First Time Buyer -received Survey Results...

badflaw

hello Ive recieved my homebuyers report for the 1960s semi im trying to buy and have the following info/concerns.
Id much appreciate some expert advice from fellow moneysavers -)
Roof
The Mortar to verge tiles have perished and require repointing.
The roof space doesn't have enough ventilation
condition 2

Im estimating £500 cost?

Main Walls
Cavity side wall requires repointing. condiiton rating 2

Side elevation is high to dampcourse,
£200?

There is brick linel over openings to some windows and doors. There should be a lintel overy every window/door and this was not evident, Its not causing a problem now but could in future. It may become neccesaary to install adequate lintels in the future.

Is this as scary as it sounds?

Electricity

we are advised proerty was rewired circa 2010 but have not seen a certificate

Requested solicitor asks for Cert
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Drainage

The main soil pipe should be fitted with a valve terminal.condiiton rating 2

No idea with this?


Risks

Signs of structural movemnet were noted but they were considered to be longstanding,historic and non progressive

Get out clause for surveyor in case the house fell down?:rotfl:

Materials have been idenfited that may contain asbestos...

Ive recently been on an asbestos awareness course at work which scared the hell out of me-- but i guess this is a standard comment on all houses of the era and I do not need an asbestos survey unless carrying out building work?

thankyou in advance

tea-bag

There is brick linel over openings to some windows and doors. There should be a lintel overy every window/door and this was not evident, Its not causing a problem now but could in future. It may become neccesaary to install adequate lintels in the future.

Only a problem if the doors or Windows are not part of the original design of the house.

The rest seems fine solid house.

Davesnave

Sounds pretty good to me. Bit of minor roof work and some sorting of the bridged DPC mainly.

If the surveyor says movement is historic, that's not a get-out at all, especially as it says, " were considered to be" rather than "appear to be." There's a subtle difference there; he/she is giving a considered opinion..

The possible lack of lintels in some places, isn't causing an issue and may well be a red herring. They may be present but not detectable - likely if not in an extension.

The potential asbestos content probably refers to Artex ceiling coatings, or similar. May/may not contain it, but no great problem.

No, I'm not sure what a valve terminal is on a soil pipe either, unless it's a one way flap, allowing air into, but not out of it.

It looks less than you'd expect for a property of that era.

cloo

Sounds pretty normal to me... if you're worried, always talk to your surveyor. 99% of the time, they will assure you that it is fine to go ahead and purchase a house and they haven't seen anything more or less than they'd expect to see in such a building. Everywhere has faults, and few are real deal breakers.

badflaw

Thankyou for your replies so far... We are at a hurdle that is currently preventing exchange and causing a lot of stress.
the vendors do not have any paperwork internal knocked through wall that they say was installed before they arrived.
We have asked the vendor to gain a build regs certificate or a structural engineers inspection/report. They have provided us with an indemnitity insurance cert., but we understand this only protects us from the council sueing us, not insuring us against any structural damage.

We havent had a satisfactory response and are at the end of our tether.
we are first time buyers and as much as we love the house we dont feel we can purchase without written proof the wall/house is strucutrally sound

are going down the right route? any advice?

Davesnave

If you really love it, you'll go the extra mile when push comes to shove.

The owners bought the house and lived in it without a structural engineer's report, so they possibly don't understand why they should provide you with one at this late juncture, or pay for it.

To create a report, the engineer would have to expose sections of the RSJ or lintel used, to check if it is adequate and suitably supported. It's a belt and braces exercise, guaranteed to do nothing for the vendor's decor or blood pressure. With rectification, they could be looking at a bill of £1k or more.

You could offer to pay. Is the house worth an extra £1k? However, he vendor might still refuse.

Or you could just buy it and check things it once you're in.

Those are the options, other than walking away.

If it were me, I'd probably just buy, but that's me. I'm comfortable with imperfect houses and I don't expect to find one that isn't flawed.

If the alteration has been there for a long time and there are no obvious signs of movement, then it's likely adequate support was provided.

When we bought the house we're in now, there'd been a recent alteration involving a huge 4.6 metre lintel, all passed by building control. That didn't stop it looking damned ugly, so last summer we replaced it with a smaller RSJ, making a much tidier job of it. Total cost, around £2.5k, half of it in the swear box.

That's the sort of thing you do if you really love a house.

badflaw

Thankyou for your reply. I'm just concerned that we would be unlucky and face a huge bill due to structural damage of the house.

we have contingency budget for the old boiler, amongst other work. we understand a house isnt perfect but we are first time buyers and do not want to end up with a house that is a structural disaster.



we have had a quote from a structural engineer at £340..

Davesnave

£340 is reasonable, so if the vendor is amenable, I'd go for it.

After all, there would be costs involved with walking away as well, such as a survey on an alternative house.

G_M

Most of the responses above are sensible.

badflaw wrote: »

.... 1960s semi...
Id much appreciate some expert advice from fellow moneysavers -)
:rotfl:That's a bit much to ask!
Roof
The Mortar to verge tiles have perished and require repointing.
The roof space doesn't have enough ventilation
condition 2

Im estimating £500 cost?
Depends entirely how extensive and what access is like. If scaffolding needed, it will cost more. If a local bod + ladder can nip up in half a day, less.
Ventilation is a doddle

Main Walls
Cavity side wall requires repointing. condiiton rating 2
As above. How bad is the problem? How extensive? Access?
£100 - £500

Side elevation is high to dampcourse,
£200?
Spend a weekend digging a trench round the side of the house. Half-fill with gravel

There is brick linel over openings to some windows and doors. There should be a lintel overy every window/door and this was not evident, Its not causing a problem now but could in future. It may become neccesaary to install adequate lintels in the future.

Is this as scary as it sounds?
If these are original windows and they've been there since 1960........
If a badly-designed recent extension.......
Also depends on window design - some windows can support the weight above. If they are changed for cheap upvc which have no structural strength, then the weight above has no support.

Electricity

we are advised proerty was rewired circa 2010 but have not seen a certificate

Requested solicitor asks for Cert
What era was the consumer unit?

Drainage

The main soil pipe should be fitted with a valve terminal.condiiton rating 2

No idea with this?
http://www.plumbparts.co.uk/shop/waste/seal-soil-vent-terminal-110mm/ ???

Risks

Signs of structural movemnet were noted but they were considered to be longstanding,historic and non progressive

Get out clause for surveyor in case the house fell down?:rotfl:
No, it's more definative than that.

Materials have been idenfited that may contain asbestos...

Ive recently been on an asbestos awareness course at work which scared the hell out of me-- but i guess this is a standard comment on all houses of the era and I do not need an asbestos survey unless carrying out building work?
Ask the surveyor where he identied these.

thankyou in advance

......................................................................................

cloo

I'd be delighted to get a survey that clear myself! Everywhere is going to have some issues and none of those sound that big to me.

Good luck with it.