Mortgage retention due to damp- anyone had this before?

minibbb

My partner and I are buying a Victorian terrace house which has fairly bad damp on the ground floor- most interior walls are affected.

The estate agents have quotes to do a chemical damp proof course and re-plaster and these are around the 4K mark.

I have done my research on both this forum and the internet and its seems these injectable DPC's are a con and often not needed.

My mortgage valuation survey was done yesterday and the mortgage company (santander) have said they have approved the mortgage subject to a retention of up to 10K to sort the damp work. Apparently they want quotes and will adjust their figure so im expecting a 4K retention.

Has anyone had experience of this? I will be getting a homebuyer survey done and have also looked into a company called UK Damop who do an independent survey and state they can often provide a report to the mortgage company giving the actual cause of the damp and the necessary work to resolve it- usually avoided a chemical DPC.

I'd rather not pay out the 4K on the chemical DPC if the whole thing is a con however I may be forced to by the mortgage company! Any experiences/ thoughts would be much appreciated!

Many thanks!

sandsni

From what I've read, modern chemical DPCs, whether or not they're a con, can cause bigger structural problems later in older properties and aren't recommended by people who actually know about these things. The "damp" problem may be relatively easy to sort once you find the source of it. Of course, the EA might be in for a nice commission if you go with their favoured contractor ;-). Is the company you mention (UK Damop) genuinely independent? If they also specialise in damp-proofing or whatever they will have a vested interest in finding something that "needs work".

You've maybe already found it, but www.periodproperty.com is a great resource for info on older houses. Some of the posters on their forums are sure to have had experience with mortgage companies etc., and might be able to help in your situation.

retepetsir

Does the house have a damp proof course?

minibbb

sandsni wrote: »

From what I've read, modern chemical DPCs, whether or not they're a con, can cause bigger structural problems later in older properties and aren't recommended by people who actually know about these things. The "damp" problem may be relatively easy to sort once you find the source of it. Of course, the EA might be in for a nice commission if you go with their favoured contractor ;-). Is the company you mention (UK Damop) genuinely independent? If they also specialise in damp-proofing or whatever they will have a vested interest in finding something that "needs work".

You've maybe already found it, but www.periodproperty.com is a great resource for info on older houses. Some of the posters on their forums are sure to have had experience with mortgage companies etc., and might be able to help in your situation.

Thankyou both for your advice! I have a surveyor going in on friday who will hopefully find the cause of the damp- and avoid the new DPC fingers crossed! They are independent so won't be trying to sell me anything which is good!

The house should have a slate DPC so I think the damp is either due to the concrete floor or poor ventilation in the property due to the chimneys being boarded over and thick artex on the walls etc!