Had terrible homebuyer report. Thinking of walking away

Claire_bordicott

Hi all, me and my husband sort of know that we will walk away after a terrible homebuyer report. We just want to make firm in our minds that we are doing the right thing, so i thought id ask other people if we are doing the right thing or over reacting!

The house in question is a 3 bed terrace and our offer of £95,000 was accepted (down from 107,000) the house inside has been renivated and the main draw was that we could move right in as we have a low budget (brand new kitchen, bathroom etc) this may sound cheap for some people, but in my area of the west Midlands its average asking price.

We are first time buyers.

The reports has come back mostly red, infact more reds than greens and a fair few yellows.

Main concerns....roof: a number of ridge tyles are slightly uneven, the roof is covered in harmful moss, the roof lining is torn, frayed and worn at the edges and does not project sufficiently into guttering. It is POSSIBLE the lining contains asbestos. The property is served by plastic, cast iron and asbestos cement gutters and down pipes, one of these downpipes is corroded and loose. Gutters not level and true in places.

Damp course....there is some historic minor cracking on external walls which is believed to be result of old settlement. Some localised repointing has been carried out which suggests movement has affected property in the past (we are yet to do mining surveys!). High damp metre readings in hallway on outside wallwhich is believed to be the result of high ground levels. High damp readings around chimney stack. Damp proof course is within 90mm of external ground levels. A small number of bricks close to ground level are badly stained and weathered. Mortar pointing in this area has failed and fallen away.

Windows.. Panes have failed and misted over. Bo british safety standard on one. Restricted opening in event of a fire. Draughty

Fire place....covered over, no air vents to provide ventilation to hidden flues.

Doors... Badly fitting. Staircase treads, moves and creaks

No certificates for boiler, gas, water, electrics ( although solicitors need to ask for these as yet)

Outhouse....weathered, poor pointing, asbestos roof

Some 'level 2's' include....weathered chimney stack, poor mortar pointing condition. Flashing to stack lifted in places. Unlikely to have damp proof course or soakers. Poor ventilation in roof. Door openings out of square.

Sooo... Thats it. We are mainly concerned about roof, damp course and asbestos. Also movement is worrying. We have little money to fix big problems, dont get me wrong we was expecting some, but not this much and not this many 'big' issues.

We are arranging builders to go in and quote. But we have already resigned ourselves to the fact...our dream home is a shed! Are we wrong?

Thank you, Claire x

vivatifosi

Claire_bordicott wrote: »

Hi all, me and my husband sort of know that we will walk away after a terrible homebuyer report. We just want to make firm in our minds that we are doing the right thing, so i thought id ask other people if we are doing the right thing or over reacting!

The house in question is a 3 bed terrace and our offer of £95,000 was accepted (down from 107,000) the house inside has been renivated and the main draw was that we could move right in as we have a low budget (brand new kitchen, bathroom etc) this may sound cheap for some people, but in my area of the west Midlands its average asking price.

We are first time buyers.

The reports has come back mostly red, infact more reds than greens and a fair few yellows.

Main concerns....roof: a number of ridge tyles are slightly uneven, the roof is covered in harmful moss, the roof lining is torn, frayed and worn at the edges and does not project sufficiently into guttering. It is POSSIBLE the lining contains asbestos. The property is served by plastic, cast iron and asbestos cement gutters and down pipes, one of these downpipes is corroded and loose. Gutters not level and true in places.

Damp course....there is some historic minor cracking on external walls which is believed to be result of old settlement. Some localised repointing has been carried out which suggests movement has affected property in the past (we are yet to do mining surveys!). High damp metre readings in hallway on outside wallwhich is believed to be the result of high ground levels. High damp readings around chimney stack. Damp proof course is within 90mm of external ground levels. A small number of bricks close to ground level are badly stained and weathered. Mortar pointing in this area has failed and fallen away.

