Bad Homebuyers Report. Help

ddoks

I am a first-time buyer and I have just received a survey report with some bad news and so many pre-exchange conditions. The accepted offer on the property is £309,000. I am looking for some advice on whether to pull out or negotiate. What will you do if you're in my shoes -without the emotions?

Summary of the report:

We cannot provide a Market Value of the property because of the need for essential reports
in respect of the extensive damp found throughout the ground floor. We will be pleased to
give our opinion on the Market Value of the property as soon as this additional information
becomes available to us for our inspection and consideration. You should not proceed until
these reports have been obtained and considered fully. The after works value for the
property is £309,000.

About the Property:

The property is on a moderately sloping site. The property is located in an area of
shrinkable subsoil which could affect the building's structure and we refer you to our
comments later in the body of this report and in Section J.

Damp at ground floor level

High damp meter readings were recorded internally throughout the ground
floor. We believe these high reading are due to a combination of factors such as the
absence of an effective damp-proof course and failure of the cavity wall insulation.
This has led to damp throughout the ground floor.This is a risk to the building and we refer you to our comments in Section J.

Others
AMBER

1. There is some historic minor longstanding cracking on the front of the property around the living room window.
2. The lintel over the living room window has dropped slightly. The masonry overhead has also cracked.
3. The inner seals to the living room window are defective
4. The glazing throughout the property has no British Standard safety rating.
5. The property has one brick chimney stack. The stack is shared with the adjoining property. This is surmounted by two pots and a metal flue terminal. A number of items, were noted including for example the following:-
   1. The top part of the stack is badly weathered.
   2. The mortar pointing is also in poor condition.
   RED
6. Ventilation to the airspace beneath the ground floor is inadequate. There is
   only one vent to ventilate the ground floor.
   The lack of ground floor ventilation could be a contributing factor to the damp
   found, as mentioned previously in Section E4.

Section J
J1
Local Environment - presence of shrinkable sub-soil under the property;
E4: Main walls - damp present;
F4: Floors - inadequate under-floor ventilation;
G1: Electricity - no current test certificate;
G2: Gas/oil - no current test certificate;
G4: Heating - no current test certificate - no recent record of a service -
G5: Water heating - no current test certificate - no recent record of a service - boiler.
J2
Local Environment - shrinkable sub-soil present.
J3
The matters listed within this section of the report do not constitute a formal assessment
under Health & Safety Regulations as this would need to be applied to each occupant!!!8217;s
needs, but they are intended to draw your attention to those hazards which in the
surveyor's opinion pose a direct threat to users of the building.
E5: Windows - possible unsafe glazing;
E6: Outside doors - possible unsafe glazing;
F2: Ceilings - possible asbestos content;
F7: Woodwork - possible unsafe glazing; missing handrail;
G1: Electricity - no current test certificate;
G2: Gas /oil - no current test certificate - no recent record of service -
G4: Heating - no current test certificate - no recent record of a service - boiler;
G5: Water heating - no current test certificate - electric shower;
H3: General - slippery decking [in the garden]

Sectio I1
Your legal adviser should check whether Local Authority notifications, approvals and
completion certificates have been obtained, if necessary, for the roof conversion, the cavity
wall insulation, the double glazing installation, the alteration of the electrical system and
the installation of the boiler and that all statutory inspections have been made and
appropriate completion certificates issued. If regulations have been breached or work
carried out without the necessary approvals and certificates, then extensive and costly
alteration works may well be needed to ensure compliance

VALUATION

In my opinion the Market Value on [date] as inspected was:
£309,000

Tenure Freehold

Area of property (sq m)* 98* Approximate gross external area of the building or flat.

In my opinion the current reinstatement cost of the property (see note below) is: £185,000

SG27

"Slippery decking in the garden" :rotfl:

The only issue there is the damp. How old is the house? Did you signs of damp when you viewed?

High damp could be condensation. Fixed by ventilation. There may be leaking doors or windows. Easily fixed. Could need a few airbricks to ventilate sub floor, fairly easy fix. Could be penetrating damp, might cost a few thousand.

Could be a good opportunity to knock a few grand off the price though. However if there are no signs of damp then the vendore might not ve happy about it.

[Deleted User]

If there is failed cavity wall insulation, find another house. If the house has had cavity wall insulation, do some google searches inserting the word 'problems'.

It could be the owners recognised there was a damp problem or the house was very cold, so went with the government recommended cavity wall insulation, without researching when its appropriate (and when not) and the problems that can occur because of it when badly done.

I can't comment on the rest of the post.

Davesnave

At best, a damp meter is a crude device, but surveyors love 'em. Quantifies. Can't argue with a high reading!

But what is the cause?

You need a report from an independent timber and damp surveyor (not a company that offers surveys "free") to determine the reason(s) forthe high moisture readings.

