very bad survey on old house

Smodlet

Snowing? Blizzard!

nobblyned

Best not view anything that is a renovation job again. You are wasting people’s time.

happypie

nobblyned wrote: »

Best not view anything that is a renovation job again. You are wasting people’s time.

actually i didn't mind renovation that much as that was factored in price.
it's things which i could never improve like no parking, busy road, shared garden access with right of way, along with damp in almost all walls of house and other issues found in survey made me change my mind.

and if people don't want time wasted then they should be more open to disclosing issues like damp, shared access (not owned/have right of way) and things like that.

i've wasted more money and time than anyone else on this, fyi.

Lauralou79

If you are looking at older houses a lot of the issues you stated will be there too. A lot of damp isn't as big a deal as damp companies have you believe.
Older houses probably all register with some form of damp reading when using a meter!

Also when viewing it's up to you to ask questions of things that are important to YOU. I've been helping a friend view who is buying alone and she had a list. You could of asked if the house had been rewired recently? You obviously saw things were old in the house like bathrooms and kitchens etc. I don't see how it's the vendors fault. You could see the parking situation when offered ? The other things really why you have solicitors and surveys surely. But take the lessons learned another question to ask at viewings: is the garden private/shared access?

trailingspouse

I think you've made the right decision. Major works aren't for everyone. I lived on a building site for three years - literally needing to put work boots on to get from bedroom to bathroom in the middle of the night. I felt it was worth it, as we now have a huge house that is just how we want it (rather than a small house with kitchen/bathroom that was perfect but wasn't of our choosing) - and we've added value.

All the best for your future house-hunting. At least now you know what you don't want!!

happypie

another update. change of mind. we're going ahead with purchase.
compromised on few things but idea of searching for another property in budget, going through surveys, solicitors and whole process scares me. it's tiring process. if not this then probably would have not looked for anything for another year and wasted money on rent.

anyways, thanks guys for all the input.

happypie

see you guys in DIY forum

societys_child

happypie wrote: »

see you guys in DIY forum

Looking forward to it . . . :j

konark

TBH British surveyors' reports are always full of pessimism and concern over the smallest thing. There's nothing in that report that you wouldn't expect in a run-down 100 year-old property, and the estimates for price to fix will always err on the generous side.


As for saying polystyrene tiles are toxic, well every fridge, dishwasher and microwave I've bought has come packed in it so it can't be that bad.

FreeBear

konark wrote: »

TAs for saying polystyrene tiles are toxic, well every fridge, dishwasher and microwave I've bought has come packed in it so it can't be that bad.

Polystyrene is not toxic in itself. It is however, very easy to set on fire, and gives off toxic fumes when burning. It also leaches the plastiser out of PVC insulated cables which poses another safety issue.

A bit of advice for the OP - Please think carefully about slapping cement, gypsum plaster, and other modern materials on to the fabric of 100+ year old buildings. If you use appropriate materials in the renovation/refurbishment (i.e. lime mortar & plaster), you will suffer far fewer problems in the long term.