Homebuyers report and damp

Ellejaypea

The homebuyers report has come back for the property I put an offer on and it says the following;

"I recorded high damp meter readings to the ground floor walls. Further investigation by a member of the Property Care Association or similar is required to determine the extent of the dampness and the cost of remedial works. There is also a risk of associated decay in adjacent timbers and you should ensure that these are also inspected."

We've viewed the property twice and I can't say we noticed any damp smell or saw any damp in the main part of the house (we did see some in the utility which is in the back part of the garage). The property is currently empty and has been for about 5 months. We think the house was built in the 1930's, so it is an older house too.

I guess I'm wondering where to go from here. Do I see if the vendor will pay for a damp report or do I get one myself? The valuation was for my offer price so they haven't knocked anything off it. Will this affect me if I adjust the price to reflect any work that needs to be done?

FreeBear

Ellejaypea wrote: »

"I recorded high damp meter readings to the ground floor walls. Further investigation by a member of the Property Care Association or similar is required to determine the extent of the dampness and the cost of remedial works. There is also a risk of associated decay in adjacent timbers and you should ensure that these are also inspected."

I bet he used one of those damp meters that you poke in to wood to get a moisture reading - They are only good for use on untreated timber. When stuck in to brick or plaster, even simple things like the type of plaster or paint will affect the readings. It the walls have any salt contamination, the readings will be way off. In the correct hands, they can be used to localise a damp spot, but should never be used to give a definitive reading.

As for the PCA, they are the trade body representing the chemical timber & damp proof treatment companies. Guess what they will recommend ?
Expensive, generally useless, potentially damaging, and ineffective "cures" for damp that will need to be redone in five or ten years. If you want a proper damp survey carried out, find someone with experience in old properties and has no links to the PCA or any company selling these damp "cures".

Chances are, if there is a damp issue, it will be a leaking gutter, downpipe, or elevated external ground levels. Very occasionally, it might be debris inside the cavity which none of these "cures" will solve.

That said, by all means call in a PCA "surveyor", but only if you want to use it as a bargaining chip to get the price down. Don't ever show the report to your mortgage company.

scholesfan88

I have just recently been in the same situation as yourself.

We offered on a 1920's semi, had been vacant for atleast 3 months and homebuyers survey flagged up identical comments.

You will need the sellers approval to rip up the carpet/flooring to gain access to inspect the timbers.

We paid for a PCA approved independent surveyor to do a damp report, only for the mortgage company to throw it back at us on exchange day as the underfloor timbers hadn't been inspected and the seller refused for the wood floor to be taken up for this to take place.

We ended up having to pull out and it cost us, but cost considerably less than replacing a rotten timber frame.

Think carefully before proceeding would be my advice. The whole damp industry is a con too.