Lots of issues found on building survey/damp & timber survey on old terraced house.

StressedFTB2019

Hi, I apologise for the length of this post!

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TL;DR version:

FTB buyer whose building survey and damp/timber survey have found dozens of issues/potential future issues, particularly relating to damp. No visible issues on multiple visits to the house. Hard to tell how urgent or typical these are, and whether to proceed, negotiate or withdraw.
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I am an FTB currently in the process of buying my first house. It's an old end terrace house estimated to have been built around 1900-1910. I had a full building survey completed and this raised several potential issues including damp, so I had a damp and timber survey done as well, which raised more issues. I've never seen a survey before so don't know what is typical, what is concerning, expected costs and whether to negotiate. I know they can often be overly cautious. Both surveyors were independent and don't sell any products themselves so have no reason to lie.

About the house:

• The house is right at the top of my budget at £160K and above the market as most similar houses in the area sell for £140-£150K.
• My accepted offer was £2K over the asking price.
• The house is decorated to a high standard with no obvious work needed in any room. I even like their colour choices so wasn't even going to give it so much as a lick of paint!
• Cheaper properties needed more obvious work, e.g. a new kitchen, so I stretched my budget expecting little to no work except regular maintenance, so the works highlighted are really disappointing.
• I wasn't advised of any needed work during visits.
• I really love the house, it meets all my needs and after looking at sites for a couple of years on/off and viewing about a dozen this is the best I've found!

I am really struggling to know what to do and would appreciate some insight. I've quoted a few areas highlighted in the surveys below.

Valuation survey:

The lender valuation survey passed without a retention, so I assume they valued the house about right.

Summary of issues in the damp survey:

• The roof has an insufficient overhang, with the potential for rainwater to cause penetrating damp.
• Defective rainwater goods - Not been water tested.
• Cracking to the external wall render.
• Defective brickwork pointing.
• Ground levels too high bridging the damp proof course.
• Insufficient sub-floor ventilation - Recommend lowering ground level and installing air bricks. (Building survey said ventilation was adequate.)
• Some timber decay was noted to external joinery.
• Defective areas of plaster - Expressed view this was due to damp proof course being bridged - Recommended replaster entire ground floor level and install plastic membrane.
• Hygroscopic salt contamination in the chimney breast - Recommended capping with a cowl.
• Mould growth (NB small patch outside bathroom) - Recommended installing vents.
• Defective roofing - but they didn't find any leaks
• Some slight movement and sloping was noted to areas of floors - Unable to determine cause without pulling up floors. (Building survey below said these were fine, and didn't find any damp there either.)
• Water staining around chimney stacks.

*Light at the end of the tunnel here* No visible evidence of woodworm in any exposed timbers - Hurray!!!

It seems some of these would be quite easy fixes, e.g. digging a trench a few inches deep around the house, installing vents. They estimated the "internal damp work" to cost £5,000, but no figures for external work were given.

Summary of the issues in the structural survey (other than the damp):

In red (3):

• Chimney stacks - As above.
• Rainwater pipes and gutters - As above
• Main walls - Pointing and brickwork as above.
• Walls and partitions - Tapping plaster makes hollow sounds, may fall away.
• Floors - Explanation says flooring is fine, so not sure why they put it in red.
• Electricity, gas/oil, heating, water - I understand this is common - No work was recommended for any of these except fully testing all services.
• Grounds (part of) - Poor drainage, fencing decay.

In orange (2):

• Roof coverings - Found some asbestos, replace some flashing.
• Outside doors - Minor rot was noted.
• Other joinery and finishers - Sections of suspected rot.
• Ceilings - Polystyrene tiles in kitchen.
• Fireplaces and chimney breast - Recommends ventilation.

Concluded this a "typical example" and "reasonable purchase".

The damp concerns me most, but I do know that old houses are prone to damp and it may not be possible to eradicate entirely. The house didn't appear obviously damp when I visited twice with family/friends, didn't smell (although it smelt of their dogs!), wasn't cold and the walls weren't cold to the touch from what I recall. Although it's possible vendors decorated recently to attempt to conceal issues.

