Would these survey results put you off?

bazmattaz

Hi all,

We're first time buyers and getting the max mortgage we can afford thus are extremely nervous about purchasing a property that turns out to be a money pit.

The property is a two bed Victorian in East London dating back to 1900 and the owner has lived there for 40yrs so it needs some updating/modernisation but on the surface is in good condition

We had a full building survey done recently and the surveyor found the following (listed in detail at the bottom of this post)
- A lot of damp under downstairs floors
- Chimney breast missing downstairs
- Roof needs strengthening
- Flag of possible asbestos
- Electrics needs updating/rewiring

The surveyor mentions we should budget at least £15K for this work and I've heard a rewiring could be 5k-6k easily

My questions:

1 - Does this survey sound serious? the chimney and the possible asbestos scare me!
2 - We're a bit deflated. Is there a chance the seller would knock some of this money off for this type of work?
3 - Is asbestos in an old Victorian house a massive worry? I've been told it could simply be deep in the walls or roof packed away from where the home owner lives and breathes.

We're really deflated at the moment. Would be good to get some peoples thoughts on these results.

Thank you all

---

Summary of findings

1) High moisture content readings were recorded through the ground floor, to the kitchen and through the rear perimeter wall to the reception. Given the age of this property, you must be prepared to undertake remedial repairs to the boards/joists as they are susceptible to failure in this type of construction. This is especially the case when poor ventilation of the sub floor has been experienced and/or timber joists are in contact with external walls which have recorded high moisture content readings.
The structural floor timbers were concealed and the possibility of defects, including rot and wood boring beetle attack etc being present to inaccessible timbers cannot be ruled out therefore the risk of concealed risk must be accepted.

2) I do not believe the sub floor to the rear reception is adequately ventilated and advise you to prepare to install/improve sub floor ventilation.
You should seek further advise/estimates for a suitable contractor in regard of the dampness through the ground floor and improve sub floor ventilation.

3) The property originally would not have been laid with concrete tiles, it would most likely have had slates, considerably lighter than the current cover. It is often a requirement and best practice to provide additional strengthening to the structure. Strengthening has not obviously been installed. In older premises, typically terrace type properties, it is not unusual for the rafters and purlins to be undersized and the roof to be inadequately braced to limit the effects of roof spread.
I consider it necessary to install and consult a bone fide roofing contractor/engineer for further advice.

4) The electrical installation is a dated fuse board arrangement, not considered safe to modern standards and must be inspected by a qualified contractor as upgrading is required. It maybe that a complete rewire is considered necessary and you should be prepared to undertake a degree of upgrading subject to a qualified electricians report.

5) A chimney breast looks to have been removed through the ground floor to the left party wall. I cannot determine how the chimney flue is supported in the bedroom above. It is essential that you establish it has been removed in accordance with building regulations. This information should be available via the Local Authority’s building control offices. If it is not then intrusive investigation will be required to establish how it has been supported and whether or not this is adequate.

6) We have not checked for or identified asbestos containing materials (ACM). It is very likely that in a property of this age there will be such ACM’s. If you propose to undertake refurbishment works your contractor will request a survey to be undertaken to establish what, if any, there are.

spadoosh

It doesnt sound liek the kind of house id recommend to someone borrowing the most amount of money they can.

Id suggest a new build.

This house will definitely cost you money.

Damps not uncommon in old properties. Normally you can rougly guess the damage not visible by the smell. Rotting and damp wood smells.

Venitlation issues are not uncommon in older houses. Youll probably find something is already in place but been blocked up. Its air bricks, not a huge cost.

Inadequate roof support is potentially dangerous, collapsed roof kind of thing. That said, if things are going to break because something is too heavy they break straight away, or need something like a straw to break its back kind of thing. The older (the roof tiles) the better in this case.

The chimney breast is just the person highlighting that they can not see through wall.

Asbestos is dangerous but only as dust. Undisturbed nothing to worry about, doing work ask questions. Youll be doing work so you need to be asking questions.

There nothing hugely concerning there to me. I like doing work and renovations though. Without seeing it and hearing that someone lived there for 40 years, you absolutely need a budget. And id suggest actually have an idea of what youre dealing with (the fact your asking shows theres more ignorance there than i would be comfortable with)

Sorry. Obviously i havent seen the house or know your circumstances. And houses are an incredibly personal thing.

