How do I check if its rotten before buying?

buppy

Its mainly the tight budget an no knowledge that made me want to ask the question, if you had all said 'ohhh dodgy its likely to have rotted the joists to etc etc' i probably wouldn't bother even looking at the house again, I dont want to get into surveys and solicitors and money in general on both sides if it was something that immediately stood out to the more knowledgeable as something that will be a money pit.

Obviously I know its difficult for anyone to give me direct advice as its a how long is a piece of string scenario but I feel better for having asked so thank you.

No one living in it so I guess I could be a bit more invasive, I have a viewing tomorrow so will have a dig around .
Thanks for the suggestions

Werdnal

buppy wrote: »

Its mainly the tight budget an no knowledge that made me want to ask the question, if you had all said 'ohhh dodgy its likely to have rotted the joists to etc etc' i probably wouldn't bother even looking at the house again, I dont want to get into surveys and solicitors and money in general on both sides if it was something that immediately stood out to the more knowledgeable as something that will be a money pit.

You have actually seen the property and you don't know, so how can we advise you when none of us have been there!

TBH, anything you spend on a survey may pay dividends in securing a revised offer for the place. You may be lucky that as it has been rented out, the LL observed their repairing obligations and it is sound structurally, electrically and all is well. However, many landlords ignore any and all requests for repair and neglect the property if they can get away with it, and many tenants use and abuse rented properties along the way!

If the property is 1930s (pre-war obviously) do you have any documentary proof that wiring has been replaced and up to modern specs, plumbing is good, roof structure is sound? I can see where others are coming from here - you may have had a sale fall through, but is it better to cover all bases with a full survey now, than take the place and find its a total moneypit? A few rotten floorboards could be the least of your worries!

We had a survey on our house when we bought in 1993. Its much older than yours and had been inhabited by the same farming family for nearly 50 years. The survey from memory cost around £500 at the time, was almost as thick as a telephone directory, BUT, having the formal document to wave under the vendor's noses meant we could re-negotiate the price and got it down £15K on the original offer we'd made.

It might be overkill, it might not reveal any unknown issues and it might not save you any money, but depends on whether you are happy to take the risk that the property only needs thorough redecoration - when the survey will tell you it needs a total rewire, damp proof course and a new roof!

Owain_Moneysaver

Jump up and down on the floors. Rotten joists will bounce.

And stick a knife into the boards as suggested.

If it's just the floorboards that have got soggy and mouldy (more likely than rot) then a couple of sheets of flooring chipboard aren't expensive. Obviously you take into account the house's condition when deciding what you can afford to pay.

Fire_Fox

Ask the vendor for permission to enter the loft and cellar (if any) and to lift floorcoverings during any surveys or reports. Have an independent timber and damp specialist in. Full structural surveys and homebuyers reports don't go into detail in these areas.
http://www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/more-services/professional-services/home-surveys/

buppy

Quick update:

At the second viewing yesterday we took my dad along who is a bit of a bulldog with regards to looking at houses and has no worries checking everything lol.

The floorboards turn out to be a possible leak at some point but in no way rotten whilst this doesn't mean there isnt a problem im less concerned about it now.

However a look up in the loft revealed no felt covering which seems normal for these houses until the roof is done again but it has rather a lot of well ventilation that shouldnt be there lol. Its absolutely peppered with holes.
Looking from the outside where its not covered with moss the clay tiles are eroding badly. We will get a quote from a roofer but its looking like a new roof is needed as any repairs would pretty much strip all the tiles to replace the dodgy ones anyway.

The electrics also need doing although they aren't rubber coated so may be alright for a while.

Some thing we did notice is very straight vertical cracks (very slim cracks nothing obvious until you look hard) they extend mainly between bottom and top windows. Is this maybe just how the pebble dash stuff has been applied? There are no matching cracks on the inside.

So the house is on for £185k which is our whole budget including doing it up.
A done up house goes for £195k ish in the same road

It needs a
*new kitchen
*new bathroom
*carpets in all rooms and stairs
*flooring in the kitchen
*A new boiler if not the whole heating system as its very dated.
*A possible new roof if not repair
*New bathroom window (not double glazed)
*New front door and window again not double glazed.
*All double glazed windows have a broken seal so would need cleaning and re-sealing or replacing.
*a new porch /door cover that was in the photos but has been taken down for some reason.
*Re-decoration in all rooms.
*new electrics at some point.

Hummmm not looking good even if we could get it for £75k we wont be able to do even half of that on whats left of our budget.

I think probably we have to walk away from this one. Even though its perfect for us in size and location I just dont think we have the funds to do so much work.

Thanks for all your advice so far, im sure I will need to ask more questions in the future.

Fire_Fox

Cracking around windows could be minor or more serious, have the windows been replaced? If so how was the structure supported, were new lintels installed? Is the pebble dash original or has it been applied to cover something up?

eamon

With all the work that needs doing that could easily run into many thousands of £'s. So if you like the neighbourhood offer a price that also allows you to do get the updates done and then see what happens. Otherwise walk away and carry on saving. Your lender will likely refuse a mortgage anyway once they see the valuation survey.