Am I buying a White Elephant?

Russtavo

Hello, I'm a first-time buyer looking for a little advice from you experienced folks, here's my story:

My partner and I are looking for our first house and we found a 3-bed Semi we love but in need of some updating. At the vendor's request, the property was listed for £125k. The Estate Agent valued it at £115k but the vendor thought it was worth more. After a few weeks of no interest it was dropped to offers over £115K. There was plenty of interest (according to the Estate Agent :rolleyes:), but we eventually had an offer of £120K accepted woo!

When viewing the property we noticed some of the rooms sloped a bit in the corners. The Estate Agent said it was long-term settlement which sounded reasonable. We went for a homebuyers survey, which suggested there could be subsidence :eek:. It went on to say that due to subsidence, the house falls from front to rear by approx 150mm (6 inches), which sounds like a lot to me. As a consequence walls and floors are distorted. The surveyor was unable to value the property and recommended a full structural survey, a drainage report and electrical report, all of which our Lender has insisted we obtain.

The vendor agreed to pay for these and the Estate Agent organised them. They came back as follows:

Strutural Movement Survey - Movement is long-standing settlement that occured early, with no evidence of subsidence. No under-pinning or remedial work needed. It recommended a Cavity Wall Tie report, which was also done.

Drainage - There were cracks and bends found. Replacement recommended at a cost of £595.

Electrical - Recommended new RCD consumer unit, main equipotential bonding plus extra sockets. Cost of £675.

Cavity Wall Tie - Inadequate number of ties, recommended more at a cost of £425.

So now I'm currently waiting for a valuation from my Lender. The other major thing required is of course to straighten all the floors. I don't know exactly what this would entail but I assume it means ripping out all the floorboards, adjusting the doors and fitting new skirting/architrave. I haven't had estimates for this as yet, no idea how much that would cost.

I'm worried about hidden costs and the resale value of this property. How common is this much settlement and would it put you off buying? I'm looking for people's thoughts on whether I should go through with this purchase or not.

The other aspect I'd like opinion on is house price. Should I renegotiate the price based on the work that needs doing. Would you ask for the above costs to be deducted from the price and is it also reasonable to deduct the floor straightening costs? Is it unreasonable to ask for 100% deduction of these costs, or for the vendor to do the work themselves? I'm in uncharted territory when it comes to house buying/selling! I will update this thread when I get a valuation from the Lender. Thanks for your time folks. :T

dolce_vita

My advice to you, as FTBs, would be to stear clear.

You are potentially looking at 1000s of pounds worth of work.

If you really want the house, arrange your own surveyor and obtain several, detailed estimates for the repairs and then renegotiate.

Remember it's a buyer's market now and the boat is not sailing for a while so you won't miss it.

best wishes to you.

olly300

Why did you not pay for or arrange your own structural survey?

The EA acts for the vendor not you.

How do you know they didn't phone up the surveyor and tell them to edit the report?

If there is something wrong with the property you have no legal comeback against the surveyor because you didn't pay for or arrange the survey.

Russtavo

olly300 wrote: »

Why did you not pay for or arrange your own structural survey?

The EA acts for the vendor not you.

How do you know they didn't phone up the surveyor and tell them to edit the report?

If there is something wrong with the property you have no legal comeback against the surveyor because you didn't pay for or arrange the survey.

I should clarify that I purchased a homebuyers survey via my Lender (£450). This recommended the additional survey/specialist reports, which were obtained by the EA. They used a different surveyor.

I have copies of all these reports with company names/letterheads etc. Which were sent on to my Lender. I don't really understand how your first point is even possible, but good point about the legal comeback, hadn't considered that, thank you.

Doozergirl

I know you noticed that the floors sloped when you viewed. Do you really think that they need to be straightened up or are they liveable? You have to take down the ceiling below and then push up the joists and prop up and fill in underneath. It's alright if you're already in there doing it but it's a lot of work just to straighten a floor.

Was the reason for the movement established? Local structural engineers know a lot abot local ground movement!

What is the house worth when it is renovated - £125,000? If so, walk away or renegotiate heavily. You'll see no benefit and you might end up paying slightly over the odds once you've got to the point of finsihing touches.

Becks045

I always negotiate and ask for money off if anything comes up on a survey so if you really still want the house and are happy to undertake the works (this is hassle for you) then you should ask for 100% of the work costs off the price.

Tell the vendor, that the next person who comes along will only encounter the same problem and as you are a FTB, you are in a great position.

Russtavo

Doozergirl, The floors are not really liveable for me, in some rooms it's just too noticeable, particularly in corners.

Both surveys suggested the most likely reason for the movement is shallow coal workings, of which there certainly is a lot in the area. I'm not sure. It might be true, though I purchased a Ground Stability Report from the Coal Authority and it said there were no coal workings within 80 metres of the property.

Value of the property after renovation? Well there was a house recently on the same estate with an awful old-fashioned interior that needed work and it went for £139k, so I don't see any reason mine wouldn't go for similar, having done the work. It has a separate garage too. I feel the house represents value for money, but of course there's plenty of work to be done.

Thank you for the info about ceiling and joists. If we decide to go for it, we'll negotiate heavily as you said. And thanks Becks, I will definitely ask for 100%+.

maxmycardagain

whats a money pit?

MORPH3US

Would steer well clear... there are so many houses out there that won't have these problems so its not worth the risk.

Even if you think that you love this property, believe me when I say there will be better ones that you will end up loving even more than this one...

M

Russtavo

I think the price of property reflects the investment that needs to go into it. After looking solidly for a year, we have yet to find a 3 double bed semi with rooms this big in our price range. In our area, the best we can seem to find for the £120k mark are poxy terraced houses, or small semi's in really bad areas.

Apart from the walls being slightly out of plumb, there's nothing really bad in the survey. We're not looking for the finished article, happy to put our mark on the house, and do it up over the years. Just worried that, as someone else suggested, it turns into a money pit with a resale price that doesn't reflect the money we put into it. It's not easy is it? We'll keep looking as ever, and keeping weighing things up.

Russtavo

Our lender has written to me, they will not lend on the property. Apparently the Senior Underwriter said to my mortgage advisor that they should never have asked for all these reports in the first place. In which case why not reject us after the first survey? Why waste everyone's time and money? :mad:

Last time I use the Alliance & Leicester for anything.