Renegotiating - failed damp proof course

Jo_King

Hi, two house purchases having fallen through, I'm now on number three. Got the survey report back and there are signs of damp on the ground floor - surveyor suspects the damp proof course done 17 years ago has failed.

I've ordered an independent damp survey which is being done tomorrow, to double check what's going on.

Meanwhile I contacted the Estate Agent to ask for the name of the company who did the damp proof course. They contacted the vendor who cannot find the paperwork - it was done just before she purchased 17 years ago, and was given to her with the deeds of the house. If she can't find the paperwork, and the damp course has failed, does it seem reasonable to renegotiate the price? I'm thinking of asking her to drop the price the equivalent of half the cost of the damp proof course.

Thanks.

BitterAndTwisted

I wouldn't be contributing a penny towards the cost of a new damp-proof course! I'd be dropping my offer by the total cost plus a bit more for the inconvenience.

What sort of "independent damp survey"? Any company who offer solutions to damp problems will always find damp of some sort to solve somehow.

Jo_King

It's a separate surveying company who specialise in damp surveys. I've spoken to six companies to get quotes, and while the one I've gone with aren't the cheapest, they seem the most honest and get good reviews.

Hmmm, so you wouldn't pay. I am sorely tempted to ask them to pay them the balance since surely they're responsible for keeping the paperwork safe.

Halle71

It depends where you are and how much interest they have had in the house, how keen they are to sell etc. We're buying and selling in a particularly hot area of London at the moment and the general rule is that, unless the house is falling down, there is no negotiating. Someone else will want the house as it is even if you don't.
However, if you live somewhere 'normal' then I would negotiate but it may be that you end up splitting the cost - they could feel that the house is priced accurately for the state of repair it is in.

dominoman

Personally I think asking to go halves seems fair.

Push too hard and you will lose the house. Depends how much you want it.

Pandilex

Depends how much you want the house as they might gamble on someone else caring less. But at the end of the day if it has a problem it won't go away by changing the buyer.

Jo_King

I love the house... and with two houses having already fallen through, I'm keen. I'm 'up north', and the house is reasonably priced but could do with a lot of TLC.

Having said that, the house was sold as having had a damp course treatment done - and but for carelessness with the papers (I'm assuming, unless they're not telling me something) I wouldn't have to pay a thing...

But the damp surveyor did say it may be a case of the ventilation shafts being blocked and just needing a tidy up, so that's what I'm hoping for.

cattie

Unless there was an insurance backed guarantee with the original damp proof course, there would probably be no come back all these years later anyway. Also, many damp proof companies go out of business, so it's possible the company doesn't even exist any more. And as with any guarantee, they are not always transferable to other than original purchaser anyway.

If the property does need a new damp proof course, then asking for a 50/50 split of costs between vendor & buyer is usually the fairest & most often used remedy.

millysg1

the same thing happened to me when i bought my house. We sent a copy of the report and price to the EA and originally asked for then to drop off the total amount (about£10k) off the price. In the end we negotiated to go halves which i found fair. We didnt need to do 100% of the work anyway and probably only spent £3k on it as we did a lot ourselves.
I would recomend you do the same. Ask for the whole lot off the price but negotiate up to halves if possible. We used the excuse that it wasnt possible to notice the damp when viewing so our original price didnt reflected this. Now that the survey had found a substantual amount of work ontop of what we expected, the new price needed to reflect this so we wanted a reduction.

dimbo61

£10K for a damp proof course? OMG
I hope this was a full replastering job along most downstairs walls which were affected by damp.
New injection course with 10 year guarantee!

millysg1

It never had a damp course, it was 160 yeas old. so it was the removal of all plastering 1.6m high for the full downstairs, the injections and the replastering with tanking (though we did all the plastering part in the end). There was also some recomended work for the chimney breast running through the house and also some work in the loft. I think they also quoted for something to do with the wood flooring which we deemed unnecssary. That all came to £10k. All we paid for in the end was the injection plus, as we were doing other building work at the time, we got our builder and plaster to do other bits recommended which ended up being cheaper.