I have been renting in an obviously damp house (visible patches, cold walls, mould and staining etc) for years and nothing disastrous has happened here so far.

Are these issues typical of a house this age? Which ones should I be most concerned about? Which are likely to cost the most?

I feel I should negotiate the price or even consider withdrawing entirely. If I did withdraw would the next Victorian/Georgian terrace I see likely have the same issues?I want

I feel quite bad as I got the surveys mid-November but haven't done anything about them until now. I buried my head in the sand a bit as there's so much information it's overwhelming. I have only now had the chance to review the reports closely, research what all the terms mean and call the surveyors. Although a date hasn't been set yet I suspect exchange can't be far away either! I don't want to be seen as gazundering them.

I am really anxious to proceed with such a huge list of potential issues to worry about in the future. Are surveys always this doom and gloom? I would really like to make this my home, but I worry that it's going to fall down, cost a fortune and not be able to sell it in the future!

Thank you for any help you can offer.

G_M

Simple

The house is right at the top of my budget at £160K and above the market as most similar houses in the area sell for £140-£150K.

Given the amount of work needed you need to either

* get the price reduced or
* find another cheaper property or
* find another proprty in better condition.

anselld

Sounds like every Victorian terrace I have ever come across.
Nothing to panic about, but as GM states, no reason to pay above market value.

FreeBear

StressedFTB2019 wrote: »

Summary of issues in the damp survey:

• Defective areas of plaster - Expressed view this was due to damp proof course being bridged - Recommended replaster entire ground floor level and install plastic membrane.

It seems some of these would be quite easy fixes, e.g. digging a trench a few inches deep around the house, installing vents. They estimated the "internal damp work" to cost £5,000, but no figures for external work were given.

Sort out the guttering, downpipes, and ground levels. The roof overhang is nothing that you can do anything about - It has been like that for 100+ years, so don't worry about it.

Installing a "plastic membrane" and replastering will not fix any issues with "damp". If the existing plaster is not falling off the walls, leave well alone. Any areas that do need replacing can be patched with lime plaster for a lot less than £5K - If you want to learn some DIY skills, it is even something you could tackle yourself.

AlexMac

I agree the above; the great news is that there is nothing serious (movement, subsidence, inadequate structural timbers in the loft...), and that the roof covering has presumably been renewed in the past 30 years or the surveyor would have alerted you to impending failure of the tiles?

As regrds the rest, it sounds to be in better shape than the past four 19th Century/ early 20th C houses I've owned!

warehouse

Sounds like every survey I've ever had done. The damp thing is an absolute con. Google it.

StressedFTB2019

Thank you for your responses everyone, these are really helpful! I did think when first reading the surveys that some of the issues couldn't be as bad as they said else the current owners couldn't live there, so it's reassuring to hear from others that these issues aren't completely out of the ordinary.

What I think I might do is figure out a list of essential repairs (not modernisation) and come up with a rough total cost for them. Would it seem reasonable to ask for half the cost of the work to be discounted or to suggest the vendors could complete the work themselves? I think I'd potentially be happy with even a few grand to just help towards getting some of the more pressing work done. I don't want to ask for too much off in case they tell me to do one!

StressedFTB2019

Hi everyone, just thought I'd post an update for you. I came up with estimated costs for priority repairs and put it to the vendor, asking for half. I managed to negotiate a few grand off the asking price, it wasn't as much as I wanted but at least some towards getting work done. Now we're moving forward looking at setting exchange and completion dates so hopefully will be in there before long.

quotememiserable

StressedFTB2019 wrote: »

TL;DR version:

FTB buyer whose building survey and damp/timber survey have found dozens of issues/potential future issues, particularly relating to damp. No visible issues on multiple visits to the house. Hard to tell how urgent or typical these are, and whether to proceed, negotiate or withdraw.

For those (most) of you who don't know, TL;DR means Too Long, Didn't Read. This is a perfect example of the art. Tells you enough, and you can decide if you want to read the detail. It was invented by the users of Reddit.