Home buyer survey report...urgent...advice needed ... pleassee

Mocha61

Home buyer report can be scary but if you are in any doubt about costs get someone in to give a quote.it depends what budget you have to do repairs.

teneighty

c.redfern wrote: »

"The main roof is not lined internally where visible however the underside of the
rafters have been lined with boarding and polythene which should be removed to
allow proper ventilation.
The roof coverings are old, badly weathered and very uneven in places and repairs will be required. Several tiles are damaged and missing.
The ridge tiles and hip tiles are uneven. The bedding mortar under the ridge tile is loose and is missing in places.
A few tiles on the rear single storey section are damaged, broken and spalling."
This is clearly indicating that the roof is reaching the end of its life. Get a roofer to inspect and quote for repairs and probably expect to have to pay for a complete re-roof in the next 5 years or so if not sooner.

"High damp meter readings were recorded in the kitchen which we believe is the
result of an inadequate damp-proof course and high ground levels.
The damp-proof course on the side at the rear of the property is within 150mm of
external ground levels in places and should be lowered"
Get it inspected by a damp proofing company or independent damp surveyor. May be a simple fix, may be expensive. Until it is checked and the cause properly identified you are taking a gamble.

"wall plaster has blown and is loose in areas"
Get quotes for re-plastering, it can be expensive if the whole house needs doing.

" An internal wall in the front living room and kitchen has been removed but we
cannot confirm if loads have been properly redistributed as the work is now
concealed."
Ask vender for details of Building Regulations approval and Completion Certificate. If they haven't got them assume it is dodgy and get it inspected by a Structural Engineer. It will require opening up so vendor will not be happy.

"Where access could be obtained, the underground drainage system was full of
standing water and should be cleared and checked."
Get a drain survey done. If the drains have collapsed it is very expensive to replace.


Below are amber points:
The stack appears in satisfactory condition but masonry is weathered in places.
The mortar base (flaunching) to the pot is very weathered. Localised repairs are
required which will mean working at height.

The loft is poorly ventilated and there are signs of condensation and mould

The rainwater gulley on the side of the property is dilapidated and requires attention.
All above are minor maintenance issues.

Thanks for reading

A more cynical interpretation of the survey results. I was worried that some responses were rather dismissive of what could be major and very expensive remedial work, are some of you estate agents by any chance or just disgruntled vendors?

Unless you are prepared to get these things checked out thoroughly and costed accurately before you exchange contracts you are taking a hell of a gamble. That is the purpose of a Homebuyers Report, it just flags up potential problems that the buyer then has more detailed investigations carried out on as necessary.

Good Luck

mikeyrp

teneighty wrote: »

A more cynical interpretation of the survey results. I was worried that some responses were rather dismissive of what could be major and very expensive remedial work, are some of you estate agents by any chance or just disgruntled vendors?

Unless you are prepared to get these things checked out thoroughly and costed accurately before you exchange contracts you are taking a hell of a gamble. That is the purpose of a Homebuyers Report, it just flags up potential problems that the buyer then has more detailed investigations carried out on as necessary.

Good Luck

Totally agree teneighty. Very wise advice...

CRedfern if you follow teneigty's advice you won't go wrong . I was about to buy my dream house, invest 140k of my savings in refurbing the place but wisely spent 2k on surveyors reports which showed serious structural problems. It hurt but I had to walk but at least my savings,pride and sanity are all intact. Don't gamble...

makeitstop

G_M wrote: »

Set aside a budget of £100 - £300 for repairs/maintenance. Welcome to home ownership!

Or employ a building firm, with scafolding, and 'specialist' roofers, plumbers, drainers, etc and pay £3000.

Agree with much of your post and potential fixes, but, the budget is a bit out IMO.

£300 is likely to evaporate in getting the roof sorted alone. That's no DIY job either, unless you are wiling to take the risk.

Having now read the rest of this thread, I fully agree with teneighty's post above. Many of the isuses could be fairly innoccuous, but could also be potential money pits.

ikorodu

Your timescale for purchase seems overly optimistic. If you have just got the report (which should be one of the first things you get done once having an offer accepted) then exchanging and completing a week or so later is not enough time.

If I were you I'd :

Ask your conveyancer to ask the vendors about the building regs and blocked drains. I would refuse to exchange until the vendors either produce the completion cert for the wall removal or have confirmation of the work being sound by a structural eng. Similarly insist the the drains are cleared and a drainage survey done. The vendors may refuse to do this. At this point you need to decide if you want to pay for this before you exchange. This depends upon how much you want the house.

It sound like it will need a new roof soon and possibly damp proof course. You could approach the estate agent with this information and ask for a reduction in price. This maybe refused.

Ultimately you need to decide if the house still represents good value to you.

Now is the time to sort this before you exchange.

Good luck!

Owain_Moneysaver

Minor damage to the external roof etc is not particularly worrying, but this is:

The main roof is not lined internally where visible however the underside of the rafters have been lined with boarding and polythene

The loft is poorly ventilated and there are signs of condensation and mould

Nobody sensible would line the underside of rafters with boarding and polythene, so this is a complete bodge job - and the question is why was it bodged like this - to conceal more serious leaks or a need for reroofing?

If this has been in place long enough then there is a possibility that the roof timbers have started to rot. This could require major repair work to the entire roof structure of the house.

I would require the seller to open up the boarding and have a surveyor check for damp and rot throughout the roof structure.

c.redfern

Thanks for the replies
Were of round to the house now to have another look. The vendor is a builder and has said no work needs doing and he will talk us through it all. Just worried about being fobbed off

ikorodu

c.redfern wrote: »

Thanks for the replies
Were of round to the house now to have another look. The vendor is a builder and has said no work needs doing and he will talk us through it all. Just worried about being fobbed off

Sounds like he'll be doing some serious fobbing!

I wouldn't show him the whole report but just the edited highlights as you postef here. If he want a survey he should pay for them.

It's very hard to judge these things from a distance on the Internet but in my experience you need to be prepared to walk away from a purchase of it smells wrong. I'd rather miss out on a bargain than have a very expensive mistake.

pc1271

I the vendor is a builder and reckons they're all easy and cheap things to fix, perhaps he would agree to do the work before exchanging contracts.

teneighty

c.redfern wrote: »

Thanks for the replies
Were of round to the house now to have another look. The vendor is a builder and has said no work needs doing and he will talk us through it all. Just worried about being fobbed off

Seriously?

The very last person you should taking advice from is the vendor.

I give up.