Home Buyers Survey - Bad report

Arsenal2019

Hello,

Me and my partner are looking to get a mortgage (1st time buyers) on this end terrace cottage, as we absolutely love it.

HOWEVER, we have just had a homebuyers survey done, roughly £500 and have had bad news.

1- Japanese knottweed located 12 metres from the property in an adjacent plot/land.

2. Poorly supported roof and tiles

3. Progressive movement in the house (could be due to been a very old property)

4. External wall (gable end) in bad condition & renderd - we knew this before as the gable end seemed to be slightly not straight.

They've valued the property at £0. Once these problems get fixed they will value the property at the asking price of £130.000.

They will only do this once a structural engineer comes in to assess the propert, which I believe to be the highest and most thorough evaluation there is?.
Should me and my partner pay for this or the current occupants ? And how much would that cost ?

Also, can a home buyers survey be wrong and completely exaggerated, and have asked for a second opinion, that Been of a structural engineer, as that's what me and my partner are hoping for.

Thank you

ACG

Have they valued it at £0 until the problems are fixed or have they valued it at £0 until they see a structural report?

A report can be exaggerated and to some extent usually is to cover their backs but that does not mean it is wrong and if you (presumably as a non professional) can see there is a problem with a gable end wall then it is pretty likely there is a problem.

For me, the biggest issue there is Japanese knotweed. How can you or the vendors fix a problem you are not in control of?

In terms of who should fix the other problems, that is down to negotiation.

Arsenal2019

They have valued the property at 0 until AFTER the work has been done or mainly in progress.

I've been reading up on the Japanese Knotweed and it does seem to be a pain in the ***.

malkie76

I!!!8217;d run a mile. Homebuyers isn!!!8217;t comprehensive, so this is just the obvious stuff.

Knotweed is a huge issue. I doubt a provider will give you a mortgage until issues are fixed, and you!!!8217;d need to own the property to fix it. Unless the current owner is offer to ??

Move on - you don!!!8217;t want this bag of problems on your first property.

Smodlet

I think you now realise why the owners are selling it and why the price is what it is. Don't walk, run would be my advice. Your call.

Arsenal2019

Thank you both for your replies so far.
We are going to try and contact the sellers directly today, rather than going through the estate agent.
We are going to ask them to pay for the engineer and also to fix whatever problems.

They are selling the house as they have been given a house from a relative who has passed away. So hopefully they are willing to pay for it but we won't find out until we speak to them.

When they moved in 6 years ago, they said, and the estate agent said that their report on the house came back fine. So whether these problems have recently occurred or if they just had a poor survey done is anyone's guess

malkie76

Just be careful with all of that backstory - sellers and estate agents aren't well known for their honesty.

Davesnave

All of these problems are fixable at a price, except the knotweed, which is an unknown until you find out who owns the land it's on and what their response to a control and eradication programme would be.

One might think they would jump at the chance of having this cheaply or for free, but thinking something isn't the same as knowing it. For example, if they decided they wanted to purchase the property, there would obviously be less incentive for cooperation.

dunroving

"Me and my partner are looking to get a mortgage (1st time buyers) on this end terrace cottage, as we absolutely love it."

Take the emotion out of the equation. It's a business decision. Quit while you are ahead. Look for another house. [all these comments based on the existence of Japanese Knotweed, and a gut feeling about the back story]

Penguin2017

Knotweed! much as you might love the house, please dont buy. Its not worth negotiating, as JK is really hard and expensive to cure. I feel for them, as its a hard one to have in your house

Goath

Agree with all of the above - JK would make me run a mile.


JK is very difficult and expensive to get rid off


if it where my money, I would not touch this property at all.