Buying House and been advised to send Damp/Timber specialist out? any advice?

PrincessJR

Hi,

we have just seen a copy of our mortgage lenders valuation report of the property we want to buy. Under essential repairs/retention it states 'none'. Then under general comments it says

' The property is in acceptable condition for lending purposes. My valuation reflects the fact that there is wear and tear to some items and that maintenance, repair or upgrading will be required.
In addition to items of routine maintenance, urgent repair is required to the following:-
There is evidence of dampness to ground floor walls and timbers in contact may be defective. You should instruct a damp and timber contractor to investigate the full extent and carry out any repair work'.

We are confused??? under essential repairs it states none but then this is called 'urgent'?

Will the lenders come and check weve done it in 6 months as they claim they will? is this normal? the house was built in 1900 so we expected a bit of damp or something?

Could this be expensive?

Any help appreciated

Thanks

cattie

The recommendation to call in specialist to report on damp & timber is a standard surveyors quote.

However, on your report it has been noted that it is of urgency as probably the surveyor has detected higher damp readings than he feels normal for such a property & has concerns that the timbers could be or quickly become defective.

If the timbers do become defective then you will have a much more costly job on your hands, so it is in your interests to get the damp sorted out asap & to get the timbers checked at the same time.

Damp treatment isn't always as costly as a lot of people fear. Depending on the level of the problem it can cost from a few hundred pounds to perhaps £1500.