Survey came back - should I worry?

Cuilean

Hubby and I have had an offer accepted on a house which we paid for a Homebuyers' Report on. 1960s semi-detached house. First time I've paid for anything above the basic valuation report, and having been caught out last time, swore I'd never go with the basic again.

The report has come back today, and has red flagged a few things. They are phrased in a way which worries me quite a bit, but I appreciate there may be some element of surveyor linguistics which I'm not interpreting properly, and maybe I'm over-reacting. Of course, it's a Saturday, so I can't contact anyone official to ask, so I'm asking for opinions here, in the hope some of you will be able to tell me whether I should worry, or take action. I'll quote the bits which are worrying me the most.

1) The Chimney
The flashing to the stack is leaking and the pointing is badly weathered. This is serious and could lead to damp and timber decay. This is a risk to the building. Because of the height/orientation, access will be difficult and specialist access equipment will be needed, which may be costly.

2) Roof structure
The roof timbers next to the chimney are rotted and partly damp. This is serious and could lead to further timber decay and damage to property. This is a risk to the building. The roof space is not insulated to modern standards. The roof is poorly ventilated. You should ask a contractor to inspect and quote for work.

3) Ceilings
The ceiling in bedroom one adjacent to the chimney breast was stained but dry when tested with a moisture meter. This is due to the leaking identified previously in the section "Chimney". Redecoration should be carried out when the leak has been repaired.

4) Walls and partitions
There is some slight cracking above the door openings. There is condensation associated marking around many of the first floor windows.

5) Electricity
The wiring and power points appear to be of varying ages. The arrangement of the wiring serving the unprotected external power points on the rear wall of the garage is unsatisfactory.

6) Central Heating
The central heating expansion tank is old.

7) Garage (Detached)
The garage is old and of basic construction. The rainwater goods are in complete disrepair. The walls are damp at the rear. The middle roof timber appears rotten. There is wet rot in the door frame. Dampness on the rear wall of the garage is due to defective rainwater goods. The roof covering appears to be leaking onto the middle roof timber causing the decay.

8) Valuation
In my opinion the market value as inspected was (What we have offered). In my opinion, the current reinstatement cost of the property is £146,000.

:eek:

Babbawah

What exactly is it you're asking?

Cuilean

Babbawah wrote: »

What exactly is it you're asking?

Cuilean wrote: »

I'm asking for opinions here, in the hope some of you will be able to tell me whether I should worry, or take action.

I'm after opinions on whether I should be worrying.

pinkteapot

1 and 2 are things that need to be repaired ASAP to prevent further damage. Get quotes for the repairs. Revise offer if need be (though vendor may refuse to move on price).

Electrics being old isn't necessarily a problem in itself but get an electrician in to take a look if you want to know for sure.

Garage - how quickly you bother repairing it depends on what you plan to store in it.

pinkteapot

ps Don't worry if the reinstatement cost is less than you're paying. This is the cost to build the house from scratch if it completely burns down. What you're paying includes money for the land on top.

pinkteapot

pps When you buy buildings insurance you may be asked for the rebuild value. That's the reinstatement cost. Some people insure for what they pay for the house and spend more than they need to on buildings insurance.

G_M

What kind of buyer are you? Are you looking for a home you can move into, do minimal redecoration, and just get on with life? Walk away.

Are you prepared to buy a property requiring work. Have you a budget set aside for work? Are you willing to organise builders, live with a degree of mess etc etc? Then if the end result will be a property you love, go for it.

You need to get a builder or two round to quote. Most builders give quotes free to home owners (in expectation of getting work), but they generally charge for prospective buyers as the chance of the purchase going ahead AND the buyer then giving them the job is much smaller.

Chimney. Flashing /pointing is easily repaired but if scaffolding needed could be £1K +. As water is already causing damage this is urgent.

Roof structure.
Replacing/repairing rotted wood could be costly. Depends how extensive and how badly rotted. Fixing the chimney will help by controlling the water, but the repair is urgent.
Insulation & ventilation is cheap & easy.

Ceailing. Once evrything above fixed, redecorate (or live with the old stains if you wish!)

Walls etc
'some cracking' could mean anything! probably nothing but ring surveyor and ask, plue get builder to look
Condensation could just be lack of ventilation, or excessive internal dring of washing etc. What are the windows like? Replacement might help.

Electricity
Get a report from a sparkie. Or just budget for some work (£2-500?) after you move in

central heating
:rotfl:

Garage
Sounds like ideally build a new garage! But urgent? Do you care if your car is not stored in a snuggly warm dry home.....?

ruggedtoast

This isn't an old house. I would be concerned why a 1960s build is already in such poor shape. Anything in red needs sorting out sooner rather than later, and it sounds like you will have to spring for at least part of a new roof and a rebuild of the chimney.

Its fixable of course, it just depends who is going to fix it and where the money is going to come from.

Babbawah

Cuilean wrote: »

I'm after opinions on whether I should be worrying.

Have you already bought the house?

Cuilean

Babbawah wrote: »

Have you already bought the house?

No, offer accepted, draft contract is on its way to the solicitor, so we could (I believe) still pull out or renegotiate. Tellingly, when I rang the agent to ask if the vendor would mind us sending builders round to inspect and quote, the agent said "No, I think she's been expecting that". We did learn that she'd sold it at the end of last year, but the sale fell through. Maybe someone else's survey got to this point and scared them off?


G_M, thanks for all the info, that was an interesting read and quoting you helped me not sound like a complete idiot to the agent. No, we're not after something we can just throw the boxes into and relax. Before we knew about the problems with the chimney etc, we'd already planned interior alterations and looked into an extension and budgeted for that. This is possibly one of the few houses left in the street which hasn't had loft conversions, extensions and massive internal remodelling. Judging by sold prices in the street, once those bits are done, you're adding at least £100k to the value. Obviously if this work needs doing, it's going to wind up taking precedence over all of that. Nobody wants to live in a house which has something like that literally hanging over it.


Ruggedtoast, we wondered how on earth it had got into that state too. The original 1960s bathroom and kitchen are still in, so we can only assume that whoever's lived in it was a big fan of the whole vintage thing, and carried on regardless. I have a feeling that the current vendor has to sell, instead of wants to sell, and just doesn't have the money to do what needs doing.

staffie1

Yes the chimney and associated issues need fixing urgently after completion, but whether you decide to proceed or not depends on what you're paying for the house now, and whether, once you've paid out to have the more important issues fixed, you're still getting a good deal financially compared to what price houses in that street typically sell for. You need to get a builder in to look at the various issues, get all inclusive quotes, then take it from there before exchanging contracts.