Building survey has brought up unexpected problems

pieboyjr

Morning all, we are FTBs purchasing a late 19th century terraced house in a NE England seaside town. On the market for £167k, they have accepted £163k. Decently priced considering the area. Property is currently empty, previously rented. Our initial thoughts were the property needs a lot of cosmetic work and (as novices) we could see evidence of damp. Had the building survey done and it has come back with the following urgent matters:

-Damp - to the ground floor - we knew about this but the extent to which it is present is greater than we thought - damp proof course has not been injected to part of the ground floor

-Loft space - there is no party wall in the loft between this property and the neighbour - immediate fire safety breach (is this normal?!)

-Roof - beams may not be structurally sound given the rudimentary truss arrangement as a heavier cladding material was used - structural engineer advice required

-Timber rot - to the ground floor extension - specialist advice required

These are the majors which the surveyor is accounting for £3,750 exclusive of overheads profit and VAT.

There are plenty of minors including:

-The boiler won't turn on so may be an electrical fault

-Wider electricals issues

-No ventilation in roof given the way the insulation rolls have been stuffed into the eaves

-Cracking in kitchen ceiling (aware of this)

-Potential rot below another floor

I was expecting issues but my heart sank when I read this. We have very little money to spare and the number of works required appears hefty on paper.

We have been advised to contact a structural engineer, heating engineer and have an electrical safety inspection, whilst we would like our own damp / timber survey were we to go ahead with this.

A steer on the approach in this instance would be appreciated.

harrys_dad

What value did the survey put on the house?

AnotherJoe

As you have little money for contingencies, I'd advise you pull out, on the grounds that what you should get as a reduction in price is most likely much more than the owners are willing to accept, plus whatever the estimate you should at least double it for overruns and contingency. £4K to fix that list of issues sounds very low to me, plus there's all the hassle. So I'd be wanting £10k off minimum and more likely £15k if I was desperate to buy. But I wouldn't.

But having once lived in a similar old house with similar issues, never again. Be grateful you had the survey done. Money well spent.

Hoploz

A house of this age is always likely to have the same issues. Is it an area where most housing stock is similar, like lots of other seaside towns? If so consider whether if you pull out you will end up buying another house in similar condition?! You knew at the outset there was cosmetic work.

Damp is often found at the age but can be more or less of a pain depending on the causes. Eg loose guttering, easy fix.

Rot, could be big problem. More detail required on that one.

Party wall in loft is often the way they were built. Ideally should be built up to prevent spread of fire but it has been like that for over 100 years.

roof slates have been replaced with clay tiles. Again, very common. Roof may need additional support. You may find a different house has already had supports put in, or replaced with lighter materials. You my find the next house identical to this one.

The other things would prob already be on your list for the renovation, eg fix boiler, DIY fix on insulation to allow ventilation, electrical changes, likely to need to upgrade circuits for more sockets etc anyway.

Not saying do or don't proceed, just saying these are common for the age and if most houses you're likely to view/buy are the same age you may well find a pattern repeating.

Bear in mind also, cosmetic condition eg new kitchens nd bathrooms may look nicer, but they may not have touched the roof so same probs still there!

steeeb

Tell the vendor the issues and ask if you can get builders/whatever in for quotes for the work.

You then get a better idea of accurate cost and also something concrete to negotiate with.

But as above, if 4-5k is putting you off then pull out.

The boiler is likely not an issue but rather the surveyor not being able to use it - I'm sure the vendor will put you straight.

A building this old that hasn't been rewired is expected to have electrical issues in my eyes.

Damp, again if no-one is living in the property and the heating or water is off it can show as damp. Injecting a damp course where it's needed isn't really expensive or a hassle just get a quote from someone.

In short - buying an older property things like this always come up.

The first response is a good question. What value was put on the property? Is anything being retained or is the valuation lower? If not it's likely all expected and nothing much to worry about.

Doozergirl

A word of advice to a novice from a very experienced renovator.

If a house needs a lot of cosmetic work, then it is almost guaranteed to need a lot of work behind the scenes. If someone hasn't been bothered about picking up a paintbrush in many years, their attitude to more complicated general maintenace doesn't usually surpass that towards the decorating.

All houses come with issues. Many items on your list aren't hard or expensive to rectify, but the general length of the list would make me worry if you are on a very tight budget. There will be more surprises hidden when you rip things out.

I also hate damp surveys. There is always a reason for damp that can be dealt with. DPCs often mask the symptoms (at great expense and disruption) of a simpler problem with a cheaper solution. They can also cause issues of their own in old houses.

The point made above about houses with new kitchens and decor being deceptive and hiding the same problems is a good one. The reason I love broken houses is that they don't hold surprises. If you can budget for everything to be done, you'll never be disappointed about what you've paid for.

Kynthia

How bad can it all be if the surveyor thinks less than £4k will fix it all? All houses have issues and many people move in and only deal with the ones that could get worse. So do some research before panicking and possibly pulling out and regretting it.

System

tbh the only thing that would worry me in that survey is the damp/rot - everything else I would probably expect to see.
The other thing with the "damp" is that most old houses are "damp" in a surveyors opinion - the thing with damp is that if you understand how an old building works then you can manage it without going worrying about poorly injected dpcs and other modern ways of masking issues....
Obviously if there is rotten timber that will need replaced, but if the value of the total works is 4k it can't be that bad!

The party wall in the roof is just how houses were built at the time - never had a issue with it and could be easily solved if its a huge worry to you.

If you don't want to spend money (or don't have money to spend) then my only advice would be to not look at properties of that age, it would be a rare gem that had up to date electrics, fire separation to current standards and no hint of damp/water ingress...
Any time we have taken on one of these we have made a list of work needing done and then prioritised it to budget for urgent jobs, leaving the others to pick away at