Doing everything the survey says?

Sinked_boat

Full structural has a few things on it that says should be done before exchange.

Check the boiler is one. Other one is "timber eaves joinery requires overhaul" and "degradation of the roof should be inspected due to evidence of 'ponding'"

Do I spook my vendors and send people round to inspect it or just put a couple of grand aside to do some repairs later on?

It's a victorian cottage and I REALLY want to move in asap.

Thanks everyone.

Dave_the_Ginger_Cat

I'd be inclined to have a roofer look at it. If the boiler needs replacing, it is a fairly well known cost. If the roof needs replacing plus timbers, you need to go into it informed, and possibly negotiate as it's likely to be a good deal of money.

You also need to talk to your lender if you have one before you do this - they may impose some conditions which influence your discussions with the seller.

G_M

Check the boiler is standard advice as the surveyor is not an engineer.

* did the surveyor give a reason/intimate a problem?or was this just general advice?
* does the boiler work!!!?? Easy enough to go round, ask seller to turn it on, and see if rads heat up and hot water comes out of taps! (if buying a 2nd hand car, would you hesitate to ask seller to start the engine.....?)
* ask seller when it was last serviced and toshow you service receipt

timber eaves:
* ring surveyor and ask what he means. If, as I suspect, it means the wood needs painting, that is
a) normal house maintenance and
b) not structural/urgent and
c) not expensive

But he might mean something else....

Roof ponding
I assume a flat roof? Ponding means the water stays there more than 24 hours. On a ridged roof highly unlikely! If a flat roof, it indicates there is NO slope (a flat roof should not be totally flat!). Get a roofer to look.

princeofpounds

Check the boiler is probably (thought not necessarily) a standard item and one I would do anyone on an annual basis. Of course if you find it's dodgy then that's an issue, but the surveyor would not necessarily have to spot a problem to say something like that in their report. It's not their area so they kind of have to.

The roof on the other hand sounds more than standard. Clearly there is some evidence of problems there. But we can't tell you how serious they are so yes getting a roofer in for a look is a good idea.

Sinked_boat

Thanks guys, boiler is so new and we have seen it working. That's why I'm concerned the surveyor is being OTT.

The ponding is on a flat roof, good idea about ringing the surveyor. I just don't want to rock the boat and risk losing the house.

G_M

seradjernie wrote: »

Thanks guys, boiler is so new and we have seen it working. That's why I'm concerned the surveyor is being OTT.

The ponding is on a flat roof, good idea about ringing the surveyor. I just don't want to rock the boat and risk losing the house.

How big is the flat roof?

is it a garage, or residential?

How old is the felt (or whatever the covering is)? Ask surveyor?

Is there any indication it is leaking inside? Internal damp?

eg if it is just a garage, with no sign the felt has failed causing damp inside, it's not really an issue if water sits up there a bit....

Voyager2002

Why on earth might you risk losing the house? The risk is that you might pay too much, since if the repairs needed are likely to cost a lot of money then the price should be reduced to reflect this.

So you should absolutely get estimates for the work that needs doing: if it is likely to cost more than the money you have budgeted then renegotiate the price or consider looking for somewhere else.

Sinked_boat

It's above the bathroom downstairs, about as big as a small bathroom. No internal damp.think I'll get someone to look at it. I'm scared the sellers will pull out because we are faffing and they might worry we will pullout so if someone offers them a larger amount... you hear of people being gazumpt and we got it quite a bit below the asking price.
You may have noticed I'm a ftb.