendants are wooden and the plumbing isn't earthed.

We've now got quotes for a new boiler and a like-for-like rewire and it comes to £4,500ish so the solicitor is now sorting it out. OUr vendor's opening offer is to pay half of the boiler costs which is better than nothing.

We arranged access for these reports through the estate agent.

DannyboyMidlands

Don't touch it with a barge pole. It's not worth the grief and the vendor offering to pay half is laughable. Negotiate a substantial discount or wlk. Who else is gonna buy it?

G_M

Wait for the report, then ring the surveyor. Try to establish why exactly the extra reports are needed, and how serious the issues are.

Then you have to decide whether to a) save yourself further expense by walking now, or b) fork out for the reports and hope that the resulting information is not a show-stopper and you can get the purchase price reduced.

It's got to ba a calculated but informed gamble you make.

If you DO decide to proceed, I agree communication is important but remember the eastate agent is NOT YOUR AGENT. He acts for the seller. His priority is to get the property sold, NOT to find you a nice home!

So find your own independant structural engineer etc.

jaffs

Thank you.

The mortgage valuation is the one causing the trouble, is this different to the homebuyers, i have had one of those done but it was arranged through my mortgage advisor, although i had to pay for it as the valuation was included in the mortgage.

I really like the house, but cant really afford to fork out for anything else so i guess i'll wait for the report and see exactly what is said...

Does anyone know roughly how much reports would be? damp, timber and structural engineer in the north of England?

G_M

The mortgage valuation is done for your lender's benefit - not yours. It is to reassure the lender that their money is safe ie being loaned out on a property that is worth what's being loaned (not paid!) and in good enough condition not to put the money at risk.

If they want specialist reports, that is so that they can find out if there is a problem with the house, and whether they should re-consider the loan (or the amount of the loan).

Does anyone know roughly how much reports would be? damp, timber and structural engineer in the north of England?

You CAN get free damp and timber reports (from damp/timber specialists - but these are really salesmen who will then quote you to repair whatever, so not highly trustworthy! - will your lender accept a report from them? You'll need to find out)

If a structural engineer just has to report on one aspect of the building ie the single story extension or whatever, then ...£150? £300?

If your lender wants a full survey, then more!

m_13

Of course it's worth the grief DannyboyMidlands! Even if you buy a brand new house it could have problems. We just need to pay the right price and that's what I was trying to point out to the OP. You need to go into these things with eyes wide open.

I've lived for over 3 months with the only running water being a single cold tap in what used to be the kitchen, flushing the toilet with a bucket. Horses for courses. I'd rather buy the worse house on the street and have it how I want it and this gives us the opportunity for new electrics and new heating.

kingstreet

http://www.property-care.org/

Use the search facility in the above to find independent surveyors in your area. Don't use firms who get work out of quoting as you'll never know if it was truly required.

Surveyors when valuing property recommend additional reports because they aren't specialists in the fields they uncover on a visit. There could be few problems which require little or no remedial action, or there could be serious issues with high costs.

The other thing to bear in mind is that despite the surveyor wanting reports ignoring any existing guarantees, if the vendors have had work done, they may be able to claim on their guarantees to get any remedial works done and this costs you nothing.

Until you get the reports, you don't know which are which. I'd suggest asking the vendor to go halves on the cost. In that way, if you do pull out, they get a copy they can use with future buyers.

If you are looking to buy an older property "oozing character from all the period features" you have every chance of coming up against the timber and damp report requirements in many cases.

olibrofiz

Beware of existing guarantees - there was one for damp proofing and woodworm treatment on the house I was looking at, 13 years into a 30 year guarantee.

Turned out the co no longer existed (convenient) and there was rising damp as a) the damp proof had been put in too high and b) the air bricks were just decoration and were blocked behind.

I had it re-done by a contractor I trusted who did a lot of work for me on a house I bought 20 years ago.

Speak to your solicitor, and don't start negotiating till you get the structural report (which I guess you'll have to pay for).