Windows.. Panes have failed and misted over. Bo british safety standard on one. Restricted opening in event of a fire. Draughty

Fire place....covered over, no air vents to provide ventilation to hidden flues.

Doors... Badly fitting. Staircase treads, moves and creaks

No certificates for boiler, gas, water, electrics ( although solicitors need to ask for these as yet)

Outhouse....weathered, poor pointing, asbestos roof

Some 'level 2's' include....weathered chimney stack, poor mortar pointing condition. Flashing to stack lifted in places. Unlikely to have damp proof course or soakers. Poor ventilation in roof. Door openings out of square.

Sooo... Thats it. We are mainly concerned about roof, damp course and asbestos. Also movement is worrying. We have little money to fix big problems, dont get me wrong we was expecting some, but not this much and not this many 'big' issues.

We are arranging builders to go in and quote. But we have already resigned ourselves to the fact...our dream home is a shed! Are we wrong?

Thank you, Claire x

Hi Claire. You really need to repost this on the board one up from this. That's where the board on house buying and selling is. This board is about house prices and the economy. It doesn't get anywhere near the number of views or have the same knowledge base as the other one.

I wish you good luck though. It sounds as though some of those repairs could be v expensive. Don't forget though that you also have the option of going back to owner and asking them to reduce price further and significantly.

Generali

You need the other board.

Asbestos would be a deal breaker for me unless the seller had it all removed and paid for an indemnification so that any more discovered would not be my financial problem.

I doubt they'd agree to that but it's worth a shot.

TheeMaskedTurnip

I think you've posted this on the incorrect fora. This one is for quarrelling over house prices. Best of luck.

Mistermeaner

Sounds like my house and I've been here 10 years with no issues. Well the roof fell in once but that all got sorted.

Asbestos ain't great but fine as long as you dont disturb it.

Damp etc is normal. As is blown and disclosures bricks below damp course.

These sort of issues will always come up with older houses. It won't fall over though and won't settle any further.

A new house may fly through the home buyer report but could fall apart 15 years down the line due to cheap materials and shoddy workmanship.

michaels

Sounds fairly typical for an old house and nothing sounds that urgent to me.

The potential asbestos in the roof lining might make a new roof a few hundred more expensive but the surveyor has almost certainly just put that to cover themselves.

Mistermeaner

Nb my house has no roof lining. I look in my loft straight at slates held on by 100 year old rusty nails.

Broken_Biscuits

I had a horror story of a survey.
Rereading after the initial shock saw that perhaps the way it was worded and the ratings given were a bit OTT.

I used the report to negotiate a further 10k off the price.

Been here 2 years and the biggest problem was fixed for £600. Some of the more minor things have not been touched yet and no issues foreseen.

The surveyor has to go in worst case to protect against future claims if they miss or underestimated the issue.

thequant

Broken_Biscuits wrote: »

The surveyor has to go in worst case to protect against future claims if they miss or underestimated the issue.

Exactly, all surveys are OTT for this reason.

Many people skim on this part of the process, but its the best investment you can make.

Not because it can prevent you from buying a lemon, but because even good solid houses will be given a bad report. A savvy buyer can use it to beat the seller into reducing the price on a house that problem free.

e.g.

Survey: "Current electrics don't meet modern standards"

What it really means: "Electrics last updated 3 years ago, however current guidelines where changed last year"

What you tell the vendor "the house needs rewiring, I need £5k off"

I managed to get £15k off the property I was buying doing this, how much have I spent fixing the issues I was concerned about ?

SWEET FA!

Spidernick

But doesn't the meat in your electrics make the house smell bad?!!!

Claire_bordicott

Thank you all, i have miss posted here by mistake i will move it. We are concerned vendor will be unable to move much more on property price as it was originally up for £80,000 but has since been renivated... new drive, new kitchen, new bathroom, carpets and decor. As hes accepted at only 15, 000 over original price, realistically we can see he wont be able to budge much because of costs incurred. Of course we could always ask for him to put things right himself which we are considering. Thanks again!