Worst problems in surveys

chirp

Please name the worst/major problems reported in your building survey/home-buyers' report before you purchased a property.

SG27

Do you mean for people who's surveys revealed major issues and they went ahead anyway or for those who pulled our too?

We have a potentially serious damp issue but I'm confident we will get it sorted and go ahead with the purchase.

chirp

I mean both those who went ahead and purchased and those who pulled out. We will be pulling out due to too many major issues:
Roof needs replacing, High damp readings in 2 bedrooms and kitchen walls from the bottom, wet rot in loft, cracks and movement, suspected asbestos in celings wall paper, flue of boiler and something in loft, boundary wall needs replacing. Has recommended us to consult structural engineer, get a CCTV drain survey done, asbestos survey done. So basically will struggle to get building insurance, spend loads of money on more surveys and even more money on never-ending repairs. Who can posssibly buy such a house? Am I an over cautious buyer? So I just need to know what problems other people have faced in their reports.

SG27

chirp wrote: »

I mean both those who went ahead and purchased and those who pulled out. We will be pulling out due to too many major issues:
Roof needs replacing, High damp readings in 2 bedrooms and kitchen walls from the bottom, wet rot in loft, cracks and movement, suspected asbestos in celings wall paper, flue of boiler and something in loft, boundary wall needs replacing. Has recommended us to consult structural engineer, get a CCTV drain survey done, asbestos survey done. So basically will struggle to get building insurance, spend loads of money on more surveys and even more money on never-ending repairs. Who can posssibly buy such a house? Am I an over cautious buyer? So I just need to know what problems other people have faced in their reports.

That sounds an awful lot. The only thing you could do is maybe reduce your offer to take into account of the work needs doing. Obviously you'd have to be prepared to get the work done too. But at the end of the day these people will never sell unless they address these problems or reduce their price according.

G_M

Just to side-step the question....

Reading the threads started by concerned buyers on this forum, I am amazed anyone ever buys a property at all these days.

Surveyors seem to list so many 'defects' (often as level 3 despite no issues having been spotted), hedged around with caveats and maybes.

They recommend so many additional inspections alongside dire warnings - never explaining properly whether said inspection is needed just for peace of mind/to cover surveyors *ss, or because a genuine potential issue has been spotted.

Not to mention causing panic by those dreaded words "does not conform to current building standards" - never with an explanation of whether this matters or not.

And of course the buyer is concerned, woried, panicked. Often totally unecessarily.

buppy

Mid terrace 1930's 3 bed.

Damage to rendering on back wall caused by next door taking theirs off to re-do

Damp on the back wall possibly caused by the rendering being damaged , or could be some other reason.

Likelyhood of Asbestos on all partition and supporting walls and some ceilings.(surveyor was pretty sure it was but would need a proper asbestos person to test)

Missing roof felt and light coming though where tiles have started to crumble. Couldnt get in the roof to properly check rafters etc as roof was filled with lumber??!!

No gas mains to the house despite the owners saying there was.

No heating other than one coal fire( we knew this)

Double glazing the old aluminum type with damaged seals so would need replacing.

Wiring needed replacing.

Surveyor advised that plaster was blown in many places and possibly only the wall paper holding up. (wall paper was hideous and would have been the first thing to go)

Leak in the bath room which could have caused rot as damp was present (although it was a bathroom so its going to be wet anyway)

Chimney taken out in kitchen and surveyor was concerned an RSJ or something hadn't been put in.

Needed new/more air bricks

Oh but it had a nice larger than average garden

Needless to say we pulled out. Far too much for first time buyers on a budget.

It re-sold a month later and then was put back up for sale a week after that so im guessing the new buyers had a bad survey too.

They have now reduced it £5k £185 to £180 but it needs a hell of a lot of work and a lovely done up one in the same street averages £190k so I doubt they will get what they want. x

thelem

I don't think your survey is as bad as you think it is.

chirp wrote: »

Roof needs replacing

OK, that's a biggy and will be expensive.

High damp readings in 2 bedrooms and kitchen walls from the bottom

How high? Bad enough for you to notice at the viewing? Had these rooms been recently decorated, as that could have been done to hide the damp?

wet rot in loft

I wouldn't have thought that's much of a concern if you're replacing the roof anyway.

cracks and movement

Potentially a huge issue, but equally could just be the surveyor covering themselves.

suspected asbestos in celings wall paper

Very, very common. It's not great, but it's not something you should be too worried about.

flue of boiler and something in loft

Just old parts lying about you mean? Take them to the tip.

boundary wall needs replacing.

Urgently? Could you stick a fence up?

Has recommended us to consult structural engineer, get a CCTV drain survey done, asbestos survey done. So basically will struggle to get building insurance, spend loads of money on more surveys and even more money on never-ending repairs.

Sounds very much like he is covering himself. Was there any indication of problems with the drains?

Who can posssibly buy such a house? Am I an over cautious buyer? So I just need to know what problems other people have faced in their reports.

The roof is a problem, and I would make sure my offer took that into consideration. Movement and damp sound concerning, but I'd want more information before saying they were definitely a problem. The other things just sound like nuiscances, and you'll get a few of them with all but the best maintained houses (and even then, the problems will crop up over time).