It could be one of the things labelled "such as," or none of them.

skint_chick

That doesn't sound too bad! The lintel moving slightly above the living room window has caused some cracks to the plaster and damaged the seal to the window, it's minor so nothing to panic about. You might want to get a builder to take a look at it, and get the seal fixed. The chimney could do with being repointed, and possibly some bricks replaced. Most homeowners don't get an electrician in to certify their electrics every year, usually people do get their boilers serviced but some people don't bother. It would be worth considering getting a boiler engineer to look at the gas/oil/hot water - is this multiple systems or has the surveyor just not tailored the report to the actual heating? I wouldn't worry about the windows, a lot of them don't have any labelling for surveyors to tell if they are safety glass or how old they are.

If there isn't enough ventilation it's easy enough for a builder to sort out airbricks, that might be all that's needed. Worst case scenario it's rising damp/penetrating damp and £3,000 max should cover it - and a bit of redecorating. They should also be able to comment on the cavity wall insulation - it's more likely that the lack of ventilation and lifestyle has led to the damp.

What you should do is not panic, get an independent damp surveyor booked, and speak to a builder about the chimney. Once you have reports/quotes go back to the surveyor and ask for an updated report. Then if you need to negotiate the price you'll know where you stand.

ddoks

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

"The only issue there is the damp. How old is the house? Did you signs of damp when you viewed?
"
I saw a sign of damp on the outiside wall, but it I did the viewing on a wet day.

According to the Survey, the house was built in 1935

We believe it was originally constructed for the Local Authority. The roof space has been converted into additional accommodation which we were told was carried out in 2016.

The age of the house was also picked up in a floor support and possible presence of asbestos

Condition Rating 3. Further Investigation.

As the sub-floor ventilation is inadequate the quality of support to the floor is
suspect. The floor and other hidden areas in near proximity should be opened up
and examined in more detail.
Whilst no signs of wood-boring beetle attack were found, older properties such as
this one are very susceptible to such infestation which may well be discovered
when the property is completely emptied. Should an outbreak be discovered,
localised treatment may be necessary.

Most properties of this age and type are likely to contain some asbestos based
materials in one form or another. In addition to the asbestos mentioned earlier in
this report, properties of this age and type are likely to contain other asbestos
based materials in one form or another. The presence of asbestos would not
normally constitute a hazard unless the material which contains asbestos is
disturbed, drilled or damaged. When maintenance work, building improvements or
alterations are undertaken, you should therefore be mindful of the possibility of
asbestos and the need for a licensed contractor to remove and dispose of any
asbestos found which could be costly.

I am in two minds 1) Back out now ? or 2) Spend more money with a new independent surveyor - which will potentially end up in pulling out again?

SG27

ddoks wrote: »

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

"The only issue there is the damp. How old is the house? Did you signs of damp when you viewed?
"
I saw a sign of damp on the outiside wall, but it I did the viewing on a wet day.

According to the Survey, the house was built in 1935


The age of the house was also picked up in a floor support and possible presence of asbestos

Condition Rating 3. Further Investigation.





I am in two minds 1) Back out now ? or 2) Spend more money with a new independent surveyor - which will potentially end up in pulling out again?

Depends how much you want the house? High damp meter readings are very common though. Our independent damp and timber survey was around £250. Never had a problem since.

Cakeguts

It is an ex council house that may or may not have been well maintained by the council since 1935. Someone has done it up (a bit) on the cheap and not addressed the issues that it has while spending money on cheap double glazing.

Do you want an ex council house that has been bodged? Do you want an ex council house? The chances are that if it has been done up on the cheap when you start to try to repair it you will find all sorts of other problems.

I think if I was a first time buyer I wouldn't buy it because I probably wouldn't want to live in what could potentially become a building site and money pit.

SG27

Cakeguts wrote: »

It is an ex council house that may or may not have been well maintained by the council since 1935. Someone has done it up (a bit) on the cheap and not addressed the issues that it has while spending money on cheap double glazing.

Do you want an ex council house that has been bodged? Do you want an ex council house? The chances are that if it has been done up on the cheap when you start to try to repair it you will find all sorts of other problems.

I think if I was a first time buyer I wouldn't buy it because I probably wouldn't want to live in what could potentially become a building site and money pit.

On the other hand I would love an ex council house, which are generally well built with large rooms. Any house could have been bodged over the years whether its ex council are not.

Cakeguts

SG27 wrote: »

On the other hand I would love an ex council house, which are generally well built with large rooms. Any house could have been bodged over the years whether its ex council are not.

Depends where they are. There are some nice small estates and there are some horrible big ones with nice houses on them that have been badly treated by the tenants.

pinklady21

What would worry me is that you are currently offering to pay 309k for a house with issues that may or may not be expensive to repair, and the valuation after the issues are fixed is still 309k. Does not sound like a great deal.
As others have said, how much do you want it?