Surveyors Comments

malko

I posted in another part of the forum how a surveyor undervalued a property i am considering purchasing but £30-40k under current market value in that area/street.

They've made some comments and i am trying to figure out which are essential and which are them just covering their backs.

1. The property has been affected by structural movement necessitating the rebuild of the gable end (this sounds serious to me, should i be worried? Subsidence?)

2. Removal of a chimmey stack as there was significant water penetration internally

3.Main roof cladding in a deteriorating condition, a number of loose of missing slates evident. Useful life of cladding nearing the end, change within 10-15 years (this sounds okay to me but i could be wrong!)

4. Corrosion of brick ties anticipated

5. Damp proof course does not stand clear of the surround ground level.

6. Subfloor ventilation is considered inadequate (more ventialtion bricks needed?)

7. Exterior woodwork is in a deteriorating condition-set rot attack evident

8. Roof void-roof is not considered to be weather tight (is this the same as water tight?)

9. Significant dampness recorded-original DPC not considered effective

10. Electrical installation appears to have been poorly carried out or of DIY standard (!)

11. Heating system-Installation is extremely poor, bolier needs repositioned and the radiators are corroded. Renewal of the entire system is advised

So seems like a pretty damning report to me!

Anyone any idea what sounds serious there? Any idea of the costs?

Obviously i can use this to get the price down.

Thanks a lot

vansboy

Sounds like the surveyor has been pretty thorough in his remarks - rather than a 'requires further investigation' type comments.

Reading that lot needs some experienced builder (not just odd job man, either) to price this lot for you.

Yes it DOES sound a lot of work, so you'll more than likely have the bank hold back an amount of the mortgage $£$£ until you've had the work done, too.

VB

Milky_Mocha

Yikes! And you still want to buy this house?

malko

Milky_Mocha wrote: »

Yikes! And you still want to buy this house?

:rotfl:

I am not so sure now! If i can manage to get the repo company down its a good bargin........................maybe!

The only thing that scares me off is the movement. Its not clear if this is still a problem or not.

Any builders happen to be reading this feel free to chip in

Doozergirl

It's a repo? Get a copy of the report over to them and see if you can knock them down. You're looking at a good £10,000 if you did everything on that list.

malko

Doozergirl wrote: »

It's a repo? Get a copy of the report over to them and see if you can knock them down. You're looking at a good £10,000 if you did everything on that list.

thanks for the reply. I was assuming it would be min 10k for all that, although the movement thing does concern me..........should it?

As for getting the price knocked down I am going to try that but as i said in another post i posted in the wrong section the place was under valued already so I'm in a tricky situation.

Doozergirl

Movement sounds like it has been rectified. The gable end was probably falling away which is why it had to be rebuilt - I've had to do it to a house before. Call your surveyor and ask whether he is satisfied that the movement has stopped; the fact that you have a mortgage offer probably means that he is.

I answered your thread on the other board yesterday too

malko

Doozergirl wrote: »

Movement sounds like it has been rectified. The gable end was probably falling away which is why it had to be rebuilt - I've had to do it to a house before. Call your surveyor and ask whether he is satisfied that the movement has stopped; the fact that you have a mortgage offer probably means that he is.

I answered your thread on the other board yesterday too

ahhhh many thanks!

TJ27

A common(ish) problem with gable ends is that they tend to bow outwards. It's not necessarily subsidence. Take a squint down the line of the wall to see if it's straight or not. This is rectified in a number of ways. In my area you often see gable ends with big rounds plates on them. A huge bolt goes right the way through the house and the plate is acting a bit like a washer. This stops the wall bowing any further. I'm not sure that they still use that method though.

The surveyor might not know whether the movement has stopped without monitoring it. Worth asking him or her though I suppose.

A few years ago I almost bought a huge three storey victorian end terrace. I pulled out purely because I had a funny feeling that the gable might bow. I don't know why I thought that, as the wall had been straight for over a hundred years. A few months ago I saw scaffolding up the side of the house and workmen attending to the pregnant wall!! I did breathe a huge sigh of relief.


Hang on, I've just read the thread properly. Yes it does sound like the previous movement has been sorted. It's not especially clear though is it?!

malko

no is typically vague. He/she is suggesting i get someone to have a look to ensure its sorted out now-pain is more expense, i should have went for a full structural report in the first instance! Any of you guys have an idea how much it would cost for someone to come and assess the movement problem for me? Still cant figure out if this house is a turkey or not!