Home Buyers Report - First Time Buyer - Surface Mould/Artex/Vermin!

vincecheung

Hi everyone,
First time buyer here in the process of purchasing and I had a couple of questions about the Home Buyers Report to put my mind at ease with a second opinion. The property in question is a mid-terrace, 3 bedroom house, built in the mid 70s, east London. Im planning to do a whole revamp of the property - rear extension, remodelling of the ground floor to make an open plan kitchen dining area. New kitchen, bathroom etc...

On to the report - generally the property is considered to be a reasonable proposition for purchase for a house of this type and age. The only "3s" were the electrical and gas, but this was only because he wasn't a specialist so isn't able to comment. I assume there was a bit of covering their own back here - im planning to get the house rewired anyway so im not too bothered about getting another specialist inspection which he recommended. Let me know if this is the wrong assumption however.

In italics is copy and pasted from the report and bold is my question.

1. We noted evidence of surface mould to some areas within the rear bedroom and front box room. To help overcome this, background heating, insulation and permanent ventilation may be needed, although further additional measures may be necessary following specialist advice, such as electric fans. Tests were taken with a moisture meter at regular intervals in a structured methodical manner to internal wall, floor and other surfaces. No evidence of any significant dampness was detected, although you should be aware that bathroom and kitchen units, wall tiles, furniture and floor coverings restricted our ability to test all areas. Does this warrant a damp specialist prior to exchange? And if so who usually pays for this?

2. It is possible that asbestos may have been used in the make up, lining of some walls and artex ceilings. We would refer you to our later comments under Section J3 – Risks to People, in this respect. As some of the rooms do have artex ceiling and I am planning to knock down walls to make it open plan - my assumption is that I need to get a specialist to first check if there is asbestos and then removed if so prior to any demolition. I also guess that i would need to foot this cost as its my choice to remodel.
   

3. We were unable to gain access to the roof void and consequently we are unable to comment on the condition of the roof timbers or the level of insulation provided. The tenant was resistant to allow access due to their belief that vermin may be present in the roof void. As such, we would recommend that you make enquiries of the homeowner to determine whether any vermin infestations have been reported, as well as whether any remediation works have been carried out. This seems like a strange and worrying one - no one likes vermin! I assume that this is something that needs to get sorted before exchange? Also is access to the loft to inspect prior to purchase standard procedure? And as I've already had the survey who can I ask to come with me if they give me access? Im not really sure what to look out for.

Appreciate any advice the forum community can give
Thanks,
Vince

FreeBear

In answer to your points/questions.

1) No need for a damp survey - If you did go one for one of those "free" ones, you'd get sucked in to spending £X000000 on pointless "cures". Your surveyor has found nothing that is a cause for concern, so I'd go with his advice of ventilate & heat.

2)  If you have any concerns about asbestos, take samples and get them tested - Should cost around £40 per sample. Be advised though, any knocking through may require involvement of Building Control. Certainly any load bearing walls will need BC involvement.

3) You really do need an assessment done of the roof space - If the timbers are rotting, and there are massive holes in the roof, you need to know about them before committing to buying. You might need some firm words with the vendor.

As for vermin, they are attracted by food - Get rid of the food sources, and rats & mice will go elsewhere for easier pickings.

Windofchange

We have just had our homebuyers report back, and my gut feeling is that there is quite a lot of backside covering. There were certainly some useful parts to it, and there were things that I would never in a million years have sought to understand which I do now, but there were a lot of comments such as we could not find xyz, and therefore we would recommend you get a professional in to investigate before completion. I'm not sure how much I really gained from the report other than the confidence that someone with knowledge has said they saw no reason not to buy the property, and agreed with our offer. We had 4 level 3 alerts to do with the electrics, boiler, asbestos and roof, but all said that the surveyor did not have the specialist knowledge to fully advise us with regard to any problems, and we should seek further advise from a professional. 

The electrics were that they appeared old, the boiler was that the heating was turned off so they couldn't see it running to verify it works, the roof was that they couldn't see it all to confirm it it was properly tiled, and the asbestos was a general catch all that it is possible some elements of the house had it - again, we recommend you have a professional assess. A lot of this stuff such as checking out the hot water pipes running under the flooring is only stuff you could do once you have moved in as who is going to agree to a potential buyer tearing up floorboards to have an inspection? I am using my report as a list of things to be aware of as nothing I read was a complete put off.

For your case - vermin, get pest control in. Damp specialist - if he tells you there is a bit of damp will it really change your decision? Unless the house is covered in mould and damp then probably not something to be overly concerned with. Asbestos - any builder you employ to do works will manage this. Again, will it really change your decision to buy or not? Unless disturbed or otherwise compromised, it's not a problem. 

vincecheung

Thanks for the comments. I don't want to pay for another survey just to inspect the loft. Is there any one else that I could reach out to who can help me to do this?

Caitykinss

It's not enough to just take asbestos samples yourself if you are refurbishing a property. You will need an asbestos refurbishment survey carried out by an qualified asbestos surveyor. They will be able to look within walls, beneath floors etc, and will tailor it to the work you are doing, rather than you just taking samples of the artex and leaving it at that. 

vincecheung

Thanks Caitykinss. Yes I was planning to get a specialist to do this, as I don't really want to be handling that stuff

MysteryMe

Is it definitely vermin in the roof or could it be bats, they are not vermin and a protected species.  Bat droppings crumble, mice and rats are solid. If they are bats then leave them be. They wont be interested coming down through the loft hatch into the house. If you did suspect bats then you can get can contact Natural England and ask for a bat roost visit if you intend to do any works that may affect them. I believe they are free and undertaken by trained people from local bat groups. There is a London Bat Group.

Thrugelmir

With regards to the "vermin". Ask the vendor via the EA what the issue is. 
(Or is the vendor hiding something? )

davidmcn

vincecheung said:

Thanks for the comments. I don't want to pay for another survey just to inspect the loft. Is there any one else that I could reach out to who can help me to do this?

You should be able to just get the same surveyor to make a second visit, it shouldn't need a whole new survey instruction.

jamesperrett

I'd be more worried about the fact that there is still a tenant in the building (unless you are planning on becoming a landlord). Are they being evicted or have they given notice that they are leaving?

vincecheung

Thanks for the comments
Yes I managed to get the original surveyor in for a reduced fee of £150... would i be able to charge this back to the seller or even the tenant because they are the reason why access was refused in the first place.

Also, the current tenants have been given their 2 month notice