Survey? what does it all mean? please help

mazy_m

Hi all,

So I've just had my survey back and there was a few things on there which are causing me a bit of concern.

Overall it's mostly ones but the 2s and 3s seem to me to be biggies.

I'm no expect or even novice in this field so admit I know nothing to do with this.
Would anyone that does understand help me to understand what it all means and the costs that are likely to be incurred for these. If it's too much once I take the property on it's a no no so we'd have to pull out of the sale. Which I don't really want to do.

I didn't want to buy anywhere that needed major work done. We're not buying a new house so do expect to be making general repairs but not massive ones straight away if that makes sense and some of these seem to say urgent repairs.

Also based on the survey I don't want to be an annoying buyer asking for everything as I'm a reasonable person but what do I need to ask them to do or to take into consideration for costs?

Or is it actually not a bad report and I'm worrying over nothing?

Thanks so much in advance!

Here are the sections that are a concern:

Limitations to inspection
As it was not raining at the time of the inspection I cannot confirm the rainwater goods are free from leaks.
Some of the external joinery such as fascias and soffits have been covered or replaced with uPVC. The condition of the underlying material and fixings cannot be determined.


2E1Chimney stacks
There is one chimney stack located along the ridge of the roof, built of brick with the flashing waterproofed with lead. Waterproof to the top of the chimney stacks (flaunching) is cement mortar. There is one pot fitted.
There are defects including poor pointing and loose brickwork. Repairs are required and a closer inspection should be carried out to assess the extent of the work.
The disused flue should be capped and ventilated to prevent dampness problems developing.
Scaffolding or other means of safe access will be required to carry out repairs, increasing the cost significantly.

2E2Roof coverings
The main roof is pitched and ridged design and covered with interlocking concrete tiles, fixed over a secondary waterproof barrier.
I saw no evidence of pitched roofing defects within the scope of my inspection and report.
Roofs of many neighbouring properties have been recovered and this indicates the covering to this property may be near the end useful life, although there are no obvious signs of serious defects at present, you should budget for replacement.
The presence of moss was noted on the roof tiles. Moss growth impedes run off of rainwater, causes deterioration of the covering, leads to blockages in rainwater goods, which may cause water penetration and lead to rot or other defects. The roof is unlikely to comply with current requirements in terms of insulation and ventilation and may be prone to problems developing within the structure, which can go undetected. You should allow for upgrading these elements when the covering is renewed.

2E6Outside doors
(including patio doors)
Doors are of uPVC type with sealed unit double glazing.
There is misting to some of the sealed units indicating failure of the edge seals, notably the lower units in the rear door. Faulty units will need replacement. Deterioration to other units should be anticipated.
The doors that were opened operated satisfactorily during my inspection.

2F1Roof structure
The part loft conversion does not appear to conform to current Building
Regulations, particularly in respect of floor strengthening and fire precautions, as well as the lack of fixed access. This area cannot therefore be considered as providing habitable accommodation. Legal adviser to confirm whether consents have been obtained for the alteration. The area is only recommended for use as a storage for lightweight items. See J3.

1F2Ceilings
Ceilings are of plasterboard type.
I saw no evidence of defects to the ceilings within the scope of my inspection and report.
There may be asbestos material within the 'Artex' type finish to the lounge ceiling. This may represent a health risk and you should take care during repair, maintenance or removal.

3F3Walls and partitions
Internal walls and partitions are a mix of solid and lightweight construction. Dampness is present to isolated areas of the ground floor walls including the rear wall of the lounge and kitchen, the front right hand corner of the lounge and the areas at the base of the chimney breast. Adjacent timbers may be affected by timber decay I suspect this is due to rising dampness. ( Is this really really really bad?)
I recommend you obtain a report and quotation from a Property Care Association (PCA) contractor for the work required. ( will this be expensive and do we pay or should the vendor?)

Electricity
Safety warning: The Electrical Safety Council recommends that you should get a registered electrician to check the property and its electrical fittings at least every ten years, or on change of occupancy. All electrical installation work undertaken after 1 January 2005 should have appropriate certification. For more advice contact the Electrical Safety Council.
3Although I have not tested the system I saw no evidence to suggest defects within
the scope of my inspection and report.
If a recent test certificate, dated within the last 12 months, is not available for the installation then I recommend it is tested. See I2 and J3. ( surely there should be a certificate avilable if it was last sold a couple of years ago?)

2H2
Other
The property incorporates two outbuildings located to the left side of the property. Substantial repair and improvement is required to the outbuildings, including providing adequate support to the brickwork above the front window, overhauling/replacing defective external joinery together with repair/replacement of the roof which was found to be sagging.
The roof covering is thought to contain asbestos which may represent a health risk. You should take care when carrying out repairs, maintenance or removal. These could be expensive.

H3
General
The property has a average size site which is relatively flat.
Outside areas have generally been maintained to an acceptable standard.
The paving is in poor condition with defects including several uneven areas which could represent a trip hazard and repair or replacement is required. See J3.

