Homebuyers Report aftermath - FTB

jackathy

Hi All,

I am a first time buyer and have had an offer accepted on a property and decided to get a Homebuyers Survey undertaken. The estate agents were dead against this as apparently the mortgage valuation up valued the house and never noticed any problems (Though I’m not sure if they go into that much detail), I will be asking for a copy of this valuation.

We had a surveyor come in and aside from the regular maintenance a house may need he flagged two issues,

First of all regarding the roof

“Obtain a Roofing Contractor’s estimate for re-covering the rear roof slope and utility room roof; re-bedding the ridge tiles; re-pointing the chimney stacks; capping and venting unused stacks; making good the mortar flaunchings” which he estimated about £4-5k

Secondly, regarding potential damp

“Random tests with an electronic moisture meter were made around the base of the ground floor and first floor walls and revealed evidence of rising and dampness to the utility room rear wall, the dining room, front bay and in the dividing wall between the kitchen and hall as well as in the kitchen itself. You should obtain a Damp Specialist’s report and estimate so that you are aware of the remedial works required and the likely costs involved.”

The vendors have had a roofing contractor out who said works needed would equate to about 2k, I have asked for this quote in writing detailing what he believes needs to be undertaken and if this needs to be done in 5, 10 years etc. The vendors said they will potentially knock money off the asking price depending on how severe the roofing problems are but will not pay anything towards a repair which I can appreciate but at the same time I don’t have 2k to spend on a roof after saving for an 11k deposit.

Regarding the damp, as the mortgage valuation didn’t bring anything up, the vendors won’t contribute anything towards the costs of getting a damp survey (This is £100 and I said I am willing to go halves). As the survey said moisture was found in quite a few areas I do believe this is needed for peace of mind, the estate agents have said 99% of this won’t be damp and that rising damp isn’t a thing.

I wondered if anyone had any advice regarding taking homebuyers surveys at face value? Will they detail most little things to cover their own backs?

We love the house but I don’t want our first property to require work doing 5 years down the line!

Thank you,

fashionvictim

jackathy wrote: »

Hi All,


The vendors have had a roofing contractor out who said works needed would equate to about 2k, I have asked for this quote in writing detailing what he believes needs to be undertaken and if this needs to be done in 5, 10 years etc. The vendors said they will potentially knock money off the asking price

.... I don’t have 2k to spend on a roof after saving for an 11k deposit.

Regarding the damp, as the mortgage valuation didn’t bring anything up

The key on this is getting the asking price reduced and getting a copy of the quote.

I would get the damp survey - pay yourself and then you can use results to potentially reduce price further.

If you don't have anything saved as an emergency fund then you are prob looking at properties that are too expensive. I know buying you always end up stretching but honestly there will always be unexpected costs to buying, things you need to replace or buy. So if you can't afford the repairs then you need the price reducing by good sized chunk (prob more than 2k)

A mortgage valuation is just that a valuation, it's very basic, that why you did the right thing getting a homebuyers survey.

And keep saving .. best of luck

jackathy

Hello,

I've got a damp surveyor going round tomorrow, see what he says.

I've asked the vendor to ask the roofer to put his quote in writing on letterheaded paper etc and will definitely be asking them to reduce the price. The EA keeps stating "It is valued up" etc etc, I've actually asked for evidence of this but apparently they don't have it so i'm not sure how they know. They state the valuation didn't mention anything but can't provide me with that valuation, all seems a bit sly to me!

We do have an additional few thousand saved but this was for furniture etc as we are currently in a furnished flat, I guess our concern was we wouldn't want to move into a property that needed a new roof straight away where as say 5 years down the line as we would be able to manage that.

Thank you,

marksoton

One tip, stop listening to the EA.

Hoploz

jackathy wrote: »

We love the house but I don’t want our first property to require work doing 5 years down the line!

Thank you,

All houses will.

It's normal with home ownership.

jackathy

marksoton wrote: »

One tip, stop listening to the EA.

You're right there, I've had a gut feeling for a while which I can't shake!

Hoploz wrote: »

All houses will.

It's normal with home ownership.

My parents said the same, bitter pill for us to swallow but on the plus it should mean when we sell the survey comes back as having a lovely roof, hopefully!

jackathy

Hi all,

Quick update,

Damp surveyor came round today, says he won't charge if he finds anything as I presume this will get him work.

Got a phone call asking for payment so I'm assuming he has found nothing, as long as I get a report in writing on letterheaded paper and a receipt I'll be happy.

Still annoyed the vendors wouldn't contribute to this although either way I'll be getting them to reduce the price.