Rule #1 of house buying.... dont overstretch.
Rule #2 do your research (This includes understanding maintenance and repairs and renewals).

[Deleted User]

Even if it does cost £15k to fix up, you will have to live there while they do the work. Rewriting, for example, is quite disruptive.

I'd be looking for a fairly significant discount because of that.

Soot2006

It all sounds pretty standard for that age of house. Did the valuation in current condition match your offer/purchase price? If the valuation was lower, then there's a good argument to reduce your offer to the level of the valuation. If not, then it's a question of negotiation. And how much you like the house!


We have had some pretty grim survey results back but have decided that most of it was probably expected. We won't be reducing our offer defacto, however if our own buyer wants money off our sale then we may have to attempt to pass some of that up the chain as can't afford to take it on the chin from all sides.

bazmattaz

Thanks all for your replies.

Yes the house is quite old so we expected a few of these issues.

The fireplace issue is a little worrying. Some time ago someone actually removed the fireplace from the downstairs room but the chimney stack is present in the upstairs bedroom. The big question is whether there has been sufficient support for this upstairs chimney stack.

The house will cost money and we have some money to put into it but just keen to get a gauge of how bad these few issues were

novelty-socks

If the place needs work then just try to estimate how much it'll cost to get the work done that has to be done, plus anything that you want toget done. Then add on a decent contingency (old houses are unpredictable). At that point, you'll know that you either can or can't afford it!

For reference, I recently bought a two-bed flat in a period conversion in London. Rewiring was ~£5k (it's big for a two-bed place), but we also had a lot of other work done: replastering, removing radiators, whole new bathroom, etc. Total cost was ~£30k.

bazmattaz

Thanks @novelty-socks for your reply. That’s interesting 5k sounds about right for us I think for electrics.

Do you mind me asking how much your plastering was? We’ll need that too.

Did you address any damp at all?

FreeBear

bazmattaz wrote: »

Do you mind me asking how much your plastering was? We’ll need that too.

A Victorian property would have originally used lime plaster - I would strongly recommend using the same. Lime plaster will allow any moisture in the walls to evaporate and "breath". Modern gypsum plasters, especially when backed by waterproof renders, trap moisture within the walls and lead to further trouble in years to come. In addition, gypsum plasters are intolerant of damp, and turn to mush fairly quickly.

need_an_answer

Whilst you have an indication that you may require a full rewire and can budget for the up to £5k cost have you actually then budgeted for the remedial work that will then need doing as a result of the rewire?

Rewiring a property is an intrusive part of renovation that's why its usually best done whilst the house is not occupied soon after purchase.


It sounds to me that you are buying a lovely ripe property that in the first instance will become a money pit..it will take you time and money to bring it up to your standard so prepare for it to be your hobby for years to come.


As a general rule when a house has been lived in by the same owner for 40 years or so,its been loved but it also probably hasn't had a lot done to the fabric and body of the property so you need to factor in not just the survey work but the work that will no doubt be needed to peel back the layers so that you can renovate successfully.


The last property I did with a full renovation was 6 or 7 years ago and whilst on first inspection it was well cared for,it still cost in the region of £50k to bring it to a midrange standard to go forward.

bazmattaz

A Victorian property would have originally used lime plaster - I would strongly recommend using the same. Lime plaster will allow any moisture in the walls to evaporate and "breath".

Thank you this is super helpful. I am budgeting around £3k-£4k for plastering for a 80sqM property. Does that sounds right?

have you actually then budgeted for the remedial work that will then need doing as a result of the rewire?

Yes, we're expecting approximately the following;

Fix Damp + joists - £2k - £4k
Plastering - £3k-£4k
Electrics - £5k - £6k
Roof - £500 (just got a quote today)
Support under upstairs chimney - ???

it still cost in the region of £50k to bring it to a midrange standard

Wowza! Where did the cost go? can you give a simple break down at all? Was there structural damage or something?

Thanks all for replying

[Deleted User]

DELETED USER wrote:

Even if it does cost £15k to fix up, you will have to live there while they do the work. Rewriting, for example, is quite disruptive.

I'd be looking for a fairly significant discount because of that.

Why would you expect a discount due to the work highlighted? Old properties have damp, old properties 99% of the time have old electrics. There is no reason to discount a price just because of those. Its not as if they offered thinking it was a new build house.