How to proceed following issues in Home Buyers Report

Riobhca

Hello,

We're FTB who have had an offer accepted on a Victorian end terrace and have just had the home buyers report back. There were quite a few outcome 3 issues identified in the report, no deal breakers, but we're a little unsure as to how to proceed and would welcome some advice.

Apparently there is evidence of rising damp and lack of adequate ventilation under the wooden floors and in the two places where the old fireplaces have been boarded up.

There is also evidence of wet rot on the wooden frames of a dormer window (faces a river), the rest are all uPVC and fine and the steel water tank needs replacing.

Our first thoughts are that:

- get three quotes for the damp proofing and request that the vendors pay for this and complete the works ASAP.

- get quotes for replacing the window frame and see if the wet rot has done any further damage. We knew it was rotten when we put the offer in so I don't think it's fair to ask them to pay for this.

- get quotes for the steel tank thing and ask them to knock some money off for this and replace it later ourselves.

Does this sound reasonable?

There were also other things listed about checking the electrics, boiler etc but these seem pretty standard things. We weren't expecting to ask them to pay to get the electrics and boiler checked, does this seem about right?

Any advice gratefully received.

somethingcorporate

Sounds reasonable but do not get your hopes up.

It's an old house, poor ventilation, damp, rubbish insulation etc are all to be expected of a property this age.

I'd suggest expecting them to do dirty work like putting in a DPC is just not going to happen because they'll potentially spend time and money doing this work with no commitment you will actually buy the property.

I suggest you re-offer and do the work yourselves but again they may not want to renegotiate so you'll need to decide.

We had loads of 3s when we bought our Victorian place, negotiated a tiny bit off for work on the roof but they wouldn't budge on the rest which was fair enough, we still got a bargain and have loved living here.

motherofstudents

You should really get an independent damp survey done to find the cause of the damp. Don't get a company in who sell dpc's. It may be just some air bricks that are needed to improve air flow. I would not ask the vendors to do any work, it's much better for you to have it done yourself. So first identify the cause of the damp. An independent damp survey may cost you around £200 but it could save you money on getting any expensive and unnecessary work done.

Riobhca

Thanks both for your replies, they have really helped.

I think we will get an independant damp survey done and then renegotiate the sale price and then do the work ourselves.