Spooked by Home Buyer's Report and searches

makeitstop

Pookie85 wrote: »

Hi All,

We've (wife & I) had an offer accepted on a three-bedroom house in our town and have also accepted an offer on our two-bedroom flat.

We are motivated to upsize now as our town is becoming increasingly expensive (a three-bed is now 300k+ compared to 180-220k three years ago) and think it's unlikely that we'll be able to afford a house here in another year or two. We're 30 minutes out of Kings Cross, there's nowhere to build new homes and we're attracting buyers from other commuter towns (such as St. Albans) who are selling up and cashing in. I can't see how prices will remain at any kind of reasonable level.

Anyway, we (and everyone else in the chain) have instructed solicitors to start the paperwork etc. The searches have revealed that the house is in a high flood risk area, it's on potentially contaminated land and potentially unstable land. We've been trying to find out what buildings insurance will cost us, and the best we've got is just over £500 per year. All of the others came in at £150 per month, or were unwilling to insure.

We've also received, I believe, a pretty damning Home Buyer's Report. Just to put things into perspective, the house was built in 1906 and we were expecting some issues, but there are others which we were completely unprepared for. Here's a quick summary of the problems and the level of priority according to the report:

• High levels of damp on party wall (high priority and requires immediate attention) - we expected this. Also some minor cracks and no evidence of the type of damp course.
• Some cracked tiles and a high build up of moss (medium priority) - we expected this.
• Windows are old and need replacing (medium priority) - we expected this.
• Distortion of internal walls and high damp reading. Report advises that a complete replastering of internal walls will be needed (high priority) - half expected some damp, but did not realise it would be this bad.
• Chimney brest has been removed and there is inadequate support for the remaining structure (high priority and will require LA approval)
• Wiring underneath loft insulation (high priority as it's a fire hazard). Wiring hasn't been tested either.
• Cold water tank does not meet standards and should be upgraded (medium priority)
• Very old gas boiler (heating) and no evidence of servicing (high priority) - we spotted this when we looked around and planned to replace it anyway.
• Very old hot water boiler in the loft has evidence of leakage and needs to be replaced (high priority).
• Drainage is partially blocked and one of the inspection chambers has been built over with an extension. Report advises that investigation and remedial work is expensive (high priority).

We know it's a victorian property and we need to allow for some problems, but is it unreasonable to think that this is too much? We hoped we'd have about 6k in saving to do some work when we moved in, but clearly this is not going to get us very far. Our priorities were to replace the boiler and the bay window (in wood), then do the rest of the windows as we get the money. We then planned to replace the bathroom (dated, but fine), kitchin, and install a woodburning stove and fake chimney brest. All of this is before getting to soft furnishings and personal touches. Some of this might sound unnecessary, but what's the point of a victorian house if you're not going to restore some of the features?



Financially, we are not poor and the budget shows that we'll have about £900 a month left over. However, we're hoping to make a little Pookie, which will of course mean a reduced income for a period and increased outgoings. We'll also need a modest family car (Mrs Pookie is not keen on 3 doors). Once you factor in the likelihood of higher interest rates when the fixed deal ends in 5 years, it's looking likely that there won't be much left over to do the improvements. We're not especially impatiant, but at the same time we don't see the point buying a house if it'll take us 10 years to get it to how we want it, especially as we'd like to move up north in 10-15 years.



We're now getting to the point where we are starting to talk ourselves out of it, but we really wanted to get some views on:

• Were our expectations of the house unreasonable?
• Will we be buying a house full of stress, expense and headaches?
• What are the implications if we pull out at this stage? My assumption is we will need to pay the solicitors for the work they have done so far.

To add to the stress, both the solicitor and the estage agent are incredibly rude. We know this is normal, but we could do without it. The EA was really rude to my wife earlier when there was the slightest hint that we were unhappy with the seach and survey results.


We'd also feel really guilty about messing up the chain. Our buyer is an FTB and really loves our flat, and I expect she's lose what she has paid the solicitors so far. Would we be obliged to contribute towards her losses?


Sorry - bit of an essay and lots of question. Really grateful for any advice.

Apologies O.P, I replied to some of the posts in general, but not directly to the questoins you asked.

Of the list of three questions above, my view would be....

A)....

No, not unrealistic at all to want to go for this house, but understandable to be having second thoughts after discovering numerous problems.

....

Possibly yes, and in my view likely. As is often the case with old houses, especially those which appear not to have been given some good care over the last few decades, there are hidden issues which only become apparent once you're living in / working on it. Of course, this may not be the case here, but from th elist you've already provided, I'd not be shocked if more trouble was unearthed.

C)....

I'd assume the implications for you are that you'll have annoyed a few people and will have incurred some cost for the work already carried out by your solicitor. That's about it. I would certainly not fret over that, because to you, this is a massive decision.

Good luck with whatever you decide. I hope it works out.

Pookie85

Thanks for your help everyone and sorry I didn't come back to update sooner.

We've pulled out.