Homebuyer survey came back with 3s. Help!

Fire_Fox

IMO you should ask the vendor uses a member of the Federation of Master Builders or another appropriate registration with a professional body, and that you get a copy of the fully itemised quote, receipt and guarantee at the end. This you can pass to your lender - they will need this if they want to make a retention on your mortgage. Do they have an itemised list of what the survey identified so they know what they are working to?

torridonscot

Thanks Firefox. I'll definitely be asking for that! Very helpful indeed!

The lender has already sent the offer through and no retention is mentioned on it.

Fire_Fox

torridonscot wrote: »

Thanks Firefox. I'll definitely be asking for that! Very helpful indeed!

The lender has already sent the offer through and no retention is mentioned on it.

Don't tell anyone that! If the estate agent grumbles maybe make out that you are expecting a retention and you need all the paperwork to be bang on for the lender. Anyone else's survey is going to pull up the same issues, from the photo it's pretty clear so they are wise to retain a serious buyer like you.

sgun

ok, judging from the picture and description from the report the roof needs pretty much exactly what we are repairing on a flat in Edinburgh. Total cost about £700 per flat (16 flats). In fact the chimney looks alot worse than ours, it is down to the first skin and even brickwork in places. How can the vendor send someone to fix all those problems in one day? It will not be done well, we have sealed some of the flashings and rendering ourselves but it won't last the winter - and a bodge job won't last in London either even if the weather isn't as cold.

I disagree that the repairs are trivial, the roof is leaking and needs an overhaul. Stripping down render and re-rendering is expensive. The flashings probably need replacing, concrete is fine, lead much more expensive. The concrete tiles might have caused some undue stress to the timbers and a leak will not help this. I would be very wary about having "excesssive" mould detected in the timbers, worst case (although unlikely) they need replacing.

The roof is so important, don't assume its an easy fix and don't get a stop gap repair. We are having the gutters unblocked and some refelting of the valley as well as the chimney repairs and the flashings but I assume Edinburgh prices are not hugely cheaper than London ones.

torridonscot

Can anyone advise?

If the firewall is missing can someone tell me if that is something that you commonly negotiate with the vendor to put in before the sale or whether, because nothing is technically broken, it's something you'd expect to put in yourself? For safety and security reasons it obviously must be put in but is it mandatory?

Bits I've read online suggest that firewall presence is a condition of the mortgage but in this case the mortgage offer came through with no mention of it, even though the homebuyer survey was done through the lender!

The windows/roof light double glazing has no british standard marks on it "suggesting that it is not safety glass and does not meet current standards". Can anyone tell me if this is common?

Fire_Fox

Windows were addressed in post 10. What firewall, why do you believe this is an issue? Again what is specified in the long lease about repairs and maintenance of the fabric of the building? Firewall may come under this.

torridonscot

My solicitor still hasn't got a copy of the lease, we're still waiting on that :-(.

The roof void is shared between flats, it's not separated (so fire could spread and also someone could access the flat from the other one via the loft). So obviously for fire and security it should be installed.

I've been doing research and it seems that a lot of people have got this as a condition of their mortgage (e.g. firewall must exist) but my mortgage offer came through without it even though the absence of firewall was picked up by the survey.

Technically, the absence of firewall is common in Victorian properties like these so it's not an actual fault (unlike the repairs that are required on the roof). So I'm wondering whether this is something I should reasonably expect to pay for from my own pocket if I buy the flat or it's reasonable to ask the vendor to put in.

If it's something you'd reasonably expect the vendor to do what bargaining leverage would I have? Apart from the fact that its absence would be picked up by any other buyer's survey. However, the surveyor only marked it as a should rather than a must.

"There are no firebreak walls within the roof space and should be installed with Building Regulation and Party Wall consent, or alternatively adequate separation of the loft space from adjoining accommodation should be ensured. Any apertures should be provided with fire protection to prevent fire spread between properties."

Fire_Fox

I didn't realise the survey had picked that up. Might not as such be the vendor or the buyer, it might be the freeholder (charged to one or more leaseholders) or you might need the consent of the freeholder which you do for any structural changes. This is why I keep banging on about the long lease.

Remember as leaseholder you will not own the structure of the building, you are simply 'renting' the space within it for 100 years, and contributing to the repairs maintenance of the fabric. Many aspects of fire safety are the freeholders' responsibility, for example fire escapes, alarms and extinguishers where present. They are responsible both to you as leaseholders and to validate their buildings insurance.

torridonscot

Thanks firefox. So basically until my solicitor sees the lease nothing more can be said. I shall keep you updated. Many thanks for taking the time to respond.

Fire_Fox

Push your conveyancer for it, it really should be quite easy to get a copy for you to read. No moves should really have been made on the chimney and roof repairs without consulting that IMO.