FTB, just got survey report, help please!

malihat

We are just buying our first flat, and have always lived with family so don't know much about these things and any help would be appreciated!

It seems like there are no major problems and the valuation matches our offer.

1. Medium priority: There are signs that the fascia boards are deteriorating which may indicate that the gutters are defective. Instruct a contractor to overhaul the gutters replacing any defective sections.

2. Medium priority: External Joinery-Fascia and soffit boards are constructed in timber. The fascia boards are heavily deteriorating and must be replaced. This is due to the defective gutters. Instruct a contractor to replace defective fascia boards.

3. Where seen, the drains and chambers appear to be slightly blocked with waste and debris, this could possibly be due to the drains being blocked slightly. Before Exchange: Have an appropriate drains specialist inspect and test the drainage system. The contractor should provide an estimate for any recommended works.

4. There were a number of high damp meter readings particularly in the rear bedroom. Surveyor thinks these are because of condensation. The window ledge in the rear bedroom is heavily deteriorating and rotten in a few places. This will need to be replaced. Instruct a contractor to replace the defective window ledge.

5. Joinery: There are softwood timber skirtings and timber internal doors. There are a few areas where the skirting boards are heavily deteriorating as the paintwork is scratched and chipped.
Kitchen fittings appear serviceable in the short term but are dated and ideally require replacement which will be expensive.
Obtain estimates for refitting the kitchen.
Instruct a contractor to overhaul skirting boards.

6. Have an NICEIC qualified contractor test the electrical circuits and installations (including external supplies) and provide an estimate for all necessary works.

7. Have a Gas Safe registered Heating engineer safety test the gas supply and appliances.

8. Have a Gas Safe registered engineer service and test the heating system before you exchange.

Any idea what each of these might cost and where we could go to get quotes for this? We don't want to spend a lot of money, but at the same time, we don't want to move in and then discover a host of expensive issues.

Sagaris

No idea of the cost, sorry, but when we needed reputable workmen we looked on our local council's website. They have a list of people who have been recommended by others who have had work done by them - we found an excellent central heating engineer on ours. Good luck!

malihat

Sagaris wrote: »

No idea of the cost, sorry, but when we needed reputable workmen we looked on our local council's website. They have a list of people who have been recommended by others who have had work done by them - we found an excellent central heating engineer on ours. Good luck!

Thank you, I'll look into this!

Doozergirl

Soffits and fascias would be a roofer's job, normally. They clearly need replacing. If younare in a flat then the responsibility of who shares the cost and who organises it is detailed in the lease. It's a job in the £00s rather than £000s. uPVC materials are dirt cheap, it's labour cost.

I'd have your vendor check the drains. Or at least pay for a CCTV survey. In theory, the drains are shared and may be the responsibility of the water company, although I'd expect to pay for jetting them myself if the blockage were ours. Jetting and CCTV might be £150? Anything worse, I'd speak to water company.

Skirtings, architraves, window boards are a carpenter's domain. Inexpensive to buy, cost would be £00s, not £000s again. Mainly labour.

I'd ask the vendors to have the boiler serviced and provide a cert, perhaps. They should be doing it as a matter of course.

Electrician will probably charge £100 for a proper test.

Dampness? Only meter readings and no visual evidence? Unlikely to be an issue but keep an eye once you've moved.

MisterB1959

if youre buying a flat, then normally anything external is not a problem you can resolve. you need to check what the lease states, I would suggest your real priority is finding out whats in the lease and how much you will be paying per month AND if any major works are planned, because you will be required to contribute to the cost. my daughter started off paying £1100 per year for maintenance etc and it rose to £2k per year within 2 years!! not trying to scare you but you need to know about any hidden future costs that you will incur

Rambosmum

If it's a flat then the external bits- guttering, facias and drains are likely to be joint responsibility, covered either by service charge or joint contributions. You need to check the leasehold (ask your solicitor) as you don't want to be responsible for the entire building!

cloo

None of these sound too terrible to me. You may want to get a quote for the windows and gutters and see if you can negotiate with vendors, but it's all stuff that can be dealt with over time.

DRP

Normal maintenance issues unless there's a drain problem.

Give the surveyor a ring and get an off the record opinion of the place.

Ask vendor for service record of boiler.

nicegirl

I would second DRP's suggestion of having an off the record chat with your surveyor. I did this on Monday about my survey and he was really helpful. Remember that when they do the survey they have to make sure they have covered their backs, so sometimes things can sound worse than they are.

malihat

Doozergirl wrote: »

Soffits and fascias would be a roofer's job, normally. They clearly need replacing. If younare in a flat then the responsibility of who shares the cost and who organises it is detailed in the lease. It's a job in the £00s rather than £000s. uPVC materials are dirt cheap, it's labour cost.

I'd have your vendor check the drains. Or at least pay for a CCTV survey. In theory, the drains are shared and may be the responsibility of the water company, although I'd expect to pay for jetting them myself if the blockage were ours. Jetting and CCTV might be £150? Anything worse, I'd speak to water company.

Skirtings, architraves, window boards are a carpenter's domain. Inexpensive to buy, cost would be £00s, not £000s again. Mainly labour.

I'd ask the vendors to have the boiler serviced and provide a cert, perhaps. They should be doing it as a matter of course.

Electrician will probably charge £100 for a proper test.

Dampness? Only meter readings and no visual evidence? Unlikely to be an issue but keep an eye once you've moved.

Rambosmum wrote: »

If it's a flat then the external bits- guttering, facias and drains are likely to be joint responsibility, covered either by service charge or joint contributions. You need to check the leasehold (ask your solicitor) as you don't want to be responsible for the entire building!

Thank you for all your help. I have now emailed my solicitor regarding the external problems as I do think that we would not be liable for them under the terms of the lease.

MisterB1959 wrote: »

if youre buying a flat, then normally anything external is not a problem you can resolve. you need to check what the lease states, I would suggest your real priority is finding out whats in the lease and how much you will be paying per month AND if any major works are planned, because you will be required to contribute to the cost. my daughter started off paying £1100 per year for maintenance etc and it rose to £2k per year within 2 years!! not trying to scare you but you need to know about any hidden future costs that you will incur

The service charge is currently £50/month. Our solicitor has asked the management company if any major works are planned and if the service charge will increase substantially in the near future, and they have said no.