Survey Issues

Bollo2019

Hi,
I'm going through the process of purchasing a 1930's semi detached house and have had our homebuyer's report back on it. I'm aware that to get the best understanding of damage and cost I should get people to look at it and give quotes, however as I'm quite unfamiliar with terminology and price points I would just really appreciate if anyone with experience of similar issues could advise on anything that might give some idea on urgency and cost to repair please? We're in the North East, thanks.

Our main concerns are around the roof and external wall:

The property has pitched and slated roof slopes to the main building which are showing typical signs of ageing. There are several chipped, loose or missing slates to the
verge/gable to both the front and rear. Upon inspection of the roof void, it was discovered that some spray foam has been attached to the underside of the slates and the common rafters. This increases fixings to the battens of the original slates and provides some insulation although impedes natural ventilation between the slates and can conceal any rot or defects within the battens or slates. Replacement of damaged slates is virtually impossible once they have been coated with a spray foam without causing significant damage to the roof. Not all mainstream lenders are happy to lend on properties with spray foam. It is regarded as a temporary fix. When re!roofing in the future, the original slates cannot be re!used. In the short term a roofing contractor should be asked to replace those slates which are chipped and damaged, particularly to the verge/cable to ensure the roof provides a wind and waterproof barrier. Comments on the future life expectancy should be obtained from the roofing contractor.

And:

The property has brick cavity walls. There is evidence of cavity wall tie failure and corrosion with the terrace. There is a widening of joints particularly to the rear elevation. The end ridge tile is proud where lifting to the gable has occurred. This has caused bulging to the
top end of the gable and expansion of wall ties has forced brickwork to move in an upward
direction. A wall tie specialist should be asked to inspect the property and recommend the
necessary remedial work. The upper part of the gable will need to be rebuilt and wall ties
replaced particularly in that section. The upper part of the gable is subject to more weathering and brickwork is spalled. Corrosion at this point of the building is likely to be greater than to other elevations.

In hindsight, I should have paid more for the survey which would have advised on cost repairs

stator

A building survey would not advise on costs. Sounds like you got a good survey.


You need a couple quotes from qualified people.


Some mortgage lenders require remedial work to be carried out by someone in an approved scheme, such as this one

https://www.property-care.org/skill/structural-repair/


Have you checked with your solicitor if the bank are willing to lend on the property? The defects the surveyor has highlighted might put them off, so it might not be worth getting quotes.

neilmcl

Not sure about the cavity wall bit but it's pretty normal for a slate roof of that age to be at the end of it's life. That doesn't mean it requires replacing, it may still be good for years but you'll probably be paying a couple of hundred each year in maintenance, replacing loose and fallen slates, etc. I doubt it'll affect your mortgage application though. For a new slate roof for a typical 1930's semi you're likely looking at around £7K to £10K, could be cheaper if you use cheaper roof tiles.

Bollo2019

stator wrote: »

A building survey would not advise on costs. Sounds like you got a good survey.


You need a couple quotes from qualified people.


Some mortgage lenders require remedial work to be carried out by someone in an approved scheme, such as this one



Have you checked with your solicitor if the bank are willing to lend on the property? The defects the surveyor has highlighted might put them off, so it might not be worth getting quotes.

Yeah I'm pleased with how helpful it was considering the cost (they actually did us a discount as we had them do a survey less than 6 months ago on a property we pulled out of - because of the survey).

Our mortgage lender have done a valuation and are happy with lending. I assume as long as I don't send them my survey I've had done there shouldn't be a problem.

Bollo2019

neilmcl wrote: »

Not sure about the cavity wall bit but it's pretty normal for a slate roof of that age to be at the end of it's life. That doesn't mean it requires replacing, it may still be good for years but you'll probably be paying a couple of hundred each year in maintenance, replacing loose and fallen slates, etc. I doubt it'll affect your mortgage application though. For a new slate roof for a typical 1930's semi you're likely looking at around £7K to £10K, could be cheaper if you use cheaper roof tiles.

I suppose the issue is me not knowing how much spray foam has been applied to the slates to know how many damaged ones can be replaced with, as they suggest on the survey, causing significant damage to the roof.

