survey report!! Damp

jodie_leigh_2

My survey has come back and found damp! we was expecting this as when we went to view the house the second time we noticed two walls in the hallway wet!. When we touched the walls we noticed it was crumbling underneath the wallpaper!. now i have to get a damp specialist but just because we cant see damp in any other room doesn't mean they wont find more! We also have to get the electrics checked so we don't know if we have a problem with them now!. Would you walk away or try and sort this out?. They only knocked 4k off the asking price and said this was due to the damp and wasn't willing to knock anything else off if the survey comes back with something else

kingstreet

"Damp" is not normally damp.

It's usually moisture caused by leaky rainwater goods, soil level outside bridging the damp course, leaky roof etc.

Pay for an inspection and you'll get the above result.

Get a "free" report from a Timber & Damp contractor and expect to be told you need a new damp course.

Independent firms here;-

http://www.independentdampsurveyors.co.uk/

If you don't buy a newbuild, expect a few issues with general maintenance/updating.

JigglyPug

If the sellers have said they will not accept any further negotiation, then I think your next step would be to find out what sort of damp it is and how much it would cost to fix the problem. To do this, you should instruct an independent damp surveyor - make sure that you use someone who charges for the service as the people who offer it for free are doing so because they're trying to sell you something!

As for the electrics, it's pretty standard to get a comment on the survey saying 'I am not qualified to check these so you should get an electrician' so I wouldn't be worried about a comment along those lines. Your next step would be to get an electrical report carried out - these cost about £100 but will let you know what sort of work would need doing immediately.

I definitely wouldn't walk away at this stage - damp (especially if you knew about it when you offered!) and electrical issues are common in older houses and not necessarily something to worry about.

always_sunny

I would be surprised not to find damp in a property in the UK! That would be a warning sign the surveyor was in la-la land.

Unless you know what causes the damp, both of you cannot agree on anything.

jodie_leigh_2

Thank you for you responses! i have been quoted around 120 for the damp specialist to go out and inspect does that sound about right?