I1 Regulation
Legal adviser should verify that consent or certification exists for the following features: F9 : Other – loft conversion.

I2 Guarantees
Your legal adviser should asked to establish if guarantees or test certificates exist for the following features:
E5 : Windows – double glazing.
G1 : Electricity – test certificate.
G4 : Heating – servicing records.

J1 Risks to the building
E1: Chimney stacks - leaking flashings. E4: Walls - dampness to external walls.
J2 Risks to the grounds
None.
J3 Risks to people
F9: Other - loft conversion. G1: Electricity.

Now it's all out on here is seems like a lot of things wrong or work to me. Is it? or is this just the way that these Surveys and sound that seem so scary?
One other concern which I'm not even sure is an issue is will the reinstatement cost being £27,000 more than what they think the house is worth on the market make my insurance especially high? (as below)
In my opinion the Market Value on 10 SEP 2015 as inspected was:
Seventy Thousand Pounds.£70,000
(amount in words)
Tenure Freehold. Area of property (sq m)* 75
* Approximate gross external area of the building or flat.
In my opinion the current reinstatement cost of the property (see note below) is:
Ninety Seven Thousand Pounds.£97,000
Apologies it's so long and that's to anyone kind enough to have a look at it for us.

kellaree

It doesn't sound too bad to me, how much have you offered for the house?

LEJC

How was the property marketed in relation to the loft room....is that a bedroom and as such are you paying for a bedroom or was it marketed as x bedrooms plus loft space...

thats potentially the only point that would be a major for me ....the others are quite easily rectified or are just observations

chile_paul

It doesn't sound too bad for me. My comments:

Roof - approaching the end of it's natural life. You should budget for the fact that you might have to spend between £4k-8k at some point in the next 10 years to have it replaced (based on my experience of quotes to replace roofs of houses I've owned); however you should only do this when problems start to occur and you may never have to do it whilst you own the house.

Damp - this might be more of a concern. Your choice, but it might be worthwhile getting a specialist damp and timber survey done (expect to spend circa £100-£150)

Electrics - fairly standard comment in all house surveys. Again you could spend circa £70-80 to get an electrical inspection done to give you peace of mind (I wouldn't myself as long as I'd checked the fuse board myself and it looked as though it had been installed relatively recently)

Outbuildings - these sound more of a concern. Difficult to say more without knowing what they are and what you are planning to do with them? If they are no more than a shed which you're planning for storage I wouldn't worry too much.

Rambosmum

Really doesn't sound to bad to me. Most of it is the usual blurb put in by surveyors (e.g. the rainwater bits and the electrics).

Your likely to need a new roof - whilst this is being done get the chimney looked at (and removed it if isn't being used). as PP said, 4 - 8k depending on size and your area.

The doors and windows are probably fine but could do with replacing at some point as the seals have gone , that can be done in time.

The damp may or may not be an issue -possibly get a specialist damp survey, shop around for quotes, some let you redeem the cost of the quote back from the work if you have it done.

If the loft conversion isn't a bedroom then I wouldn't worry - if it is being marketed as a bedroom then you'll need to get your solicitor to check that it has the relevant planning/ building regs.

societys_child

2E1Chimney stacks
Had almost identical work done 3 weeks ago, 1 man, just over 2 hours, no scaffolding reqd - £120
May need a re-roof in the future, but you can say that about any property, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years ???
Can usually get insulation upgraded for free.
Does he say that "possible lack of ventilation2 has caused any problems in the (how many) years since it was built? More back covering.

Sounds like the loft is for storage only?

Failed glazing units can be replaced or repaired (search: widow doctor) but not urgent.

The lounge ceiling may contain asbestos or may not. Even if it does, provided you don't start scraping it off without due care, it won't hurt anyone.

Depends what is causing the damp, could be simply that the exterior ground levels are breaching the damp course, but I can't tell from here . . .
Damp around the chimney breast, might be cured if the stacks are repaired?

You don't need an electrical cert to sell a house unless notifiable work has been carried out since 2005.. What's the consumer unit (fuse box) look like?

Heating servicing records are not needed to sell a house.

can't comment on outbuildings/ uneven paving etc, but 27k :eek:
where do these surveyors get their figures from . . .?

mazy_m

Hi all thanks so much. You've really alleviated my fears that's what so great about this forum. When you're a FTB and everything seems crazy scary the experience of you all speaks volumes and helps worriers like me stop!


The £70,000 is bang on what I offered. It was up for about £5,000 more. I'd looked at other properties that sold etc and thought this was a really fair offer based on what they'd paid and done to it cosmetically and what it looked like it would be worth. Quite proud I got it spot on!Although not sure if they're privy to that and use it as a guide. I wouldn't have paid anymore to be honest so was glad they accepted.


Ok I'll try and answer all the questions: It's marketed as a 2/3 bedroom property with loft space. The bigger of the two bedrooms has been converted into a room with an adjacent study/dressing room which is why I think most of the literature states two.