To see how bad it can get watch http://www.channel4.com/programmes/help-my-house-is-falling-down/4od

olias

chirp wrote: »

I mean both those who went ahead and purchased and those who pulled out. We will be pulling out due to too many major issues:
Roof needs replacing - How big is the building? could cost as little as £2-4K if its a terraced, High damp readings in 2 bedrooms and kitchen walls from the bottom - Depends what is causing it - could be sometrhing as simple as an overflowing drain or a leaking gutter, wet rot in loft - Depends how bad - If its just a small amount due to leaks in the old roof, could be just a few hundred to cut out and replace some of the woodwork and treat, cracks and movement - This is the biggy - could be anything from historical movement needing nothing but a bit of pointing, right up to major subsidence, suspected asbestos in celings wall paper - never heard of asbestos in wallpaper before, its usually in older artex, but if it is present, then need not be a problem unless its fraying/damaged, or you intend to strip it, flue of boiler - what about it? won't cost much to replace/repair. and something in loft - ??? Ghosts?, boundary wall needs replacing - Is it actually dangerous, or just a bit rickety and would look nicer if it was all shiny and new?. Has recommended us to consult structural engineer - What about? The cracks?, get a CCTV drain survey done Is there evidence of any problem? Or is he just covering his back? As long as the access is Ok, drain repair/replacement need not cost a fortune, asbestos survey done - I think he is probably covering his back here. So basically will struggle to get building insurance - Why? unless a SE diagnoses subsidence, then there shouldn't be a problem, spend loads of money on more surveys and even more money on never-ending repairs. Who can posssibly buy such a house? Am I an over cautious buyer? So I just need to know what problems other people have faced in their reports.

The bottom line is that unless you are buying a new build, then a property will always require maintenance and money spending on it. The issues you have raised - with the exception of subsidence (if it exists) Could be dealt with for less than £10000 and done in less than a month - If you can negotiate a sunstantial discount of more than the amount needed to repair the property, then you could end up in a good position financially, with a property worth more than you paid for it.

Olias

SG27

G_M wrote: »

Just to side-step the question....

Reading the threads started by concerned buyers on this forum, I am amazed anyone ever buys a property at all these days.

Surveyors seem to list so many 'defects' (often as level 3 despite no issues having been spotted), hedged around with caveats and maybes.

They recommend so many additional inspections alongside dire warnings - never explaining properly whether said inspection is needed just for peace of mind/to cover surveyors *ss, or because a genuine potential issue has been spotted.

Not to mention causing panic by those dreaded words "does not conform to current building standards" - never with an explanation of whether this matters or not.

And of course the buyer is concerned, woried, panicked. Often totally unecessarily.

Ours it full of that!! But it is 300 years old so not worried by it at all.

Ivana_Tinkle

It's always interesting to dig out your original survey after you've been living in the house for a couple of years. In my experience, it's as if they're describing a different house. My last one listed as a "3" that all the timber window frames were rotten and needed replacing immediately (there was not the tiniest indication of rot in any of them!), that the flat roof on the utility room couldn't be expected to last much longer (still in pristine condition 4 years later!), that there was a damp problem (no, there was an old-lady-who-doesn't-put-the-heating-on-and-never-opens-a-window problem) etc etc etc.

chirp

To quote:
"There is evidence of movement towards the rear of the property and to the surrounding areas of hardstanding. More precise conclusions can only be reached after a considerable period of monitoring by a structural engineer. Cracks to the render to the rear extension are indicative of ground movement. Uneven floor to lounge, kitchen, hallway is likely due to ground movement.
Evidence of leaks within roof space and condensation mould to the underside of battens.
Damp appears to be due to water deflecting off external surfaces.
More air bricks to be installed.
Render to chimney cracked and need filling.
Decorated timber to original building peeling.
Boundary wall is leaning and needs repointing.
Textured wallpaper is likely to contain asbestos so recommend Management Asbestos Survey of property. Appears to be asbestos coating to a pipe to the front of the roof space and boiler flue in the bathroom.
CCTV drainage survey recommended to eliminate possibility that a collapsed drain is the cause of ground movement.
The use of storage in the loft should be strictly limited due to poor flooring. No ventilation.
Some evidence of roof leaks to the timbers.
Torn and bubbling wallpaper due to high damp readings under bay windows in bedrooms. Hacking off of plaster here is required prior to replastering and redecoration. Crack to skirting at the front side of bedroom. Textured paper likely to contain asbestos.
Very high level damp readings at low level to the kitchen rear wall. Likely to be result of high external ground in relation to internal floor level breaching the damp proof course.A channel which is present between hardstanding and bay window suggests this may have been an issue in the past.
There is evidence of penetrating damp within the loft space.
Potterton prima C boiler more than 15 yrs old and needs replacing.
Aging radiators need replacing.
Vertical hairline cracks to the cornice in kitchen, lounge and bedrooms. Ceilings are generally uneven. Cracks between cornice and ceilings likely due to movement. Cracking to the rear extension indicative of building movement. Horizontal and vertical cracks upto 3mm to rear elevation through plinth. Vertical crack of 2mm beneath window and further crackings to the corners of openings.
Vertical crack of 3mm behind downpipe for the full height. Vertical crack of 1mm to the front of kitchen window. Evidence that a window and door has been blocked to the elevation indicated by different texture to the render. Flaking paint to plinth and brick columns."

Unquote:
Aren't there just too many cracks and faults?