£7-10k is a huge cost for us unfortunately. We're maxing our budget with the house purchase and don't see a room to negotiate asking price down as we only marginally outbid another person for it anyway. Quite unsure now whether we're able to proceed with it all, given if the roof suffers substantial damage we're not in a position to fully repair

naf123

you could ask the owner of the house to accept a few K lower due to cost of repairs.

The worse thing is he will say no - or go straight to the other bidder? Sorry can't advise....

neilmcl

Bollo2019 wrote: »

I suppose the issue is me not knowing how much spray foam has been applied to the slates to know how many damaged ones can be replaced with, as they suggest on the survey, causing significant damage to the roof.

£7-10k is a huge cost for us unfortunately. We're maxing our budget with the house purchase and don't see a room to negotiate asking price down as we only marginally outbid another person for it anyway. Quite unsure now whether we're able to proceed with it all, given if the roof suffers substantial damage we're not in a position to fully repair

TBH, I doubt they would need replacing, particularly if they're simply age worn at the edges. If there's no water ingress then you have no issues. The whole point of a survey is to ascertain what the true value is after any faults have been discovered, you definitely should use it as a negotiating tool, the other potential buyers will.

Grenage

Bollo2019 wrote: »

Quite unsure now whether we're able to proceed with it all, given if the roof suffers substantial damage we're not in a position to fully repair

Such things could occur at any time, that's just home ownership. That said, things like spray foam would put me off unless the house was something special.


If you won't be able to cope financially with something drastic happening, you're probably over-extending yourselves.

Doozergirl

I couldn't disagree more with some of these replies which seem to ignore the spray insulation and the associated risk of rot.

I have been renovating for 20 years and I would not touch a house with a spray insulated roof unless I could replace the whole thing.

At least this house needs a new roof. Ther ris a consensus on the Home Buying board that any negative survey report on the state of the roof is to be expected. Yes, the roof has lasted 100 years or whatever, no it isn't going to carry on for another 100. Especially not if the roof isn't ventilated properly anymore.

Your vendors have been utterly hoodwinked into spraying a roof that isn't even in good condition to start with.

The fact that some mainstream lenders will not lend on it must send you some sort of alarm bells. Even if your lender allows it, what happens when you come to sell?

I'll buy anything, but to someone looking at a foam sprayed roof with no money to rectify it or a proportionate discount, I'd tell them to look elsewhere.

Bollo2019

Grenage wrote: »

Such things could occur at any time, that's just home ownership. That said, things like spray foam would put me off unless the house was something special.


If you won't be able to cope financially with something drastic happening, you're probably over-extending yourselves.

Can I ask why spray foam would put you off so much please? It is kind of special to us - right size, location, is just within our budget but the asking price is way below what a comparable house over the road recently sold for, so with general updating we could have a fairly good property and potentially make some profit - as long as we aren't caught out by these issues mentioned causing a big problem in the short term. We've got some savings but wouldn't have a e.g. £10k provision for a whole new roof.

Bollo2019

Doozergirl wrote: »

I couldn't disagree more with some of these replies which seem to ignore the spray insulation and the associated risk of rot.

I have been renovating for 20 years and I would not touch a house with a spray insulated roof unless I could replace the whole thing.

At least this house needs a new roof. Ther ris a consensus on the Home Buying board that any negative survey report on the state of the roof is to be expected. Yes, the roof has lasted 100 years or whatever, no it isn't going to carry on for another 100. Especially not if the roof isn't ventilated properly anymore.

Your vendors have been utterly hoodwinked into spraying a roof that isn't even in good condition to start with.

The fact that some mainstream lenders will not lend on it must send you some sort of alarm bells. Even if your lender allows it, what happens when you come to sell?

I'll buy anything, but to someone looking at a foam sprayed roof with no money to rectify it or a proportionate discount, I'd tell them to look elsewhere.

This is exactly what I need to weigh up - it will decide whether I have to negotiate down the asking price and subsequently be prepared to lose the property. Do you have any ballpark figures on a whole new roof for a 3 bed semi?

Really appreciate your insight and advice, thank you.