Buyer Damp Survey

kirtsypoos

Hi all,

I'm just wondering if anyone can give me an idea of what to expect during a damp survey.

Our buyer has requested one and asked us to pay for it. We have agreed to allow access but refused to foot the bill as in our opinion that is for her to do, however I'm concerned about where they need access to as we have a rather expensive laminate flooring down throughout the ground floor which I am not willing to be damaged (once it comes up it won't go back down as it was glued) is this something they would require? We do have carpet in the entrance hall with floorboards underneath so am guessing they would access under floorboards there if needed?

Thanks in advance forumites

Browntoa

damp survey normally done by testing the wall

G_M

1) make sure the surveyor who comes is an independant damp surveyor. If he is a [STRIKE]surveyor[/STRIKE] salesman sent by a damp proofing company (usualy a free 'survey'), do not accept anything nagative in his report - he is there to drum up work for his company.

2) it is up to you what access you permit. If you do not want him to lift fitted carpets or laminate floors, then don't permit. He is unlikely to do so without your permission.

david1951

Expect someone to come into your house, touch the walls a couple of times with a moisture meter and then tell you that you need to spend thousands of pounds on a damp proof course that may or may not have an effect.

...is there actually any damp?

kirtsypoos

Thanks G_M and browntoa,

I have called the Estate Agent and told them I am happy to allow access by an independant damp surveyor and not a cowboy from a damp company so hopefully they can relay that to the buyer.

I'm just stressing about the floor being damaged to be honest so I will refuse if they want to damage that.

kirtsypoos

david1951 wrote: »

Expect someone to come into your house, touch the walls a couple of times with a moisture meter and then tell you that you need to spend thousands of pounds on a damp proof course that may or may not have an effect.

...is there actually any damp?

Nope, nothing that I can see anywhere. Apparently there is a note on her mortgage valuation (which came back as ok for the purchase price) to say there is a low DPC so she's already been round and checked all walls for damp spots/stains

david1951

kirtsypoos wrote: »

I'm just stressing about the floor being damaged to be honest so I will refuse if they want to damage that.

I would do the same. Anyway, it would be pretty unusual for someone to want to lift up the floor with no sign of visible damp...seems like a pointless exercise altogether, but I would go along with it for the time being to keep your buyer happy.

kirtsypoos

Thanks, that's my thoughts too

Ithaca

Our buyers asked for a damp survey, we said yes as long as they paid. We knew the kitchen was a bit damp on one wall because we didn't have a tumble-drier (so had lots of wet clothes hanging up all year round) and my wife hates the cold so refused to open windows when she boiled kettles / cooked pasta etc. But nothing a change in behaviour (and a decent tumble-drier) couldn't fix.

A guy turned up with a damp meter, shoved it on one of the kitchen walls and said "yep, it's a bit damp, probably because you're cooking and drying clothes in here without proper ventilation, and your patio is a bit high so water will splash above the damp proof course when it rains... nothing to worry about though".

Then he cleared off. Total time in the house (because we timed it) was 3.5 mins, so we reckon it cost our buyers approx £1300/hr for that survey.

Nice work if you can get it!

kirtsypoos

I'm obviously in the wrong job Ithaca :cool:

Thanks for the replies, I'm feeling much less stressy about it all now

amateur_house

I just had a damp survey on a house I am buying. The report had quite a few photos of the damp meter next to the walls and the readings. They did lift up the carpets to inspect the timber underneath and looked in the loft, and took photos of that. There was one room they said they couldn't inspect the floor of due to tiles being fixed in place, so I would think it would be the same for your laminate flooring.