House survey revealed major(?) issues. Unsure how to proceed.

SmallL

Hello!
Myself and my OH have specifically chosen a house in what we thought was good condition.
However the survey results came back and it has some issues that apparantly need solving urgently.
The most pressing is the shared chimney stack needs the lead flashing repaired as it's fallen off in places and the chimney needs repointing. All the utilities also need testing. There's also a windows that needs double glazing which we already knew about.

What needs to be tackled first? Should I approach the vendor and see if they will get the utilities tested at their cost? If th e chimney is shared then if we did repair it would our neighbor contribute? Should we lower our offer on the basis of the survey results?

In all honestly I'm not sure if we need to solve these things in a matter of weeks months or years. If they are very urgent then we are going to struggle to afford it as it's not something we budgeted for.

Any advice would be really appreciated!

G_M

SmallL wrote: »

The most pressing is the shared chimney stack needs the lead flashing repaired as it's fallen off in places and the chimney needs repointing.
Not a major job. Biggest issue may be the neighbours. If they agree, cooperate & pay half, no problem. If they don't could be a problem. It's not an expensive job (though if scaffolding needed that pushes the price up). As for whether it's urgent,
a) is there actually a leak? Is there damp in the attic or chimney breasts?
b) is it actually dangerous? ie the chimney is on the point of falling down?

All the utilities also need testing.
Is there any indication the utilities are a problem?
Surveyors are not electricians so they always advise testing as they are not competant to comment themselves, unless there is something very obviously wrong (eg a 1920s fuse box)

Same with gas.

If you want to put your mind at ease, pay an electrician and gas engineer to test, but make sure you understand the difference between "not to current standards' and 'dangerous - needs work'.

There's also a windows that needs double glazing which we already knew about.

So you knew about this. Irrelevant!

What needs to be tackled first? Should I approach the vendor and see if they will get the utilities tested at their cost?
No. You want a test, you pay for a test. Just like the survey.
If th e chimney is shared then if we did repair it would our neighbor contribute?
Should do. You'd also need their permission to do work on it.
Should we lower our offer on the basis of the survey results?
NO!

In all honestly I'm not sure if we need to solve these things in a matter of weeks months or years. If they are very urgent then we are going to struggle to afford it as it's not something we budgeted for.

Any advice would be really appreciated!

Nothing worrying here.

SmallL

The survey said they found damp on the attic chimney breast.

Thanks for the help!

martinthebandit

SmallL wrote: »

The survey said they found damp on the attic chimney breast.

Thanks for the help!

Then before you buy go chat with the neighbour, if they are reasonable and are happy to pay half, or if they won't are happy for the work to be done then it really isn't a problem.

Although I would consider deducting some of the cost from my offer, but if the seller won't play ball are you really going to walk away?

By the way, what value did the survey put on the house in its existing condition?

NicNicP

I'd suggest getting a builder round to quote for the work that needs doing. At least that way you can be prepared with costs when you speak to the neighbours. Can you not add the amount onto your mortgage?

dc197

Reseating the flashing around the chimney is such a minor job that my roofer did it for free while working on my roof doing unrelated work. It's 10 secs to hammer back into position and 5mins to re-mortar it.

The pointing is more like a hour or so, raking out the old mortar is what takes the time. But again not a big deal.

If the roof is a standard roof then scaffold might not be needed. That is a huge saving.

robatwork

The ? on your "major" was correct. These aren't major and don't warrant renegotiating.

In fact you've got away lightly if this is all the [STRIKE]!!!!-covering document [/STRIKE] survey has come back with.

Clutterfree

Repointing the chimney seems to come up in almost every survey these days.
I guess it is the current blame culture. If the chimney falls down in a storm, high winds, then the surveyor is covered because he told you it need repointing!

Kynthia

These aren't major jobs, these are normal wear and tear issues that come up with house ownership at some point. They probably aren't even urgent but anything that can let water in should be dealt with promptly as water can do so much damage over time.

You aren't buying a new build so there was always going to be something.

easilydistracted

If I'd ever had a survey come up with so few issues I'd be over the moon. This is an incredibly short list. I get that the numbers on a homebuyers can look scary.

As most people have said, the electric and gas are a standard disclaimer. But you can certainly pay an electrician or gas safe engineer to do a check. I had a guy come out and check the first place I bought. It cost me £50 to get him to check the plumbing and boiler and he gave a fixed quote on the work that needed doing. This saved me a lot of money when he found out that the underlying problems were greater than he thought and honoured the quote. I'm sure an electrician wont charge a lot more.

As the chimney wasn't obvious you might get something off for that but not a lot, may not be worth the hassle of going back to the mortgage company.

Also if you used an independent surveyor you could probably give him/ her a call for reassurance as they will be a bit more straightforward over the phone. Good luck!

SmallL

Okay, i think i understand that I was wrong with the 'major' part.
I'm a first time buyer and one of the most important points while house hunting was a good/very good condition home. I obviously couldn't go look at the chimney/roof myself so it is rather unexpected (and yes the numbers on the survey do look intimidating when you see 3's)

Thanks for all the advice.