Homebuyers report and DPC - lots of questions!

purplestar133

We've finally got our Homebuyer's Report back on a 1900s mid terrace we're buying (FTBers) and there are a few red, level 3 issues. The main one is damp in the walls. The surveyor could not identify the cause of the damp.

It says where visible there is a chemical injected DPC but the walls are showing high levels of damp in the lounge, kitchen and rear entrance and that we should query whether it is covered by a guarantee or get a qualified person in to produce a report.

Should we ask the solicitor about this or the estate agent?

I somehow doubt it will be covered by guarantee so am expecting to have to pay for a new DPC. I don't even know where to start! How do I arrange this and when? The surveyor says asking for a report from a qualified person will cause parts of the property to be disturbed and we should discuss this with the current owner. What sort of disruption does it cause? What does a DPC actually involve? I've heard it will ruin the plaster.

I suppose I should get quotes from a few damp proofing companies but if it disturbs part of the property, surely I'm likely to face obstruction from the vendor?

Other red level 3 issues were that there was no evidence the multifuel burner was installed correctly, and no evidence of an electricity or gas heating installation or inspection certificate and that I should seek to get that evidence. Can I ask the vendors to arrange inspections and certificates that all is ok? What if they say no?

He also valued the house at £5,000 less than our offer price, despite the mortgage valuation (with a different surveyor) saying it was worth the offer price.

He estimated £3,100 for the cost of repairs and suggested I renegotiate the price of the house.

Should I ask for it at £5,000 less or less the estimated cost of repairs? Should I ring the estate agent for that or have the solicitor do it?

One last thing. He acknowledges that the loft conversion can only be called an occasional room as it won't meet building regulations (low height, ladder/staircase) but then later in 'issues to ask your legal adviser' advises to ask whether the roof conversion has received building regulation approval. Are the loft and roof considered different?

Sorry for all the questions, just don't know where to start!

G_M

http://www.askjeff.co.uk/rising-damp/

If you want further inspections it is up to you to arrange/pay for them.

Never get a (free) damp report from a company that installs dpc. They are likely to recommend.... a new dpc. Now I wonder why?

If there is no Building Regs certificate, you will need to decide if you are happy with the risk

* of the council demanding removal/ alteration to the conversion (negligible)
* of getting trapped in a fire due to poor escape route
* of the loft floor collapsing due to insufficient support

If the risks worry you, either

* walk away and find another property
* budget to get BR approval after you move in (including any remedial work) and/or
* re-negotiate the purchase price

purplestar133

G_M wrote: »

http://www.askjeff.co.uk/rising-damp/

If you want further inspections it is up to you to arrange/pay for them.

Never get a (free) damp report from a company that installs dpc. They are likely to recommend.... a new dpc. Now I wonder why?

If there is no Building Regs certificate, you will need to decide if you are happy with the risk

* of the council demanding removal/ alteration to the conversion (negligible)
* of getting trapped in a fire due to poor escape route
* of the loft floor collapsing due to insufficient support

If the risks worry you, either

* walk away and find another property
* budget to get BR approval after you move in (including any remedial work) and/or
* re-negotiate the purchase price

Thanks. So we should ask for certification that the gas and elec are ok, but if they don't have certificates, we'll have to pay to get them ourselves? We'll also need to find out if the multifuel stove was put in properly.

Thanks for the link. Our surveyor was an independent surveyor but I suppose he was not a 'damp specialist'. I had a look on this site: http://www.independentdampsurveyors.co.uk/ which I saw on a thread a while back but no-one covers my area (Sheffield). Do you know any other way of finding a independent damp surveyor, other than just picking from a list on google or the yellow pages?

G_M

http://www.niceic.com/ elecrical report

http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/ gas report

http://www.hetas.co.uk/find-installer/ solid fuel report

purplestar133

Should I be asking the vendors these questions through the estate agents or through the solicitor?

I have spoken to the solicitor today and she's asked me to send her the homebuyers report which I have done, along with my queries.

The estate agent has phoned as well though and asked me if I've had the results of the survey and to get back to her if it brings up any issues.

Who should I be talking to?!

At what point should I talk about renegotiating the offer price? Do I need to wait for the answers to my questions first or should I do it sooner rather than later? And should I do it through the estate agent or the solicitor?!

makeitstop

purplestar133 wrote: »

Should I be asking the vendors these questions through the estate agents or through the solicitor?

I have spoken to the solicitor today and she's asked me to send her the homebuyers report which I have done, along with my queries.

The estate agent has phoned as well though and asked me if I've had the results of the survey and to get back to her if it brings up any issues.

Who should I be talking to?!

At what point should I talk about renegotiating the offer price? Do I need to wait for the answers to my questions first or should I do it sooner rather than later? And should I do it through the estate agent or the solicitor?!

So far, this property sounds like a headache, and potentially, a large one.

You need to get the info from the HBR to the vendors agent and make it clear you have major concerns. I think it would also be the time to "suggest" that the offer made is likely to need to be revised down, due to the level of work it appears (currently) to require to bring this house up to standard.

Whatever you do, do not be afraid to speak up and spell it out that you have serious concerns over a number of issues with the property, and, stress that any other buyer who has a decent survey carried out is likely to find themselves in the same situation. From there, perhaps suggest that you are keen to proceed, but only if you are able to feel satisfied that you are not overpaying for a house which is going to need an unknown amount extra to get it sorted.

Speak to a few professionals about rough quotes and add it up before you go back to the agent with a revised offer. Make it clear to them that you are consulting various advice to find the best way forward, but that the way forward WILL involve a downward revised offer.

If all the work carried out at the house looks immaculate and well finished, then it's likely that all will be well, but if it's ropey and a bit shoddy looking, then chances are it'll be costing money to put it right.

Good luck.

makeitstop

Sorry, meant to respond to your question about who to respond to and the timeframe of that.

Speak to the vendors agent, tell them of your concerns, state that you are speaking to a few people for some advice and tell them you'll be back to them within a few days (your choice how long, but two three is fair).

Make it clear that you need to feel comfortable before you proceed.

That should at least let them know you are not going to be any pushover.

purplestar133

I have spoken to the estate agent saying the property was valued at £5,000 less than the offer price and she has asked me to send the homebuyer's report through for her to look at.


Is this normal practice? I just feel like she might look at it and think they are small problems - though they are big to me! Shall I perhaps just send the pages with the problems on?

paulsad

Welcome to the world of buying properties, you are in a big pond surrounded by sharks (or pike) ready to relieve you of your hard earned cash. You'll be given advice from people who get paid to give you advice as long as it's advice that can't affect them in the future so it's usually bad news. Your house may have a damp problem but the good news is all the chains on the plugs attaching them to the sinks are in good order! There are no certificates for the windows - so they are more than likely to fall out at any moment, ditto the heating which the moment you buy it will cease to work even though it worked when you viewed.
It's a wonder any of us move anywhere.

purplestar133

Now the estate agent has asked to see my mortgage valuation which values the house at the offer price as opposed to the Homebuyer's report which values the house as £5,000 less than the offer price.


I suppose I've got no chance of negotiating a lower price once they've seen that.


The homebuyer's report does say the house needs £3,000 of repairs though so I do think I've got grounds to ask for a slight reduction. Arguing that with this estate agent seems like it will be difficult.