Remedial works or purchase property

lewishardwick

Hi all,

I've received all my surveys of a property in in the process of buying.

The wall tie survey issue has been identified as a lack of wall ties. Those that are there are in good condition.

I have been supplied with an estimate for remedial work of £3,500. So hardly drastic.

The property is a maisonette so I would expect the upstairs owner to contribute to the cost. My main question is; Is it unreasonable to ask the vendor to contribute?

We're reluctant to reduce the offer as the additional cost of redraft contacts may well negate any major saving.

I was thinking as cash contribution may be a more reasonable route?

Thanks!

Cakeguts

Who owns the freehold?

lewishardwick

It's shared amongst the four properties.

stator

To be honest the vendor will probably just say "the house has been standing fine for X number of years, it hasn't fallen down, nothing is needed"
The other property owners will probably say the same thing.

Does it say how many wall ties there are? ie how many per sq m or however they are measured?

Why did you have the wall tie survey done, was it a condition of the mortgage offer? Or was it just recommended by your home buyer survey etc?

lewishardwick

Hi,

They survey was recommended by the homebuyers report. There was a bulge in the gable wall which was in the report.

The valuation highlighted nothing.

This wall was fixed when a roofer spotted it whilst repointing some masonry. He discovered no ties in the top 8 courses. These were re-laid.

I also have photos that show the location of the existing ties is inconsistent.

But as you say, it's not allowed the building to fall down yet.

Hoploz

Future buildings insurance claim perhaps? Might be wrong but just a suggestion

stator

lewishardwick wrote: »

Hi,

They survey was recommended by the homebuyers report. There was a bulge in the gable wall which was in the report.

The valuation highlighted nothing.

This wall was fixed when a roofer spotted it whilst repointing some masonry. He discovered no ties in the top 8 courses. These were re-laid.

I also have photos that show the location of the existing ties is inconsistent.

But as you say, it's not allowed the building to fall down yet.

The does sound quite bad then.
I would say you need to get the vendor to sort it out. He needs to get a legal agreement from all the other owners that they agree to have the works done and to split the cost between them.
Whether you want him to pay or not is up to you, he may refuse so it's a case of how much do you want this house?
You're in quite a good position since anyone else who tries to buy the property will spot the same issues.

AdrianC

A wall tie issue in a shared building, such as four maisonettes, would be the freeholder's problem. So, assuming costs are shared evenly between the four joint owners of the freehold, this flat's contribution would be £875.

G_M

AdrianC wrote: »

A wall tie issue in a shared building, such as four maisonettes, would be the freeholder's problem. So, assuming costs are shared evenly between the four joint owners of the freehold, this flat's contribution would be £875.

But more to the point, the freeholder has to agree to the work.

Since there are 4 joint owners of the freehold, that (probobly) means that at least 3 of the 4 must agree.

There is no guarantee they will.

If you buy the property, you could easily find it is impossible to get the work done - even if you offer to pay yourself, since any structural work must be arranged by the freeholder.

Insurance? Would probobly pay out if the wall collapsed, but if the insurer knew of the survey and the work was not done, they might say the collapse was caused by a failure to properly maintain the building....... that's not an insurable event.

lewishardwick

Thank you all for your advice.

The vendor has a copy of the report and was present when the survey was carried out.

I've left it with them to discuss with the neighbours and see what they say. I've met the upstairs neighbours and they were understanding and were interested in the outcome as well.

We shall see what happens!