Survey back - couple of questions

housebuyer2

Hi All

We just had our survey results back - the valuation all came back fine and surveyor felt that all issues he had highlighted were normal for a building of its age and condition (a 4-bed 1970's semi).

There were two items raised as level 3 (the most serious). The first was a standard point that the surveyor hadnt tested the gas/boiler/electricty - so we will ask our solicitor to request if the Vendors have any recent test certificates.

The second item was the issue I was hoping to get some advice on. There were a couple of issues with the roof - the report said it has Timber trusses, which need additional bracing and restraint to prevent any movement, parts of the underlay are torn and need repair, a few ridge tiles need re-bedding and it could benefit from better ventilation.

The most concerning point is the need for additional bracing/restraint - I dont know much about roofs , so was just wondering if this is standard advice for 1970's semis to comply with the current regs, or something a little more serious?

I only received the report today so will ring the surveyor on Monday - I also plan to request a roofing specialist to advise on work needed and a qoute for the cost - can anyone recommend any reliable roofing specialists (Bath/Bristol area) - I would prefer one that I have to pay for (so that they dont try to re-coup the costs to pay for inspection via unneccesary work)?

Many thanks for your advice!

anselld

You have paid for the report. Phone the surveyor and ask him to explain exactly what bracing is required.

It is usually a simple matter of as steel bar joining the roof trusses to the brickwork. Trivial to install and probably overkill if the roof has been stable since built.

robatwork

Did he say something like:
"Roof appears to be stable but not to current building standards"?

In all probability the roof has been like that for 40 years and won't be falling down soon. I would knock on the door of the neighbours and ask about their roofs - am sure they aren't trussed either.

The rest of it sounds pretty standard stuff for a survey.

Get the electrics checked as if it's original it won't have MCBs/ RCDs and to my mind that's much more serious...

housebuyer2

Thanks

I will ring the surveyor for more details when it opens on Monday morning - ill let you know.

Thanks!

jozbo

robatwork wrote: »

Get the electrics checked as if it's original it won't have MCBs/ RCDs and to my mind that's much more serious...

Is adding a RCD a simple job? Or do you expect full rewiring to be needed on a 1970s property?

Out of (self) interest...;)

robatwork

It's something I am going through at the moment and I would say 1) no it's not a simple job as you will need a whole new consumer unit (fuse box) 2) will probably need part P so you need a qualified electrician and 3) luckily you probably won't have rubber shielded mains cables so you prob won't need rewiring completely.

Depending on whether your CU needs moving, and what kind of CU you go for, you can look at spending several hundred £ up to a couple of thousand.

My new place actually needs quite a bit of remedial work including moving the CU completely, plus putting a couple of extra sockets in, and is going to cost more than this.....money well spent to me.

housebuyer2

Hi All

Had the additional roof survey back - the cost to add in the additional bracing and the other fixes required to the roof is £3k (inc £1k for scaffolding).

Obviously would like to re-negotiate the price based on this information - just looking for some advice on how to approach this renegotiation with the Vendors agent? How have people approached this kind of renegotiation before?

Many thanks

robatwork

You can just inform the estate agent of the facts.
Survey says roof dodgy
Quote says £3k to fix
I want £3k reduction.

If I was the seller I would want to see the expert report, and probably tell you that the roof is perfectly OK and doesn't need all that work so no reduction.

Of course they could say OK £3k off, or £1.5k towards it.

Then it's down to you how much you want this house.

What about your electrics which sound a more serious problem to me?

housebuyer2

The electrics were fine - they have MCB/RCBs already - the solicitor has requested the recent safety certificate.

anselld

housebuyer2 wrote: »

Hi All

Had the additional roof survey back - the cost to add in the additional bracing and the other fixes required to the roof is £3k (inc £1k for scaffolding).

Obviously would like to re-negotiate the price based on this information - just looking for some advice on how to approach this renegotiation with the Vendors agent? How have people approached this kind of renegotiation before?

Many thanks

By all means use that as the basis for renegotiation, but you should be aware that 3k is excessive, as is 1k for scaffolding. Get some more quotes before you spend the money!

£3k is almost into complete new roof territory. Unless there is significant workyou havent mentioned I would be targeting circa 1k inc scaff.