Survey says: this could be a money pit

FVS

*apologies in advance, this is a long one!*

I've just had the survey done on a house I was hoping to buy.
Paid the full whack for a home inspection report, as it's a non standard construction (Laing easier form) property.
The survey has come back with a lot of issues that would result in the house being a bit of a money pit, and I'm not sure this is ideal as a first time buyer, especially when these types of properties can be hard to sell on.
My second offer of the asking price of £120k was accepted, as the vendor did not want to go any lower.
Now I'm wondering if I want to actually go ahead with this property or not, or if it would be unreasonable to renegotiate the purchase price.
Main concerns brought up in the survey:
-Rising Damp, possibly due to poor cavity wall insulation being put in previously.
-Sulphate attack in the flooring. Needs to be tested, but this could end up costing a huge amount to fix, should it need to be done.
-Asbestos and artex, all will need removing.
These are the biggest areas of concern for me financially!
Then there's also the the eventual need for re-wiring, new windows as the timber frame is deteriorating and there's condensation.
There's also a whole list of the usual suspects of modernising the property, replastering, etc etc.
This is all becoming a bit much for a first time buy, and could potentially leave me in negative equity, later down the line.

So, I'm not sure what to do or how to feel about it all right now, as I really like the area, and the scope the house has, but I'm also aware of the problems that can arise if not dealt with immediately.
I'm not afraid of some d.i.y, I just don't want to be sinking all my funds into this.

Can anyone ease a concerned mind?
Should I see if we can lower the price? Or leave it to potential investors?

Many thanks in advance!

AdrianC

FVS wrote: »

Paid the full whack for a home inspection report, as it's a non standard construction (Laing easier form) property.

Laing EasiForm isn't one of the defective non-standard construction types.
https://collier-stevens.co.uk/2019/01/10/laing-easi-form-housing/

Has the survey flagged anything inherently structural that's down to the construction type? Rusting steels, crumbling concrete, that sort of thing?

If it has, don't walk away. RUN away. Otherwise, it's just a normal older house. The construction type may affect the value in the future, relative to a standard-construction property, but (probably) no differently to how it is now.

The survey has come back with a lot of issues that would result in the house being a bit of a money pit, and I'm not sure this is ideal as a first time buyer, especially when these types of properties can be hard to sell on.
...
Now I'm wondering if I want to actually go ahead with this property or not, or if it would be unreasonable to renegotiate the purchase price.

Your call entirely, of course...

Main concerns brought up in the survey:
-Rising Damp, possibly due to poor cavity wall insulation being put in previously.

Not "rising", but damp ingress. Yep, could be. Or could be the usual trivial maintenance high ground levels, damaged guttering etc etc.

-Sulphate attack in the flooring. Needs to be tested, but this could end up costing a huge amount to fix, should it need to be done.

Is it definite, or is it "Well, there might be"?

-Asbestos and artex, all will need removing.

Again, definite or "might be"?

Then there's also the the eventual need for re-wiring, new windows as the timber frame is deteriorating and there's condensation

Usual older property stuff.

There's also a whole list of the usual suspects of modernising the property, replastering, etc etc.

Without wanting to sound dismissive, this is not a high-end property, not at an asking price of £120k. Is all of that NEEDED? Or is it "nice to have for your home"?

This is all becoming a bit much for a first time buy

Most of what you've said could simply be generic older-property issues.

and could potentially leave me in negative equity, later down the line.

Woah, hold on...
"Negative equity" is when you owe more on your mortgage than the house is worth, because you had too large a mortgage and the value has fallen. You can't even hand over the keys and walk away without taking debt to the mortgage lender with you...
Not when you've just spent more on it than it's worth. That's just called... "normal house ownership"...

[Deleted User]

Getting all that sorted is going to cost tens of thousands. Unless you think you will be able to afford that or the vendor is willing to take it off the purchase price I'd stay away.

G_M

the fact that you are on here asking "if I want to actually go ahead with this property or not," suggests to me that you are not looking to take on an older property that needs work.


So find one that just needs some redecoration........

DigForVictory

My heart goes out to you, FVS as you sound like a buyer who really needs a serial house buyer to steer you through!
All houses are potential money pits - you just need to become the sort of person who "simply cannot live with" the previous owner's colour scheme, bathroom & kitchen configuration, and wants to extend the property on at least two floors.

Or you can get the surveyor on the phone & say thanks but seriously what are the odds on rising damp, sulphate & asbestos. (Artex is usually just a crime against taste rather than a structural concern.) You've paid the expert for their report, now get the detail including a "just how worried should I really be about this?" percentage...

I got a full structural so we knew exactly what was critical & what was rather more optional, but it also included an estimate of a reasonable purchase price given the identified quirks - can you ask your professional to give you an idea of what a reasonable price would be?

So much easier to negotiate with vendors if a neutral & professional third party suggests their home is in fact worth Q...

Amoux

I would say consider carefully whether you have the funds already in place to do any of the immediate work that's needed. This is the crucial question whether this property is right for you. It's all very well renegotiating the price down, but you will still need the disposable finances available to do the immediate work. You need to discern what parts are critical and roughly how much this will cost you. Talk to your surveyor if you are unsure.

If the house has been priced fairly (i.e your survey valuation and/or lender valuation agrees with the offer made) then it's likely the overall conditional and caveats of the place have been factored in.

FreeBear

FVS wrote: »

-Sulphate attack in the flooring. Needs to be tested, but this could end up costing a huge amount to fix, should it need to be done.
-Asbestos and artex, all will need removing.

Sulphate degradation in the floor slab could be an indication that the walls may also be susceptible. Is this property in Cornwall by any chance ?
If the suspected asbestos is in artex, it needn't be a huge problem to deal with - Just skim the ceilings to encase it. Asbestos elsewhere would certainly be a concern and could end up being very expensive to remove.


By the sounds of it, you already have some concerns about the purchase. For a first time buyer, I think you may be better off looking for another property of a more conventional construction.

m0bov

Def get the flooring tested by a specialist, also the Artex, you can get someone to remove a sample and test it.

Separated out issues that would affect the value and integrity of the property, them general improvements and decorating.

caprikid1

Personally for me to touch one it would need to cheap , really cheap and up together. A friend had one years ago and It was on a great size plot in Swindon. The construction though was always a bit of a taint to the property when it came to selling.


I would still say these are perceived as non standard construction although "Not Defective". Even in Swindon many had been skinned in Brick etc.

FVS

Thanks for all the advice everyone!
I've taken on board all the advice posted and decided not to go ahead with the purchase of this property, as it will be too great a project.

After speaking with the surveyor about what could be done to remedy the main issues, it became apparent that it just wouldn't be a simple makeover on the house!

Once again, thank you all for the support and I'm sure I'll be back on here for advice for whichever house I finally end up purchasing!

cloo

Glad you spoke with surveyor, I'd always advise that. I'm normally keen to reassure people they can go ahead, but this sounded potentially like a lot of work. We got a specialist asbestos survey as some of the decor (which was old) awas of a type that sometimes contains it, according to the survey (which was full structural) and we were planning a lot of building work. Luckily it was clear of the stuff!