Advice please

moneyistooshorttomention

The other thought is that phrase "known unknowns". At least with this house - you know exactly what its problems are.

If you were to buy a different house - then you wouldnt be well-acquainted with it and could think it was fine - only to move in and discover it had lots of hidden problems (ie which would cost you rather more than £2,000 to fix).

There is also the consideration of removal fees. Buying the one you've got equals not having to pay removal fees/all the fiddly bits like lock-changing etc.

In your position - I'd get it figured out exactly what the damp problem was and what it would cost to get it sorted out. Followed by negotiating with the landlord about the plus points of selling to you rather than to strangers/waiting for a buyer to turn up in the first place/having to pay EA fees/etc as a way to try and recoup what money you would need to pay for fixing that damp for him iyswim.

ST1991

Realistically £2k repairs is quite reasonable. As said above, at least you know about it!

Agency fees are usually 1-2% (i think?) which is essentially the cost of your repairs... so you could start at that before opening up for negotiations.

Although, if they really do want to sell there is nothing to stop them taking it to market again and you'll have less bargaining room against someone offering asking or above if your landlord is that way inclined.

breaking_free

How exactly has this damp appeared? If it's some kind of fault with the house (inadequate ventilation, loose flashing on the roof that lets rain in) then you might have some negotiating power.

In your shoes I'd be very keen to see a full breakdown of the work involved. For £2000 I'd want a gold plated ventilation system! Perhaps you'd be good enough to post the details here.

Alternatively did you cause the damp yourself, for example by drying washing indoors, not heating the house enough to dry out the condensation on the windows (caused by humans breathing out during the night).

Damp is so often caused by ourselves; just yesterday I discovered mould on my bedroom window reveals whereas there is no mould in my lodger's room. It's almost certainly because I keep my windows open even on rainy nights as I like fresh air (even when it's frigid) whereas my lodger keeps his windows closed. I turn the central heating on in his room but keep it off in mine as I decided I was warm enough with my electric blanket. I've allowed the outside damp air to come into my room and haven't heated it up enough to dry it out - the result is mould in my room (and a good lesson for me!).

Shell_1980

The damp has appeared because for once there is not enough insulation in loft and voids in the wall cavities. I had a heating engineer call out to check because the bedroom was always freezing. So that's his fault. I do always open windows to for fresh air to circulate

agrinnall

So it's condensation then? That's a good thing, as it requires no significant structural work to fix, just the money spending on insulation.

FBaby

£2000 for what work? A bit of damp proofing and decorating? Are you sure you're not being conned! Insulation shouldn't cost that much and unlikely to be the sole reason for the damp especially if it is only in one room. If you are so concerned yet still want to buy the house get a proper survey done.