Surveyors report on property we are selling

smoothound

Hoping for some advice on an issue we have encountered.

We are selling a property as Executors of a Will. As such we know very little about the property and any problems it may have. The property is local to us and our deceased relative purchased it in 2015.

So, we had a buyer who has completed a survey. The survey has shown a number of problems, the most concerning to us being 'structural problems'. The buyer not unreasonably has now withdrawn from the sale.

We cannot see the survey and not sure if it has that much detail anyway but how do we establish exactly what 'structural problems' is in order to put that right? I guess we could get our own survey.

The property I guess is a 1950's build bungalow. There are some hairline cracks on a couple of walls but that's it. No big trees around either. The heating has been off over the winter so the building has been cold. Also, the neighbour has done extensive extension work on their property which come up against the boundary - could that have created problems? The area is not known for subsistence and the estate agent said they have never seen this issue on the estate.

We are worried the same result will occur if we re-market but need to move the property on asap.

Any advice is appreciated.

maisie_cat

I would suggest getting a structural engineer to have a look, if it's caused by the neighbour's work then you will have a report to support any action you need to take.
If it turns out that the crack is cosmetic or at least not structural you have something to show prospective purchasers.
If there is a problem you have the option to fix it or price the property to reflect the problem.

tacpot12

Expect to pay £300-£400 for an engineers inspection and report, but unfortunately this will be necessary to take any action against the neighbours, and to have something that a buyer could rely on.

As a buyer, I would want to be sure that the engineer's professional liability insurance covered the report even if I cannot claim against it myself.

SmashedAvacado

if your buyer has pulled out you could ask to buy their survey from them for say £100 - as that's money down the drain to them - so at least you will get an inkling about the issue. you obviously wont be able to rely on that survey but most would be happy to send it on if they were going to get a bit of cash back. ask your agent to offer that to them. they might bite

smoothound

Ok, thanks for the helpful replies. I now have the level 2 survey our buyers commissioned. Lots in it but biggest areas of concern for us are as follows;

- possible failure of damp course as high damp readings
- Cracking to front external wall and numerous cracks internally, some distortion to internal doorways
- Mortar pointing is weathered and areas need repointing
- rear and front porch leaking & rot to timber frames
- timber struts supporting purlins appear to have moved out of true & plumb
- Garage - evidence of structural movement (cracking) to the rear wall

How serious is all of this? Would this cause you to walk away? This is an 1950s/60s bungalow which has been empty all winter and that may explain some dampness as no heating has been on. points 2 & 5 above most concern us and we intend to get advice from a roofer & builder.

Lots of other stuff in the report including red points but some of these other points don't overly concern me - eg, rear door does not appear to have safety glass.

Any advice is gratefully received. We have not sold a house since 2000 and this one is not ours so we don't know the history at all!

Beardmidget

The cracking and distortion are going to put off anyone who isn’t up for either a total rebuild or open heart surgery. That’s going to put off a lot of buyers who might be willing to live with an outdated kitchen/bathroom and redecorate when money allows, but who may not be up for a proper building site.

(He says, while undertaking a massive repair and renovation of a probate property which had similar structural issues)

It would rather depend on what the ceiling price of property in the area was, how much land etc but I’ve seen some quite successful selling of similar old detached bungalows around me with plans and planning permission to demolish and replace. Architectural and planning fees might cost 10k as opposed to 100k for underpinning and internal structural work to polish a turd... With these in place you open up a whole new market of people happy to knock down and rebuild as well as those that might save what’s there.

It’s something worth thinking about, if you were going to spend money it’s less of a risk than ploughing cash into actual building work on a house you’re not personally that interested in, never mind the stress that a project entails.

For reference- this was my house at Christmas... and today...

https://imgur.com/a/0xxlPYe

So there may be someone out there for it as-is, as long as it’s well priced.

smoothound

Beardmidget - wow, you have a big project on the go there and brave of you as well doing that.

Bungalows in this area are on the market for 350-325ish. We were priced at 318 and getting viewings but off market now these issues have come to light....but we must shift it and asap and there are no funds for any major work. The estate are all bungalows and it is very uniform with many bylaws so doubt we would get permission to rebuild.

Not sure how these issues have come about. Our Estate Agent said they have never seen such issues on this estate. It's a reasonable sized estate so they have seen a fair few.

also plenty on the market as well to make matters worse.

Beardmidget

If you just want it gone, the answer is to offer it for a price which builds structural work in.

It sounds like your original price did that with a view to saying £30k would allow a buyer to put in a new kitchen/bathroom and renovate, within the upper end of the price bracket.

Now I suppose you just need to stick your wet finger in the wind and guess what discount will entice builders and developers (or brave/ stupid people like yours truly) to take it on in spite of the structural concerns. My guess would be that if you priced it 250-275k you’ll probably get more than one offer. That may not even be enough to fix it but for that sort of gap between the price and the local ceiling, plenty of people will take a punt.

I appreciate that’s a lot of money you were probably counting on, but as a probate sale I would look at an easier sale bringing you money you won’t have if you stick it out forever. A bird in the hand etc...

Only other thing to explore is if the property has had continuous building insurance. If it is/was, could these structural concerns be rectified by the insurer?

smoothound

Hello again Beardmidget,

you are correct, whatever we get is money we never had to start with so thats the right way of looking at it. This is a probate property split between 7 so it was never going to be a Huge amount but a nice sum nether the less. If this was our own house with these issues I would be gutted.

I have also been coming around to the thought today of selling it cheaper, be honest about the problems, and I am sure that would get interest given the buyer will have a house much less than area price and hopefully cash to make it what they want. the area is sought after and the better end of town.

I appreciate your advice and good luck with your project.