HomeBuyer Survey Recommends Sub-floor Timber Survey

need_an_answer

Ben1989 wrote: »

Yes I will speak to the surveyor just having network issues with my phone currently!

My wife and I have about £14k to renovate the place after all legal fees, deposit etc. With the floor being new to us, and assuming worst case scenario of dry rot on all the floor, then this would completely consume this money and would make us stop buying the house.

With it being a specialist job I'm at a loss on where to go to inquire for contractors.

In lots of ways £15k is quite a healthy budget to go into cosmetic renovations with.

A lot depends on where you want to spend that money and on what...some of the common mistakes that FTB's make is to want to change the kitchen,bathroom and possibly windows straight off without factoring in that its actually the fabric of the building that you should concentrate on first...the electrics,plastering roof and issues like your timer joists.
No these areas are not the things that make the house pretty but they are the things that keep it standing.

I have no idea what you plan to renovate within the property but can tell you from experience that renovation doesn't always happen quickly unless you have a very healthy budget to plough into it and somewhere else to live whilst its being carried out.

I purchased my current property years ago and its an ongoing thing...when we have some money we do some more and the cycle continues,we're lucky enough now to have got to the point that the structure is all good and its rotational decoration as the mood takes us.

We did a full renovation of my old family home around 6 years ago,taking it back to the shell with the intention of it becoming a rental so had a timeframe that we needed to keep to of no more than 6 months...that spend turned out to be just a little short of £40k and an additional £6k for the roof a little later...

budgets can be elastic as can timescales but my advice would be to cost out the renovation of this project and the time frame you want to spend on it properly.

Doozergirl

£14k isn't a lot to renovate a whole period house. That's barely enough for the superficial stuff like kitchen, bathroom, decorating and floors - not what I'd call a renovation, especially on an older house which always need a lot of TLC. If the stuff you can see has been neglected, the stuff hidden behind it has to have been neglected too. You can't replace the superficial stuff without addressing the structure - not unless you fancy doing it twice.

I'm nervous of wording this the way I want to, which is "£14k isn't enough to renovate a 3 bed semi", but I need to, really. It isn't.

I hope you've got time if you haven't got money.

A survey is not a static document. It is there to signpost you to specialists. A surveyor is a bit like a GP in that they know a little about a lot but there are specialists that they refer to. You don't just go to the GP and say 'thanks but no thanks' when they tell you that you need to get something looked at in more depth. Same with a survey.

We get a lot of posts here from people who want to complain to their surveyors about issues that crop up after a sale that weren't mentioned, but then read the survey properly...

Have you checked the heating and electrics? What's on the walls, currently? Old wallpaper? How old is the house?

need_an_answer

Doozergirl wrote: »

£14k isn't a lot to renovate a whole period house. That's barely enough for the superficial stuff like kitchen, bathroom, decorating and floors - not what I'd call a renovation, especially on an older house which always need a lot of TLC. If the stuff you can see has been neglected, the stuff hidden behind it has to have been neglected too. You can't replace the superficial stuff without addressing the structure - not unless you fancy doing it twice.

I'm nervous of wording this the way I want to, which is "£14k isn't enough to renovate a 3 bed semi", but I need to, really. It isn't.

I hope you've got time if you haven't got money.

A survey is not a static document. It is there to signpost you to specialists. A surveyor is a bit like a GP in that they know a little about a lot but there are specialists that they refer to. You don't just go to the GP and say 'thanks but no thanks' when they tell you that you need to get something looked at in more depth. Same with a survey.

We get a lot of posts here from people who want to complain to their surveyors about issues that crop up after a sale that weren't mentioned, but then read the survey properly...

Have you checked the heating and electrics? What's on the walls, currently? Old wallpaper? How old is the house?

I tried to be diplomatic by referring to it as a cosmetic renovation...

OP doozergirl knows her stuff when it comes to building and renovations.

Of course we can only advise blind..if you want to be brave and post a link to the property you'll probably get some valuable insights into costings and condition which might make you a little more able to judge the way forward on this property.

Whilst we all love to watch homes under the hammer and marvel at their great renovations on shoe string budgets the reality of buying something that hasn't been maintained well over many years is somewhat different.
Probate properties somewhat always prove problematic either from the point of view that whomever is selling them wants the best return but the buyer is often left with choices that sometimes prove difficult to get answers to until there is much further indepth investigations

Ben1989

I appreciate everybody's responses and sharing their experiences! Our priority with our budget is definitely getting a good base with the property. This includes the most-probable rewiring, and central heating. Decor etc will just be done as we go along where there are months with opportunities to purchase paint etc. But our pot is reserved for crucial work.

I am happy to share with everyone the house. I cannot post links just yet so add the abbreviated world wide web to the start of the following .rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-74487529.htm

FreeBear

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-74487529.html

Looks like a typical 1940-50s build. Already has double glazing and a combi-boiler, and judging by socket location in the hall, may have been rewired within the last 20 years or so. Some of the carpets don't appear to have any underlay, but that is a very minor point.

Depending on the state of the floor, it shouldn't need much spending on it. If there is a problem with ventilation, it should be limited to the rear reception room.


Looks like there is an apple tree that yields plenty of fruit - Worth hanging on to that if it isn't diseased.

need_an_answer

What a lovely house...I hope you have fun peeling it back and making it yours.

were there many other 3's that were unexpected in your survey?

Ben1989

need_an_answer wrote: »

What a lovely house...I hope you have fun peeling it back and making it yours.

were there many other 3's that were unexpected in your survey?

I'm struggling to see if this is sarcasm :rotfl:

need_an_answer

no honestly it wasn't...sorry if you took it that way...

I see things how they could be and I think its a gem that needs polishing....but do it well its no turd in my eyes!

Ben1989

need_an_answer wrote: »

no honestly it wasn't...sorry if you took it that way...

I see things how they could be and I think its a gem that needs polishing....but do it well its no turd in my eyes!

Ah good to know! Thank you. Coming mainly from car forums there is a lot of sarcasm.

Just noticed your addition. The other 3's were:

"The property is connected to mains electricity.
The electricity meter and consumer unit are located in the hall cupboard.
The consumer unit is of recent design with Residual Current Device protection.
Prior to exchange of contracts, the property’s entire electrical installation including,
for example smoke alarms and the exterior, should be inspected and tested by a
registered competent electrician under a government approved third party
certification scheme for domestic electrical work, for example NICEIC, to provide
you with a test certificate, recommendations and costs for any work required.
Electrical installations should be inspected and tested at least every ten years and
on change of ownership. See Section J3."

"The property is connected to the mains gas supply.
The gas meter is located under the stairs.
It is not known if the gas installation has been inspected recently. Prior to legal
commitment to purchase, you should ask a Gas Safe registered heating engineer
to undertake a complete inspection of the gas installation and appliances. See
Section J3."

"Radiator central heating is provided by the gas combination boiler located in the
kitchen. The boiler appears to be reasonably modern and the heating installation
was in working order at the time of inspection. You should be aware however that
a number of the radiators are of an older design which will reduce the efficiency of
the system and upgrading is advised."

Correct me if I am wrong but these seem like 'default' gradings. My old man is a gas technician so he can help me with all things gas-related. He is happy with the boiler and it does heat up the house quite quickly, as i asked to see the house again two hours after turning the heating on.

Skiddaw1

I'd buy it just for the apple tree!


Seriously, looks like a house with a great deal of potential.