Mortgage Valuation Survey - Work required

Biggie

Just recieved the valuation report back from a survey.

The house was built in 1935 and it states the following:-

Condition
Some elements of the property are aging and likely to require attention. Evidence of movement was observed in the form of cracking to the main walls together with distortion and movement to internal partitions and roof frame. The defects are longstanding and non-progressive and the likelihood of further significant movement seems remote. No strructural repairs are considered necessary.

Repairs as Condition of Mortgage
Obtain specialist contractors report on dampness to parts of the ground floor walls, lift floorboards in areas adjacent to dampness to check condition of the concealed timbers for any decay, carry out all recommended works. Renew perished wall plaster and make good decoration.

Now quite suprisingly the valuation of £482k is uneffected but I do have a big deposit. have also carried out a full strctural suvey which I should hopefully get in the next few days.

But where do I go from here

Looks like the movement doesn't seem much to worry about.

But for the dampness they want to get a full report and put right any bad timbers.
Who pays ?
Don't see why I should pay or negeociate on something that's wrong with their house !!!!
Whats norm in these circumstances, do I just pull out ! and lose my £850 survey money :mad:

peggydoodaa

I'm on the other end of the problem. Selling a house and the buyer's lender wants a full structural survey & timber/damp report. Buyer would not/could not pay for these, our agents did suggest we could ask them to go 50/50 but we decided to get things moving just to pay for it ourselves (plus we stay in control & get to keep the report should our buyer pull out somewhere down the line). Also means we kept them sweet lol

To answer your question...it's completely up to you. Depends how much you want the house and whether you are prepared to perhaps do the work & get a reduction in price from the vendor?

merlinthehappypig

You ought to be able to get a complete report and cost estimate on the damp from any decent damp-proofing company, free of charge, though be aware that they will always find something that needs doing to justify coming out in the first place. As a buyer this shouldn't worry you, but I know I have cursed these reports as a seller when stupid things have been 'found' costing a lot to deal with.

As for the other things they seem o.k. on a house of this age, but as you are getting a full survey done anyway then that should put your mind at rest.

Usually any defects arising from the survey would result in a renegotiated price, but it all depends on whether the seller is willing to reduce or how much you want the house. There is no hard and fast rule.

Why did you need a valuation and a full structural survey? We have always combined both in the past - unless the rules have changed?

Debt_Free_Chick

Biggie wrote: »

Who pays ?
Don't see why I should pay or negeociate on something that's wrong with their house !!!!
Whats norm in these circumstances, do I just pull out ! and lose my £850 survey money :mad:

There are two views on this and here's one of them ......

You make it sound as though the seller is "overcharging" you, but this isn't a product for which there's a RRP. The valuer seems to think that, in its current state, it's worth £482k and the seller may well have factored the condition into the asking price.

You're not really leaving yourself with any option if you don't want to pay or negotiate, but in any event, you don't know what work needs doing and what it might cost .... hundreds of pounds? Or thousands?

There clearly isn't an immediately urgent problem, either - otherwise, the valuer would have made this clear and it's possible that the lender might have retained some of the mortgage.

Negotiating on the price of a property is no different to negotiating on any other second-hand item - from cars to antiques. You have to decide how much you're prepared to pay to get the property. In the light of this new information, you now have to decide whether you're still prepared to pay £482k. I would suggest it's difficult to evaluate this without knowing what the repairs might be, but what would it take for you to walk away having paid for the survey ....? £100 £500 £1,000

I can absolutely guarantee that this is not the only "something wrong with their house" - but you have to expect nearly 75 years wear & tear, apart from those things that have been renewed, updated or replaced.

Personally, it wouldn't bother me if the work costed £2k on a property of that age, at that price - but you have decide how important it is.

If you need to evaluate the costs, don't get a "contractor" out. The Damp Proof Contractors only sell "solutions" - so when you call them out to inspect, they fabulously offer one of their "solutions". Get a specialist surveyor out, instead ... but you'll have to pay for the inspection, advice and recommendations.

paulrn_2

We have just been through the same, our survey said that there was damp, we got 3 free estimates / inspections for the work, all three came back different, so we took the worst to the vendor and asked for the cost to be taken off the price, it was £6K from £350K. They agreed and we were happy, we have the funds for the work and didn't pay for the investigations. However beware the reports were so different that I do not believe that unless they do an active inspection where they cause damage to find the problem, they are just guessing!!

Biggie

chriseast wrote: »

Why did you need a valuation and a full structural survey? We have always combined both in the past - unless the rules have changed?

Valuation was for mortgage and I paid additional for the full structual,

i'm still awaiting the full structual however the mortgage company has manage to already send the valuation report.

Biggie

thanks for the replies guys,

But the condition of the mortgage explicitly requests for a report and to put everything right.

I’m confused

Does that mean the work has to been done before we can proceed as a condition of the mortgage? Or does it been obtain a report estimating how much it would cost to put it right.

Does the report mean a survey report? Which I presume would cost?

Also what does this mean...

recommended retention based on limited inspection: £750
or does it mean an estimation from the appropriate company.




Also to obtain the report would they have to lift floor boards etc etc....

Debt_Free_Chick

Biggie wrote: »

thanks for the replies guys,

But the condition of the mortgage explicitly requests for a report and to put everything right.

But no-one knows the "everything" that needs to be put right - you need the inspection for that

I’m confused

Does that mean the work has to been done before we can proceed as a condition of the mortgage? Or does it been obtain a report estimating how much it would cost to put it right.

Does the report mean a survey report? Which I presume would cost?

Also what does this mean...

recommended retention based on limited inspection: £750
or does it mean an estimation from the appropriate company.

It means they will hold back (retention) £750 which they think is a rough estimate of the cost of the work - but only based on a limited, visual inspection.

A report is literally recommendations, preferably in writing, from someone who is experience and preferably qualified in giving advice in this situation. A surveyor would cost, yes.

Also to obtain the report would they have to lift floor boards etc etc....

Probably.

Biggie

just spoke to the mortgage company and they said it's not a condition of offer. It;s just a recommedation....


So whats the best way to proceed in terms of getting to know the extent of the problem if there is any problem :-

- Get 3 biased quotes from damp proof spectialist and negociate with vender
- Get a unbiased quote from a surveyor for £750

Debt_Free_Chick

Biggie wrote: »

- Get 3 biased quotes from damp proof spectialist and negociate with vender
- Get a unbiased quote from a surveyor for £750

A bit of a no-brainer when you put it like that, as "biased advice" is not advice at all, in my book

But where did you get £750 from?

Firstly, make sure you are getting a specialist surveyor with experience and knowledge of damp in period properties.

Use the search facility on the RICS website and play around with the different Areas of Practice.

Offer to send them your structural survey and make it clear that you want specialist advice on the recommendation made about the damp/timber ONLY.

Would the surveyor who did the structural survey go back & do an inspection? Be confident that he has the right skills & experience.

Get three quotes - I would have guessed less than £300 for an inspection.

Will the vendor allow a surveyor to carry out a more detailed inspection? They are usually very good at putting everything back in place and tell you if they need to drill a hole or whatever.

Biggie

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

A bit of a no-brainer when you put it like that, as "biased advice" is not advice at all, in my book

But where did you get £750 from?

Well I was thinking a biased advice would work in my favour as I could use it to renegociate the price

The retention menioned was £750 so I assumed this would be the price to get a proper surveyors opnion, I guess he would have to lift the wooden flooring and floor boards to inspect the timbers.