Homebuyers report advice needed

Alib90

Hi looking for some advice in response to a homebuyers report.

I'm a first time buyer and me and my partner have recently sale agreed on a house. It was built in 1954 and is a semi detached. It was on the market for offers around £172,500 and eventually got it for £173,500. Due to the age of the property we decided to go with a homebuyers report which has flagged up a couple of issues which there was no sign off/ there's no way we would of known about. We knew the house needed modernisation, but we were told it was re wired around 10-15 years ago, it had relatively knew white pvc double glazed windows. It was extended as well

The homebuyers report highlighted these as 3's in the surveyors own words:
1. I have recorded high damp meter readings to some of the walls at ground floor level. I noted damp in the following locations: both living rooms and under the stairs. It would appear that damp proofing work is necessary. Further Investigation and repair is needed by a member of the Property Care Association or similar contractor. As a precaution, the whole property should be inspected.
2. Dormer window needs urgent repair with the possibility of plastic joinery placed over rotting wooden joinery
3.There is evidence of infestation by wood boring beetles within the roof space which should be treated. Whole house will need inspected/treated
4.Internal alterations have been undertaken to remove the original walls and I cannot
confirm that suitable support has been provided to the loads from above but I saw
no signs of distress. Nevertheless, your Legal Adviser should be asked to check
whether a Building Regulation completion certificate is available for the work. I
refer you to my comment in Section I. If there is no evidence of approval, you
should arrange to check that the work has been undertaken to a satisfactory
standard either by a competent builder or a structural engineer. Also evidence of damp in property
5. Electric, Heating, Oil certificates weren't available.
6.Hot water cylinder needs replaced.
7.Repairs are needed to garage
These are most of the 3's and some of the highlighted 2's are the lead flashing around chimney needs sorted and there are issues with the chimney as well as repointing needs to be done to the walls

Didn't want to drag this on but there is a number of issues which we could not possibly have seen. Are any of these deal breakers or would they be normal problems of a house of that vintage and should be took on the chin? Any rough idea of costs to fix this or is it a case of how long is a piece of string?

Thanks for reading and any help

Ali

G_M

None are deal breakers unless you want a ready-to-move-into perfect property.

This one needs some TLC and £. Are you prepared to provide both?

Davesnave

Standard backside-covering, typical of what you'd see for a 70 year old house.

For example it's more than likely that the woodworm was treated years ago, possibly when the house was sold in the 1980s - 90s, and in any event it's likely that the beetles have moved-on to pastures new.

It's quite possible the removal of the walls happened before the current owner purchased, and without building regs approval, but if it was long ago and it hasn't started to shift & crack, then it's probably OK. The owner isn't likely to let a structural engineer poke big holes in their walls anyway!

Yes, there will be jobs that need doing, like pointing & flashings, but that's just normal for the age of the house and they may be staged over time,

Finally, unless 'damp' is visible and obvious, it could be more in the way of condensation and lifestyle-related, or due to things like people raising the ground level outside. A simple damp meter test just hints at the possibility of a problem, so use your own judgement about getting a specialist report.

aneary

I would get a specialist to investigate the damp to find out what needs to be done (do not get someone who carries out the work).

Get a price for the dormer window.

Ask the vendors if the beetle issue was treated.

Ask the vendors if they made the internal alterations if they did when - if it's a long time ago and the house is still standing no real issue.

What repairs are needed on the garage?

I wouldn't worry about certs being missing unless recent work was carried out.