PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Interpreting a Homebuyer's Report

Morning folks

I'm hoping someone will be able to give me a bit of guidance on what some of my Homebuyer's Report turned up. It's not entirely meaningless to me, and if I need to seek (paid) professional assistance that's fine - but my first port of call was to see if anyone could shed any light on a couple of things.

Two things cropped up in a report I had done :

The trussed roof does not have diagonal and longitudinal bracing and it is not strapped to
the external walls. This fault is common with early truss roofs. This strengthening is
required under current regulations. In addition, most lenders will not provide finance if
these works have not been carried out. It is important that this work is carried out as soon
as possible. Condition Rating 3.
Although the trussed roof has not been strengthened, the trusses appeared vertical and there was no indication of any damage to the gable walls.


This sent alarm bells ringing - does this jeopardise our full mortgage offer?

The Property is connected to the mains gas and the meter is located externally. There is
no special reason to anticipate a problem, but you are advised to arrange a full test of the
installation and all fittings by a GAS-SAFE - approved contractor before taking up
occupation. Condition Rating 3 - Further Investigation.
Gas supplies the the boiler only.


Forgive my absolute ignorance - does this mean I can't have a gas cooker?

The board intake and meter supplies electricity to a consumer unit (fusebox) located
under the stair. The installation has modern upvc and microswitches and partial RCD.
It is incumbent on the vendors to provide evidence of recent testing. Testing should be
carried out by the vendors.
If evidence of a recent test is not available from the vendor, the system should be tested
before exchange of contracts. Condition Rating 3 - Further Investigation.


Is this just saying "I'm not an electrician so you need to get one to check it properly" ?

Mention was also made that "there is a risk of asbestos is the ceilings" :shocked: Is this normal for houses built in the 70s?!

It's a lot of money that we're spending - and a lot of the bank's money, too - what I don't want to do is end up buying a "lemon" that will just become a money pit.
«1

Comments

  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 9 May 2017 at 9:49AM
    ndf9876 wrote: »
    if I need to seek (paid) professional assistance that's fine

    You've already paid for professional assistance - your surveyor - so in the first instance ask them if you need clarification about their report.
    This sent alarm bells ringing - does this jeopardise our full mortgage offer?
    Sounds like it.

    Gas supplies the the boiler only.

    Forgive my absolute ignorance - does this mean I can't have a gas cooker?
    Present tense - it currently only supplies a boiler. So presumably there isn't a gas cooker at the moment. That's all.
    Is this just saying "I'm not an electrician so you need to get one to check it properly" ?
    Yes. Though you don't need to test it (most people wouldn't), and it sounds fine.
    Mention was also made that "there is a risk of asbestos is the ceilings" :shocked: Is this normal for houses built in the 70s?!
    It's normal to presume that it's a risk. Nothing you really need to do from the point of view of your purchase though, just something to be aware of for future building work.
  • LandyAndy
    LandyAndy Posts: 26,377 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts
    How long have the current owners owned the property? Presumably they got a mortgage at the time of purchase?
  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fifth Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    davidmcn wrote: »

    Present tense - it currently only supplies a boiler. So presumably there isn't a gas cooker at the moment. That's all.
    .

    It may also mean that there is no gas supply in the kitchen , so you'd need to check that if you wanted a gas cooker as it could be anywhere between disruptive through to wholly impractical to install one.
  • ndf9876
    ndf9876 Posts: 404 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Thanks for the replies!

    The current owners / vendors have lived there for about 10 years.

    @davidmcn, I agree 100% that I need to go back to the surveyor and that is exactly what I had planned to do, in concert with this thread.

    The lack of a gas cooker in the kitchen is quite a big deal for me so this is certainly a point I will pick up. The main issue is the surveyor's comment about the roof; I am aware that surveys are conducted on older properties based on modern building regs and therefore a lot of flags can be raised, but the comment about the finance has got me very concerned.

    The vendors have not looked after the property at all, we were well aware that decoratively at least, we had a lot of work on our hands - and this is reflected in the purchase price.
  • ReadingTim
    ReadingTim Posts: 4,086 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    The roof issue could stop the purchase in its tracks. Speak to your solicitor/mortgage broker to ascertain whether your prospective mortgage provider will lend against the property, otherwise you won't be buying it.

    The comments about the gas and electricity amount to @rse covering by someone who's not an electrician/gas fitter, and aren't anything to worry about. If they haven't killed the vendor in the last 10 years, they ain't gonne kill you the moment you get the keys. And yes, you can get a gas cooker if you want, but don't expect the vendor to foot the bill for one in terms of a price reduction. Given the comments about the roof, these are not important.
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    The roof issue is very common and could be carried out while the vendors are in residence without massive disruption...... if it comes to that, and if they'd rather not lose you.

    I'd wait and see what the lender says first.
  • ndf9876
    ndf9876 Posts: 404 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Thanks again folks - I have forwarded the survey on to the solicitors and I'm going to put in a call to both them and the surveyor to get some idea of timescales and cost to remediate.
  • DumbMuscle
    DumbMuscle Posts: 244 Forumite
    Where is the boiler? Where is the gas meter? Would it make sense for a connection between the two to go through the kitchen? If so, then you may only need some minor extra piping for a gas cooker - but if not, it could be a significant job. It may be worth contacting a gas engineer with a copy of the survey and a floorplan with the boiler and meter marked, and getting an opinion if having a gas hob is a deal breaker (I would recommend finding somewhere you can try out an induction hob, so you can work out whether that's an acceptable backup option - the good ones are basically magic, and may be cheaper than routing gas to the kitchen, but you may need some new pans).
  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fifth Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    I preferred gas until i tried induction. Apart from the fact its more fragile (which i have costly experience of ) its IMO preferable - as responsive, faster, can be set to auto turn off.

    Yep, had to replace just about all pans.
  • ndf9876
    ndf9876 Posts: 404 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper
    @DumbMuscle - the Boiler is in the kitchen. The meter is outside.

    I've used induction before actually and I'll be honest, I prefer gas. But it's definitely an acceptable option.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 351.3K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.8K Spending & Discounts
  • 244.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 599.5K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.1K Life & Family
  • 257.8K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.