Got my survey results back

Andrew_Ryan_89

Hey guys,

I am buying a property in Harold Wood/Hill and I got my survey results back today. The areas that were rated 3, being serious and in need of repair or replacement were -

• Gutters having a defective seal
• Patio doors sliding mechanism needing a overhaul
• Tiling in the shower cubicle needs to be fixed
• Electrician to investigate as there was no safety certificate
• Stop valve on water supply being stuck
• Garden Shed needs to be rebuilt
• Tiles on front doorstep cracked

Don't know how to approach this. The Report states that the current reinstatement cost of this property is £125,000. That can't be the total cost of repairs for this house which is in pretty good condition overall..

The house was on the market for £260k-£270k and we put in an offer for £285k. Should I renegotiate the cost? Should my solicitor be helping me with a decision on this?

I'm so lost. I expected the worse with the survey and to be honest it's not bad at all. Nothing really serious but it would be great to know and have help with some my options.

lincroft1710

Those seem pretty minimal to me. Stop valve probably needs a decent pair of pliers or a wrench to free it. Safety certificate for what? All the electrics? Most houses will have electrics which may be perfectly safe, but don't meet current standards. Unless the consumer board is ancient, the electrics are probably OK.

Reinstatement value is the cost to demolish the remains and totally rebuild after a fire or very serious subsidence. You can see how much of the house price is attributable to the land value - over 60%!

fed_up_and_stressed

Nothing at all major on that list.

DaftyDuck

Reinstatement cost is irrelevant. That's the cost to rebuild the property, shold you burn it to the ground after a heavy party. It's nearly always much lower than the value of the house. There may (or may not) be a valuation in the report somewhere....

However, the list you have given is all easy stuff. Gutter seal... £1:00 tube of gutter mastic at a pinch, then replace the defective clip (might cost a fiver). Patio doors... might just need oiling or adjusting. There's a thread on here about tiling that anyone/only a professional can do it... Does it need doing right now to stop a leak? Maybe regrout and live with it...

Almost no house for sale does have an electrical certificate... doesn't mean it's dangerous (and, in fact, a certificate doesn't mean it's safe either). Stop valve stuck... try gently loosening it, or even a little WD40... or a plumber will fit a new one for ~ £100. Garden shed... pah!

Tiles on front doorstep... serious! A trip hazard, and you could be sued... well, you could... maybe... Just fix those yourself, quick trip (hah) to B&Q (other, better, tile centres do exist), taking a photo and asking ... what do I need to sort that out? and the geezer will sell you what you need (and a lot of what you don't need as well...)


You don't have subsidence, rot, worm, fire damage, major leaks, brick weevil or poltergeist, if the survey is to be believed...

But... the REALLY scary bit....

The house was on the market for £260k-£270k and we put in an offer for £285k.

Why? Is the market on fire where you live? Can't be London, with those prices, surely?

Editing... Damn work!

G_M

Andrew_Ryan_89 wrote: »

Hey guys,

I am buying a property in Harold Wood/Hill and I got my survey results back today. The areas that were rated 3, being serious and in need of repair or replacement were -

• Gutters having a defective seal
• Patio doors sliding mechanism needing a overhaul
• Tiling in the shower cubicle needs to be fixed
• Electrician to investigate as there was no safety certificate
• Stop valve on water supply being stuck
• Garden Shed needs to be rebuilt
• Tiles on front doorstep cracked

Don't know how to approach this.

Put all these minor items on your 'to do' list to fix in the 12-24 months following Completion.

(Except the stopcock - do this in the first week or two:

* spray with WD40
* wait 15 minutes, spray again
* use wrench/spanner etc with a steady pressure. The stopcock will almost certainly free up
* close it fully, re-open it and twist a few times to ensure it is moving freely
* open it fully and then make a half-turn towards the close position

Sorted. You can now relax knowing that when you do any plumbing DIY, or have a plumbing emergency, you can turn off the water at the mains.

Dan-Dan

The garden shed one made me laugh , thank your surveyor for me , cheers!

G_M

Trouble seems to be (from reading posts on the dorum) that surveyors list everything they see, especially on a full survey. That's their job.

But buyers see this long list of 'problems' and panic, having no concept of what is a major problem wih a property and what is just routine maintenance/improvement.

Andrew_Ryan_89

DaftyDuck wrote: »

But... the REALLY scary bit....

Why? Is the market on fire where you live? Can't be London, with those prices, surely?

Editing... Damn work!

Thanks for the tips! The reason for the bid? We have put bids on properties in similar location and have alway sgot Gazumped. We took the attitude that we would pay the max we were happy to pay for it (in terms of monthly and overall cost) and decided to blow the next house we bid on out of the water.

We are FTBs so each month we spend in rented accommodation is £1,000 between us down the drain. £25k above the lower asking price was bidding a lot, but we really wanted this property and didn't want the stress of looking for another!

DaftyDuck

You can retire a year earlier with 25k saved... In fact, given that you are, presumably, less than middle-aged, compound interest on your investment would suggest you could retire a few years early....

But, if it cuts down the stress in your lives, and prevents marital strife, you could still be around to retire, and as a couple... and that's priceless!

Andrew_Ryan_89

DaftyDuck wrote: »

You can retire a year earlier with 25k saved... In fact, given that you are, presumably, less than middle-aged, compound interest on your investment would suggest you could retire a few years early....

But, if it cuts down the stress in your lives, and prevents marital strife, you could still be around to retire, and as a couple... and that's priceless!

I'm 26 and partner is 28. Mortgage fixed for 2 years and hoping to be in a significantly better financial position by then and lower the mortgage by £30k or so.