very bad survey on old house

cybervic

I am also a FTB buying a property that need full updating, everything was done 30 years ago, very old and dated. I would say things like rewire and insulation are something one would expect in am outdated property and should be taken into consideration when making offer. Unless you have electrician's report that the current set up is unsafe/dangerous, it's difficult asking vendor to pay for things for your benefit.

Only you can decide whether this project is still worth it, and only vender can decide if he's comfortable with your offer. Try to find out vendor's situation, keep/desperate to move on or in no hurry at all, then you can decide if you should stand firm with your reduced offer or walk away.

davidmcn

happypie wrote: »

(it has two separate tapes for cold and hot water in basin - that must be very old?).

The BBC has published an article just for you this morning:


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42948046

happypie

ProDave wrote: »

Hold on

Your survey says all the things you expected, poor wiring, no gas, needs ne kitchen and bathroom.

It tells you it is an old poorly insulated house and will cost a lot to heat. It suggests external wall insulation and better doors and windows might help.

The ONLY "fault" I can see listed is damp. Much of that may be simple to fix or just thew result of no heating.

You admit it is an old house that needs updating, now you are scared of the updating it needs?

Now if the survey has said it had subsidence, dry rot, wet rot, needs a new roof, walls are leaning etc I could understand you being worried, but I don't see anything other than old house needs updating.

thanks for your response.
i didn't expect electric rewiring honestly. this will come with replastering, repainting and redecorating which also i didn't expect to be done immediately. in addition cost of me living into another place until these things are done.

having no wall insulation is causing damp which can be seen in rooms (as per survey), hence categorized as 2.

basically i am concerned about the amount, effort and time requires to make this properly livable, will be worth or not.

ReadingTim

happypie wrote: »

basically i am concerned about the amount, effort and time requires to make this properly livable, will be worth or not.

That is only a decision you can make - "the internet" isn't going to tell you what to do.

AgentBip

FWIW, I was recently in an almost identical position. Old house, undervalued and needed work doing. We knew this and offered accordingly. The bid was accepted but we pulled out when the initial surveys described much more extensive and urgent work than expected. As FTBs with little in the way of flexible funding and even less knowledge of DIY, we felt the risks involved in covering any contingency, especially in times of political and economic instability, were far too great.

Even had we knocked 20k off the asking price, that 20k wouldn't have ended up in our pockets to help with renovations so renegotiation was a bit pointless. I don't regret pulling out (Although the house was potentially lovely) but I do regret not having a wad of cash ready to invest in it. Oh well. Onward and upward!

If you have funds available after paying for the house purchase and covering the mortgage then it may be worthwhile. Seems a a big risk if you don't though.

FreeBear

happypie wrote: »

having no wall insulation is causing damp which can be seen in rooms (as per survey), hence categorized as 2.

Is this house constructed with solid brick walls (as opposed to cavity) ?
If so, you might want to have a look at this thread about a botched EWI installation - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5880174/external-wall-insulation

The lack of heating and ventilation will be a major contribution to damp in the property, especially if it hasn't been lived in for a while. Whilst EWI may improve the thermal efficiency of the property, it could compound any problems with damp (especially if the root causes are not investigated & fixed). External wall insulation also looks damned ugly around windows & doors. Insulating the walls internally gives you the option of using sympathetic materials which can help control any possible damp issues without wrecking the exterior aesthetics of the property - That said, you'd destroy internal features that would attract some buyers of Victorian properties when you come to sell.

I'm with Doozergirl on "rising damp" - Had it diagnosed on a wall in my kitchen with the recommendation of injected DPC & waterproof plaster. Instead, I removed a few bricks and discovered the cavity was full of sand & construction debris in the problem area. Cost of fixing the problem, less than £50 compared to ££££ to cover up the damp with ineffective "solutions".

Crashy_Time

G_M wrote: »

Nothing to do with the council.


You are not a native-born UK citizen I suspect?
And this is your first property?
And you have little/no experience of property renovation?


Do not buy this property. Buy a New Build!

Don`t buy any property just now, wait to see what the economic fallout from Brexit is going to be IMO.

trailingspouse

I would challenge you to find any Victorian house that doesn't come with this list of things that need doing!!


Our (1908) house had all of this and more. We lived in the house while we did it - full rewire (4 storey house), new kitchen, 2 new bathrooms, redecorating throughout, removing asbestos from basement ceiling (it had been converted to a garage and at one point an asbestos ceiling would have been a requirement). It took us 3 years, we got the house for £15,000 less than the asking price, and we've added £100,000 to the value (although that's by the way as we don't intend to sell).



When we replaced the bathroom, we chose individual hot and cold taps for the basin - I don't really understand the preference for mixer taps, or the idea that an installation must be old if it has individual taps. 5 minutes in the plumbing department of any DIY store would show that they're still on the market.

ProDave

What this thread highlights is the chronic state of a LOT of the UK housing stock.

We really can't just carry on patching up these old substandard houses can we? With the best will in the world they are going to remain a money pit pouring lots of heating into them to keep them habitable.

Surely it is time for another round of "slum" clearance and replace these old outdated houses with something more modern and eficcient?

Personally I would not even look at a house now that did not have an EPC of C or better.

All said as someone self building a new, very well insulated, air tight house that I expect to get an EPC of A when finished.

FreeBear

ProDave wrote: »

We really can't just carry on patching up these old substandard houses can we?

Surely it is time for another round of "slum" clearance and replace these old outdated houses with something more modern and eficcient?

Around my neck of the country, much of the housing stock built between the wars and up in to the 1960s sit on sizable plots - 30-40' wide and up to 180' long. Today, developers would squeeze three rabbit hutches on to the same sized plot.

Why on earth would I want to swap a home with large rooms and a sizable garden with some tiny cage with precious little space outside. Then having neighbours constantly complaining about the slightest of noise or smoke (either from a cigarette or BBQ)... Bland little boxes, all looking the same, built from cheap & thin materials - I'll go for an old property every time.