Are surveyors usually this dramatic or am I missing something?

Bossypants

I had a verbal report back from the surveyor on the flat I've offered on today. The first thing he said was (verbatim) 'I'm afraid it's really not good news, I don't like to put people off but there's a long list of issued with this property.'


The tone he said it in was like he was telling me my dog had died and my heart sank accordingly (I LOVE this flat), thinking wet rot, dry rot, subsidence and all the rest of it. In fact what it boiled down to was:


- Damp patch on the back wall in the kitchen, attributable to a flaw in the waterproofing of the upstairs' neighbours' roof terrace. In his own estimation very fixable.


- No gas in the building (which I knew about and offered accordingly).


- Low energy rating (annoying but I could have guessed that, and will look to improve once I decide what to do about the heating situation)


- Kitchen and bathroom need updating (probably about 10 years old, cheap as done for the BTL it was at the time, but neutral perfectly serviceable until I can get around to doing them).




Obviously the damp needs to be looked at asap and the whole energy situation shouldn't be left too long either, but this really doesn't seem that bad (in the sense that it all looks fixable within a reasonable budget)? Or am I being naïve here?

Annie1960

Have you seen the written report yet? Was it a full buildings survey you had done? Has he asked you to get quotations for the required work, then ring him to discuss?

The issues you mention above don't look like a long list to me.

Argghhh

maybe he was being sarcastic?

quotememiserable

Very modest list. Maybe he just wants you to know he earned his fee

Bossypants

Annie1960 wrote: »

Have you seen the written report yet? Was it a full buildings survey you had done? Has he asked you to get quotations for the required work, then ring him to discuss?

The issues you mention above don't look like a long list to me.

It was a Home Buyer's Report and I haven't seen the written report yet, but he was looking at his notes at the time and I did ask for a comprehensive rundown.


Glad you guys don't think it looks too bad either! I think his big concern was that I was overpaying, which I am if you just look at 1 bed flats within a 1 mile radius (or whatever they apply), but this place has an unbeatable location and some other really nice features that are virtually impossible to find in the area and which are important to me, so I'm willing to pay for those.

stator

Yeah I would wait for the full report. I was disappointed when the full report included extra stuff he hadn't mentioned on the phone.

ognum

I would be worried by the damp patch caused by another property, how will you get that fixed?

Owain_Moneysaver

Bossypants wrote: »

- Damp patch on the back wall in the kitchen, attributable to a flaw in the waterproofing of the upstairs' neighbours' roof terrace. In his own estimation very fixable.

The problem with that is not the actual fixing it, but being confident that the neighbour will fix it promptly - which they appear to not have done in the past - and any legal arrangements for sharing of costs.

Bossypants

ognum wrote: »

I would be worried by the damp patch caused by another property, how will you get that fixed?

I'm going to pop up and have a word with them next time I'm over there. They seem like reasonable people (a couple in their 60's), and the leak is on their patio (which you walk across to get into the flat, so no access to their inside space required), getting it fixed shouldn't be invasive from their perspective, especially if I offer to pay for it.


If that doesn't work, I would need to get the freeholder involved, I suppose? I'll be speaking to them prior to exchange, though, so if they seem awkward I will know about it in good time.

Bossypants

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

The problem with that is not the actual fixing it, but being confident that the neighbour will fix it promptly - which they appear to not have done in the past - and any legal arrangements for sharing of costs.

The folks upstairs have just bought the property a couple of months ago. The previous set-up was that both flats were owned by my vendor, who was using the upstairs as a holiday pad and letting out the lower one (mine). They've now sold up to retire abroad, which they will have known about for a little while and may just have said eh, let the new owners deal with it.

ognum

Bossypants wrote: »

The folks upstairs have just bought the property a couple of months ago. The previous set-up was that both flats were owned by my vendor, who was using the upstairs as a holiday pad and letting out the lower one (mine). They've now sold up to retire abroad, which they will have known about for a little while and may just have said eh, let the new owners deal with it.

My gut tells me it's not an easy fix then! If the vendor owned both properties and new this would come up at survey why would they not have fixed it when the opportunity of two empty properties arose?

I think you may find its not an easy fix and a costly one!