Survey Findings - What’s Fair to Ask Vendor For

G_M

My thoughts

Maxi2011 wrote: »

We have just had back the results of the structural survey and electrical inspection report we had done and Generally it was good - nothing stating it was red (urgent repair) but £5k worth of “items needing review and attention” broken down as follows:

£550 for a new security alarm totally your choice if you want one or not.
£550 for damp treatment to one wall until you know what is causing the damp you can't know what will cure it or what it will cost.

* top of wall or bottom? ground floor or upstairs?
* diagnosed how? unreliable 'damp meter'? Smell of damp? Peeling wallpaper? Mould?

£1200 to remove asbestos garage roof why remove it? Leave it as is and it's fine. There are thousands of these.
£2500 to replace failed double glazing units Presumably it means misting- surely you saw this yourself when viewing?
Then a whole bunch of smaller stuff like rehipping and repointing on the roof, rehanging doors etc

Well if he's desperate not to lose you and thinks he might, then he might reduce the price - but I wouldn't.


If you are serious though, then investigate the damp. Maybe just needs £50 spending adjusting a futter. Maye it's serious. Who knows?

Maxi2011

Thanks G M

The damp is on the ground floor, it was read with a damp meter near the bottom. The surveyor seemed to believe it was caused by the introduction of damp when the extension was added around 7 years ago as it’s the adjoining wall. We didn’t see any visual signs of it or a smell but we asked the surveyor to check carefully for damp as whenever we went to the house the windows were open - even when the vendor wasn’t home which we thought odd.

We saw no signs of problems with the windows when we viewed. I’ve even looked back at photos I took on the second viewing and I can’t see any visual issue and neither could my husband - I’m no double glazing expert so not sure if the surveyor would have another way to confirm the unit had failed other than misting?

sheramber

We had misting in some of the windows which was repaired under 10 year guarantee. Just the glass was replaced not the whole window.

Out of guarantee one of the patio door panes needed replaced because of misting. That cost was £90
Another pane has now failed but the misting is not permanent. Some days bad, some days a little , many days none so it is possible you viewed on a day when it was not apparent.

Drawingaline

We had misting in a double glazed window. It was there when we moved in, in 2009. Finally got it fixed in 2016. We had two panes fitted, new window handles on two windows and six windows had new hinges. Total cost around £700. So you may not need a whole new window.

G_M

Maxi2011 wrote: »

Thanks G M

The damp is on the ground floor, it was read with a damp meter near the bottom. The surveyor seemed to believe it was caused by the introduction of damp when the extension was added around 7 years ago as it’s the adjoining wall. We didn’t see any visual signs of it or a smell but we asked the surveyor to check carefully for damp as whenever we went to the house the windows were open - even when the vendor wasn’t home which we thought odd.

* If no visual signs or smell it can't be that extensive
* yes odd that the windows are always open - ventilation would help if the cause were internal condensation eg drying wet clothes
not sure why adding an extension the other side of a previously external wall would 'introcuce' damp - maybe phone and ask the surveyor to explain?
* damp meters can be very unreliable (they measure electrical conductivity which can result from material in the wall, not just damp!). Maybe there IS no damp?



We saw no signs of problems with the windows when we viewed. I’ve even looked back at photos I took on the second viewing and I can’t see any visual issue and neither could my husband - I’m no double glazing expert so not sure if the surveyor would have another way to confirm the unit had failed other than misting?

If none of the windows are misted, I'd phone and ask the surveyor in what way the double glazing has 'failed'?

billy2shots

From the findings it sounds like a Home Buyer Survey was carried out (and paid for). Please bear in mind these people have to find faults and highlight them to justify their fee.
Often faults can be fixed quite cheaply but reading the report can be scary with the way it's documented.

Also bear in mind that most sensible sellers price their homes taking into account work that needs doing. To then ask for more money off is taking the work needed into account twice.

You explained things very simply in your opening statement. 'Nothing was red (urgent)'. Jobs a good'en then.
Nothing there to put you off buying a house. You are either seeking a bargain or looking for an excuse not to buy.

Maxi2011

I’m neither seeking a bargain or looking for an excuse not to buy.

You may have missed me mention that this property was on the market for eight months with no offers under two different agencies before we came along and that we offered £320k because that’s what we felt it was worth and therefore fair - if the vendor had taken account of all work needed then i see no reason it would have sat on the market as long as it did - the area is extremely popular, usuallt acknowledged as the best in the city perhaps bar one so the issue wasn’t there.

My question was what is reasonable to expect a vendor to pay versus us - not should I go ahead and buy.

billy2shots

Maxi2011 wrote: »

I’m neither seeking a bargain or looking for an excuse not to buy.

the area is extremely popular, usuallt acknowledged as the best in the city perhaps bar one so the issue wasn’t there.

So why quibble over a few hundred £ and risk losing the property. Just my opinion but most houses require some amount of input. The key is your survey didn't highlight anything serious. Usually it's those serious points which can lead to further negotiation.
These modern home Buyer surveys are good for highlighting issues to people with no real maintenance experience but the negative is people feel they have free rein to renegotiate on something they have already negotiated on, sometimes for minor things.

Are you selling a home? Has your Buyer had a Survey done? Will you lower the price to take into account what that Survey picks up.

I always feel it's best to see things from both sides before deciding your next course of action.

Maxi2011

We are selling and actually we had an ensuite light fixture which had broken and also a damaged sink, both of which we had replaced after we decided to sell as we thought they would be things someone should reasonably expect to be in working condition on purchase - my expectation of our vendor is no greater than I’ve expected my buyers to me:

As to would I discount? For me it depends - again on what should reasonably be expected. The lights are a great example for me - I feel it totally unreasonable that I should spend £320k on a house which was advised as a “great family home, ready to move in to” and then find my light switches don’t turn on the lights when flicked. Equally though, I am not looking to ask for the money for the asbestos roof removal as it’s perfectly expected that a 1950 house may have such a thing and it’s not going to cause me immediate issues on day one.

I think a lot of this comes down to what “most people” would feel is reasonable to expect which is why I wanted to get some opinions on here other than my own - as clearly everyone doesn’t share my view on the world but that doesn’t mean I’m bargain grabbing or looking to find a way out of the sale as you state.

billy2shots

I guess we are all different. I'm buying a place for £425k. It's a state and needs £60k to do it up. That was factored into the asking price and I made an offer taking that into account and what it should be worth when finished.
However I also expect to find other faults along the way so a 15% contingency fund will be in place along with the 60k.

As I said earlier, most properties will have faults (I want to say all but I will resist that)

Your question is basically what is it reasonable for the current owner to pay for. The answer is nothing. Again your Survey didn't highlight any major concerns that would stop you moving in and living there.

What can you get the vendor to pay for if you dig your heels in, is a totally different question.