Really bad home buyer's survey- help please!

ftb_deena

Hey everyone,
This is my first post so bear with me!
I am a FTB buying a 2-bed terraced home for £188,500.
We received our home buyers survey report yesterday, and it's awful. It seems (to me) that SO much needs doing and I am simply not prepared to pay the offered amount with the amount of urgent work needed. At the same time, even if the cost of the house gets reduced, it's unrealistic of me to think I am going to find the cash to pay for the repairs anyway.

Here's what was flagged up as urgent:

1. Dampness- affecting internal walls at ground level due to rising dampness and penetrating dampness. High damp levels also recorded in rear bedroom ceiling and cellar.

2. Rainwater fittings- they aren't secured and is discharging against timber framework, creating more damp.

3. Main walls- Single skin walls means that they are being affected by damp and condensation. Needs to be upgraded to suit current standards. There are also gaps around the front door that need to be filled and render repaired.

4. Permanent Outbuilding- Basically a DIY job that is in poor condition, leaking and won't last long.

5. Internal Walls- Evidence of damp and need to be replastered after specialist treatment.

6. Floors & Sub Floors- Sub floor ventilation is inadequate. It requires additional airbricks and there may be further problems in concealed areas.

7. Electricity, Gas & Heating- no full test certifications provided.

On top of all of that, the things on my survey that were labelled as repairs or replacements requiring future attention included:

- chimney stacks
- roof and roof space
- windows, external doors and joinery
- outside areas and boundaries
- ceilings
- internal joinery and kitchen fittings
- chimney breasts and fireplaces
- cellar

Any advice would be great please. Don't know whether to pull out completely, offer a lower price or ask the current owners to sort it out!

Thank you!! :j

Crashy_Time

Pull out, or tell them to repair it and get back to you, why would you want a house with all that drama attached?

ftb_deena

Exactly! It is a nice house, beautifully decorated, great size, huge garden but obviously all these issues have really put a downer on the whole thing. I think I'll ask the current owners to sort it out. If they say no, I'll have to pull out and keep looking!

Aylesbury_Duck

Walk away unless/until they're all fixed. Otherwise, you'll spend more time on here in the early months of your residency than you will enjoying your new home...

jbainbridge

The single fact that it is a single skin wall would make me think again - very difficult to insulate / heat. Unless you love it and have the money to dry line it I'd walk away.

spadoosh

It all depends on if the house is priced accordingly.

If your looking at the house because its 30% cheaper than comparative properties then youve found out the reason why. As such there little to no chance of getting the seller to do the work (if they do, theyll probably be remarketing the property at a higher price when the works done).

If all the properties in the area are similar standards (ie not been updated) then the price might also be reflective of the work needed.

Ill be honest and say theres nothing in there that would surprise me about 100+ year old terraced house.

ReadingTim

Asking the current owners to sort out the problems is generally regarded as a bad idea as there is no incentive for them to do it very well at all - if they even entertain the idea (many vendors would tell you to jog on), they'll probably find the cheapest cowboy they can and get him to do the nastiest bodge job he likes for the lowest cost... Fancy living there afterwards? Me neither. The only way you can ensure a proper job is done is to pay for it yourself.

Furthermore, depending on the age of the property, some of the survey results are simple @rse covering - a Victorian terrace won't meet "modern standards" 'cos it ain't a modern house. Many people live in them though, but houses, like everything, need maintenance, and many of the results simply highlight the need for maintenance. With regard to the outbuilding, surely its poor condition should be fairly visible even to the untrained eye? Dunno why this is news...

Aside from some minor concerns re. the damp, and depending on the age of the property, I don't see anything to worry about whatsoever. However, if you are worried, then it is all fixable, but will cost a bit - maybe tops £5k. Whether you feel you can afford this is another question. There's also the issue of the extent to which the owners are aware of the issues, and they're reflected in the price; or whether it's more trouble than it's worth.

daveyjp

With damp this:

"there may be further problems in concealed areas"

is a potential expensive fix.

I walked from a similar property years ago after finding the damp had caused dry rot under the floors.

lotteryman

Hi,
I've renovated a couple of houses that were in a worse state.
Surveys are notoriously pessimistic as the surveyor needs to protect themselves. Without seeing the report it is difficult to give difinitive answers
Judging by what you have listed, the immediate work will cost around £10k (probably less) with other costs in the short term but obviously you will probably have to live in a 'building site' whilst it is being done.
Be aware that old houses have lots of hidden difficulties that you will only find once the work starts.

On the items listed
1. damproofing will normally cost around £2k for the main floor level although the cellar will push that significantly as they are notoriously damp. the cellar will probably need to be tanked. The thing you need to work out is whether the damp is happening because the floor is a solid floor and the membrane has failed. If this is the case the floors will need to come up
2. The guttering is easy and straight forward. It is about 1 days work plus new guttering so should cost less than £400
3. The mains walls single skin? I assume these are the internal walls, if not they will be solid 9inch walls so will need to treated as detailed in 1. above
4. Outbuildings should not need doing until everything else is sorted
5. damp on internal walls is more worrying and implies that it is coming from the floor upwards. Find out more about what type of damp it is
6. your comments imply that the floor is wood, if so the damp may have affected the joists
7. Electricity - a test will cost around £200 but first check to see if it has a modern fuse box (does it have circuit trips?). A rewire will cost around £2k. The boiler can be safety checked for about £100 but if it is an old system a new boiler fitted will be around £3k. A complete systems will be about £4-£5k

Much of the other stuff listed are short to medium term jobs with some falling under general maintenance.

Old houses can be money pits but if you can afford to renovate them you get a solid house with what you want and you could add a lot of value for a future move. It depends what you are prepared to put up with in the short term.

If you like the house and area I would go back with an offer of around £25k below but be prepared to negotiate and walk away (you obviously live in an expensive area for houses)

Hope this helps

lincroft1710

A single skin wall is most unusual even in a Victorian house, the usual construction would be 9 inch solid brick wall. If the walls of the house are only 4.5 inch thick, then you have serious problems.

bris

The sellers already know about the problems and will have priced the house accordingly.


It's obviously not for you but someone will snap it up who can do the work themselves.