They haven't tried to market the loft space as habitable. The OH wanted to turn it into his "den" where he can go and just veg out on a games console and maybe put a desk there to study and get peace and quiet- ha ha he didn't go as far as saying from you! But also it will have just small bits and bots that aren't suitable for storing outdoors there also.


With it saying it's not habitable would it still be ok for him to have a desk up there or it is not really recommended? Now I'm a bit worried he might fall through one day!


I completely agree with you all about the roof etc. I plan on staying there for the duration of the mortgage at least 15 years so I was anticipating having to do the room and other smaller bits so not too worried about that. Just hope it doesn't cost 8K that's over 10% of the property price! ekk!


The electrics do you know this is really bad but I don't remember looking at it but my OH will. Do you think it's ok to ask the vendor to take a picture of it for us?


The outbuilding I'm not so concerned about as I'll only be using those are outdoor storage areas and maybe if I want to decorate a piece or furniture or paint something. They were just an added bonus really. Uneven paving shouldn't be an issue we're both luckily mobile and usually have our wits about us and no kids running around falling over!!


The ceiling etc I was happy with how it was decorated they have very similar tastes to me so there were only a few things I would change and I the ceiling isn't something I'm too worried about how it looks.


The damp is the main thing that's making me go ekkkk.


As long as the vendor is ok with me asking a damp and timber surveyor to go in there then I'll be happy with a report on that and if it come back fine I'll be really happy to continue proceeding. It really didn't seem at all like there was a hint of damp when we looked around compared to other properties so I was a bit stumped.

I also am thinking along the lines of Halifax not seeming to be concerned about that as they haven't given the offer subject to a damp andt

mazy_m

sorry about the abrupt ending there!! cat decided to jump on the laptop and then it restarted!! lol!




So I was saying that Halifax haven't asked for damp and timber report before agreeing to the mortgage so in a way I feel that's a positive thing? Although this could be because they don't see the survey.


I did get a quote for the survey from one local company for £300 including the roof and he said they due to the age of the property 1955 it was unlikely to be rising damp and said something about fiscal.... something. I couldn't quite listen properly as there were two kids outside my office arguing and then I had to get off the phone quickly in case it broke out into a fight. I'm going to call around again tomorrow and get some more quotes when I have some peace and quiet lol!


I know doesn't the average house cost 100k to build? I'm sure I read that somewhere but how does that work with properties that are on the market for under that? It confused me!!


Thanks so much again for all your help everyone!

chile_paul

mazy_m wrote: »

The electrics do you know this is really bad but I don't remember looking at it but my OH will. Do you think it's ok to ask the vendor to take a picture of it for us?

That is an option, but you'll probably struggle to get a really good picture that will show you the surrounding area. My suggestion would be:

1. Tell the vendor that the survey has raised a concern about the electrics and ask them to provide a test certificate from within the last 12 months (expect to be refused, but it doesn't hurt to ask, you never know they might already have one!!)
2. 2. Ask them when they last had any electrical work done in the property and ask them to confirm that they have the appropriate building regulations certificate - this is something that your solicitor should be checking anyway. If they have something from within the last few years this should given confidence that there aren't any major problems as the electrician wouldn't have had to check that the electrics were up to standard
3. Ask for a second viewing - go and check the fuseboard for yourself and make sure you are happy with it. Also check out some of the other areas identified in the survey i.e. have a really good check for any signs of damp in the areas that were raised as concerns by the survey

Kermie

Reiterating what Chile_Paul said, I'd go for a second viewing with the survey in hand and check these things out for yourself. Check the height of the soil/paving on the outside wall where the damp is reported. Or is there a drainpipe which empties out next to it. That's more likely to be the cause of damp.
Speaking from experience we really didn't see many of the things the survey picked up on the first house we'd offered on until we went round again with the survey. We ended up pulling out of that, so it's definitely worth a second look. But as everyone else says, these are all pretty much standard survey comments (do they just cut and paste!?) so nothing too worrying.

mazy_m

Hi thanks so much for the ideas.

I'm going to ask the EA to ask the vendors about this to do with the electricity. I've already told then I'm a bit concerned with some 3s and 2s on there. I've not heard back from them either when they're usually quick.

The house is pretty far away so I'm not really doing to be able to go and see it again any time soon. Perhaps around the beginning of October as we're heading to a wedding ( nearly near there!)
By then everything else should be a lot more underway so I need to know more now.

I was actually going to ask to go and see it around the beginning of Oct when we were there to measure up etc for curtains blinds and a washing machine as these are things we're going to have to buy.

In the meantime I'll going to email all the questions to the EA and I'm getting an independent damp and timber survey done.

Ha Ha I think they may cut and paste one of my ends in the middle of an explanation so I've asked the surveyor to ring me to explain some of them and it also contradicts itself in some places which is confusing.

Oh any ideas of what questions would be good to ask the Surveyor or how to word it.

Thanks so much again