Mortgage surveyor found damp.House has 30yr warranty for damp coursing, next move??

PrincessJR

Our mortgage lenders sent their servuyors round to value the house we want to purchase and he valued it at the asking price, but put a condition on the mortgage offer of damp work being completed within 6 months of completion.

The sellers solicitor has sent our solicitor a copy of the 30 year warranty covering damp injections done in 1983 (so still 6 yrs on warranty).

We contacted the original workman and he said he charges £60 to reinspect his work? is this right? He wants a copy of the original warranty and a cheque for £60 before he will reinspect.

If he finds the work needs redoing, will he do it free of charge as its still under warranty? if not, are the sellers liable for the cost, or us??

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

clutton_2

it is quite usual to be asked for a fee for reinspection. also - damp guarantees really do just wear out - its not an exact science - and for your own peace of mine i would recommend budgeting on installing a new damp course altogether. you can always re-negotiate the purchase price and then get a new course done which will last you another 15/20 years

Debt_Free_Chick

Do you know if the surveyor's comment about damp relates to the work that was done and guaranteed? Or is it new damp .... or condensation - neither of which would be covered by the guarantee?

PrincessJR

Hi, Thanks for your replies!

The surveyors report says there are signs of damp on the ground floor. The original workplan included in the warranty shows that the original work done was on all ground floor walls. Im assuming he may try to get out of doing it free of charge by some small print in the contract??

Geoff_Hunt

Im affraid some surveyors are too keen to associate "signs of damp" with rising damp. In my experience as a surveyor it is not usually the case. I believe rising damp is rarer that most people think. It is the insurance companies that tend to insist on this link mainly out of ignorance. Ask for a full explaination of what lead the surveyor to believe its rising damp. I dont have much faith in chemical DPC s and gaurantees usually refer to the product not whether it works in the situation its put in. You should be very cautious on relying exclusively on a mortgage valuation survey before you buy. These mainly determine if the land and property are worth loaning against not if the building is worth living in for that price. Hope this helps.

Running_Horse

We were told to pay about the same to re-inspect, and guess what, nothing to do with them. In the end we paid to have the affected area re-treated, in order to sell. Some would say timber and damp guarantees are not worth the paper they are printed on. Some would be correct.

HugoSP

I have had rather more luck with a damp proofing company recently.

Our house was damp proofed and treated in 1993 by the vendor. The vendor thought that she had let the warranty lapse as she had not had any reinspections.

However, the same company was hired (as recommended by the local estate agent) when one of our rented properties needed damp proofing.

The same day we were having the work done, I got the director around to inspect my place. The work was some 13 years old, and the guarantee still had another 17 years to run.

He reinspected the work and agreed to do some of it to fit in with our renovations. Other areas he asked me to remove plaster that hadn't been removed (and should have done), so that he could re inspect it.

On re inspection (all inspections were free), he claimed that the damp course was doing its job in some areas, but not in other areas. He authorised his guys to do the work as necessary.

Can't complain.

May I advise a good tactic when involved in a purchase or sale?

Get two other companies out to carry out a survey, then as the original company to come out. Don't tell them that they did the work, just ask for a survey and quote.

The chances are you may get someone come out thinking they could be in for some work. Let them do the survey, give you the report and leave.

Look at the report and compare it with the guaranteed work that they did. Ask them questions to back them into a corner. Then hit them with the guarantee!

SquatNow

If in doubt, don't be afraid to walk away. plenty of other sellers out there.

clutton_2

i agree with Geoff - i saw a doc a few years back on TV which alleged that rising damp simply does not exist - the surveyor who made this programme looked at a variety of houses and found that various types of internal damp were caused by specific problems such as - blocked/inefficient rainwater goods; lack of ventilation/condensation; blocked airbricks (inside and outside); rubbish in cavity walls thus allowing water ingress from external skin to internal skin; poor pointing; old brickwork and gaps around door and window frames.

i agree that a "guarantee" is there to satisfy the lenders more than anything else - but increasingly a lack of "guarantee" paperwork provides another stick for the purchaser to beat the vendor with.

Richard_Webster

I've often found that the company put a new silicon or whatever DPC in but didn't replaster.

You pay them their £60 or whatever to reinspect and it is always the plaster that's to blame, which they didn't put in!

That's a point to watch!

clutton_2

also - years ago, so many firms which issued guarantees are now no longer in business - making many guarantees utterly worthless. Nowadays you can volunteer to "pay extra" to get an insurance backed guarantee - insurers, dontcha just lurve 'em.