Advice needed about homebuyer report

Mbradders1

Hello

I would really appreciate people's advice on our homebuyer report. As a first time buyer, I don't really know where to start with it!

These got rated as 3 - defects that are serious and/ or need to be repaired, replaced or investigated urgently.

1) main wall

dampness is present to the living room. Adjacent timbers may be affected by timber decay.

There is cracking to the masonry above the side kitchen window suggesting the lintel is inadequate or missing and repair/replacement is required.

Deterioration is evident to the wall surfaces including spalled brickwork and worn pointing and repairs are required.

2) floors

Walls are damp and therefore sub-floor timbers built into or attached to the walls are susceptible to rot. A precautionary check of timbers (including under floor areas) is essential.

3) other

There is evidence of wood-boring beetle infestation to cellar timbers and it is likely to have spread to concealed areas. The infestation appears recent.

The cellar ceiling should be removed as this restricts ventilation and may conceal other defects.

It all seems like bad news! What are people's thoughts?

Thanks

Mick

monty-doggy

Mbradders1 wrote: »

Hello

I would really appreciate people's advice on our homebuyer report. As a first time buyer, I don't really know where to start with it!

These got rated as 3 - defects that are serious and/ or need to be repaired, replaced or investigated urgently.

1) main wall

dampness is present to the living room. Adjacent timbers may be affected by timber decay.
note the word MAY, surveyor just covering his back. I'd get a damp surveyor to check this but sounds like just needs damp course


There is cracking to the masonry above the side kitchen window suggesting the lintel is inadequate or missing and repair/replacement is required.

not the end of the world, I'm having a front window lintel fitted in my new house for £300 if I buy materials

Deterioration is evident to the wall surfaces including spalled brickwork and worn pointing and repairs are required.

get a quote for repointing
2) floors

Walls are damp and therefore sub-floor timbers built into or attached to the walls are susceptible to rot. A precautionary check of timbers (including under floor areas) is essential.

again prob covering his back but I'd want to get this one checked before proceeding

3) other

There is evidence of wood-boring beetle infestation to cellar timbers and it is likely to have spread to concealed areas. The infestation appears recent.

id have a problem with this. Get a quote and I'd want the vendor to pay for this urgently.

The cellar ceiling should be removed as this restricts ventilation and may conceal other defects.

It all seems like bad news! What are people's thoughts?

Thanks

Mick

Surveys always sound worse than they are. Get some quotes for all the work then try to re negotiate the price if you love the house.

Don't expect the vendor to pay for it all. Any work you do will add to the value of the house.

Did the surveyor value it? Was this in line with your offer?

Mbradders1

Thanks for this. The report says the property is a reasonable price provided that we are prepared to accept the cost of dealing with the repair work which is not uncommon in properties of this age and type.

monty-doggy

With a homebuyers you can sometimes ring up and speak to the surveyor, that's what I did.

No matter what house you buy there will be things on it that scream don't buy me. After you have digested the report its not as bad as you may have first thought. None of the above with the exception of the beetle, seem too bad.

I'd expect a reduction for this (in full) and maybe anther £1000 for the other works?
Make sure the vendor knows exactly why you are asking for the reduction so they realise if you back out, the next potential buyers survey will show the same. This way they are more likely to negotiate.

Hope it works out for you.

JennyW_2

I agree about ringing the surveyor, this is what we did (3 times in fact)

damp and infestations always seem to come up.

Our "infestion" turned out to be an old one. The holes which are present would be impossible for a surveyor to tell if it was past or recent.

I think for a fee of about £250 you could pay for an independent specialist in damp and timber to inspect the property for you.

Our damp and timber issues turned out to be less of worry that we'd first thought.

martinsurrey

Mbradders1 wrote: »

Thanks for this. The report says the property is a reasonable price provided that we are prepared to accept the cost of dealing with the repair work which is not uncommon in properties of this age and type.

THAT is the key point.

My guess is this is a Victorian house (they often had wood window lintels which start to sag over time).

If you want a new build buy one, if not accept that they are not new build and will require ongoing maintenance which is more complex than painting.

If I was the vendor, none of that would worry me too much or make me reduce the price, as it looks like its factored into the asking price already.