Victorian terrace – what to spot pre-purchase

bpk101

Hi -

My partner and i are in the process of purchasing a 2 bed victorian terrace in East London.

We had a structural survey report carried out a couple of weeks back followed by a successful lenders valuation. Draft contracts have now been produced and our solicitors are commencing their searches.

Our structural survey flagged up a few of areas we were advised to get looked at in a little more detail with regards to potential costs of repair which of course i'd like to do now ahead of exchange. Our surveyor was keen to stress that none of the issues he discovered compromise the structural integrity of the building but are probably things we'd like to address sooner rather than later.

These areas are:

1) There is some very slight downward movement to the right of the ground floor front bay windowsill

2) There is probably sub-floor rot below that bay

3) There is rising and penetrating damp in following areas:
Ground floor front bay window (caused by poor external rendering)
Front first floor bedroom (damp from roof and parapet poor detailing)

4) The duo-pitch roof dips slightly towards the eaves

5) The zinc flashings to the roof are inadequate

6) There is inadequate sub-floor ventilation

7) The water volume to the bathroom is inadequate

I now have a weeks window of opportunity to seek some specialists advice (albeit at a further cost) on these areas flagged up by the report. We are particularly keen to investigate the damp issue and i have booked a PCA regulated damp proof specialist to visit this week and cost up work involved.

My question is, given the list above and your potential knowledge on buying old properties... should we use this time to investigate anything else on that list or anything that isn't on it (i.e condition of electrical wiring)?

What else can we do to protect ourselves against potential issues with a Victorian terraced property now that we have an opportunity to revisit the property this week.

Thanks.

Pete9501

Wonder if 6 has caused 1, 2 and 3. Quote from a builder would be useful if you are not into serious DIY.

The water volume comment is interesting. You need to get back into the house and run both hot and cold taps and see if its enough for a shower and bath etc. Is it a hard water area? causing furred up boiler, emersion tank and pipes or it could just be the tap is slightly blocked.

None of the above would put me off buying an old house, in fact we have just bought a 1925 house with an old boiler, some windows still with putty in them and no insulation at all in the roof.

It's not only the problems your surveyor has listed but the things he checked and didn't find fault with that should give you the confidence to proceed. As he said they will need sorting in time.

bpk101

Pete9501 wrote: »

None of the above would put me off buying an old house

Well would any of the above (and the potential repair costs involved) force you to consider lowering your offer price though? Or are the costs likely to be associated with these issues not worth risking the sale over at this stage?

I suppose that's the nub of my concerns at the moment as i can't guarantee we'll get all the access we need to have every little job up costed up by the relevant specialist.

Thanks again.

bpk101

bpk101 wrote: »

Well would any of the above (and the potential repair costs involved) force you to consider lowering your offer price though? Or are the costs likely to be associated with these issues not worth risking the sale over at this stage?

*bump**bump**bump*

Lord_Baltimore

The issues that would mainly concern me are the 'probable sub-floor rot' and the 'inadequate sub floor ventilation'. In a Victorian house it may mean dry rot. This would eat your house and your money quicker than you can say "oh fcuk!"

bpk101

I have a damp proof specialist booked in to visit the property this week to cost up any damp proof work that needs doing.

Is this also the right person to look at the sub-floor rot / sub floor ventilation issue or do i need a different specialist?

I only have this one access opportunity prior to exchange so want to make sure we get it right!

Thanks

botchjob

As none of the issues are major or urgent I think you’d be on dodgy ground trying to negotiate a drop in price on the back of the report. Certainly that would be my view if I were the seller. A 100 year old house is always going to have ongoing maintenance needs, which is just part of the responsibility of owning one.
The other thing to keep very firmly in mind is that once you start getting people in for quotes, the degree to which work is actually required is likely to get overstated. Obviously those quoting have a vested interest in the work taking place and are never, ever, going to say “nah, I’d leave if for 5 years if I were you, mate”

warwick2001

Check the drains. My g/f's house is also victorian, and due to the heavy rainfall she has had lots of problems

What fun it is to rod a drain at 1am whilst its absolutely chucking it down

Pete9501

I think one of the problems will be any existing floor coverings. To check under the floors near the bay window you really want to tear up the floor boards, but there is no way the existing owner is going to allow that.