New roof vs Repair for sale

jimbog

david171 wrote: »

Thanks for advice guys.

The house went to survey twice and we were fortunate enough to get a copy of both reports.

DAMP was the main issue in both reports

The first said the roof has no felt lining etc and they would therefore recommend a re-slate stating the roof had a lifespan of 3-5 years.
Most old houses don't have a felt lining - in fact they never did

The second report was more indepth listing around specific faults wrong with the roof - chimney pointing, debris in guttering, mortar reporting, (as GM said - bloke with a ladder in half a day)
replacing rear plastic guttering,(is there evidence of the gutter leaking?) evidence of leaking to flat roof (I would repair that). But didn't mention anything about re-slating the roof, just the flat roof really.

The first buyer accepted back in May in like i said withdrew the day after brexit. The second buyer took it 3 days after the first wthdrew - although notably for a 10K lower offer.

Both Reports valued the house at the price offered in as is condition - so we are confident our current asking price is fair and we were probably too generous to this second buyer any way. Do you think in doing all the repairs - DPC and New roof we could advertise house for more to re-coup the £5000 spent and £3000 spent on mortgage etc? Or do you think with the internet and buyers being more aware of the market people would see through this? I would be wary of doing this - whatever the cost of a new roof, i doubt you will get your money back. Also the flaff, stress and mess just won't be worth it. The viewer can see that you don't have a new roof when they view, and can see the previous survey reports and the repairs you consequently carried out

My wife is adamant that we are re-slating the roof! she is certain this will appeal as winter is coming, although like i said before we have never had any problems with roof, i think she just wants the next sale to be more smooth - but i keep trying to tell her buyers are unpredictable.I agree, the next viewer may not bat and eyelid about the roof anyway How do you ensure you get your buyer to complete in 6 weeks are there any steps we can take? Reducing the price will speed things up. But most people say they want a 'quick sale' however once their offer is accepted and it's off the market then they drag their feet. You could always say to a potential buyer that the house will be staying on the market until a surveyor has been booked.

How many weeks would finding a roofer, getting quotes, them finding the time to do the work and then actually doing the work take? 2 months?

david171

bxboards wrote: »

For an 1885 house DPC injection will not work and is completely inappropriate.

You have a solid wall and your mortar course will be all over the place.

I have seen damp specialists ('salesman') trying to get people to pay for DPC injections in rubble stone walls, or 3 feet thick stone walls with original lime mortar.

I know this is likely but the work has been done now. It was mainly to satisfy this new buyer.
The only positive i can think is that about half the problem was in an internal wall, where they said there were defective floor/wall joints. so they reseal concrete floor and joints, so hopefully at least this will be fixed?

We never had any problems with damp? but how can you argue that with a buyers survey report that says you have it in every ground floor wall?

danslenoir

keith969 wrote: »

What a load of tosh. Tiles keep the rain out, not felt which does very little really and is certainly not a reason for a re-slate. And the roof will not 'suddenly fail' unless the supporting timers give way... may need the odd tile replaced but that is a morning job as pointed out.

Don't waste money on re-roofing, stick to your price as you will never please everyone, especially surveys done by people with a vested interest to have you part with your money.

The roof is well over 100 years old.

We ran into issues with our purchase last year of a similarly old property with original roof. The tiles were supported by nothing more than nails hammered into the woodwork in the roof and their own weight.

Both tiles and nails crumbled when touched, and our independent surveyor recommended a full retile, which we got done.

I'd say it's more than likely that OP's roof, if as old as stated, may need some urgent work doing to it. Roofs have a limited lifespan, after all.

That said, I'm not sure I'd proactively get this done if I was selling. Easier to knock a few k off the asking price if challenged about it and let the buyers deal with it. If they are that keen on the house, it isn't going to put them off.

keith969

danslenoir wrote: »

I'd say it's more than likely that OP's roof, if as old as stated, may need some urgent work doing to it. Roofs have a limited lifespan, after all.

The OP said, and I quote: "The buyers survey came back saying ... the main roof could benefit from re-slating but at present this is not necessary and only needs minor repairs"

Read those words again, "not necessary".

shortcrust

I got exactly the same in my buyers report about the main roof - needs minor repairs but not now. In the sort of house I was buying that's pretty much a given. It never crossed my mind to get my seller to do it, or to try to get money off. Could your buyers see that it was an old roof when they made their offer? If so, what were they expecting the report to say?!