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FTB, various issues arising...
eevamaija
Posts: 17 Forumite
I'm an FTB (please be gentle) and due to my parents' generosity, I am in the position of being able to pay cash. At the end of January I had an offer accepted on a 1 bedroom near the centre of London. Up to a point things seemed to be progressing well but here are the issues I am now encountering...
-I paid for a home buyers survey and overall it came back fairly positive. The survey did point out damp in a few places in the ceiling and walls and said that this seemed to be caused by penetrative damp from an issue with the terrace above, probably blocked drains or something. From (not very helpful) information from the sellers' solicitors, and from more helpful conversations with the seller herself, I've established that the building management company had investigated this up to a point but only looking at the plumbing of the flat above, which didn't have issues. They did pro-actively put damp proofing in for the most obvious damp damage (a stain on the ceiling, essentially) and paint, and this was covered by the building insurance. The seller has now asked them to investigate further regarding the terrace, and the surveyor had said that this should at least be in progress before exchanging contracts. However, due to COVID-19, the management company has just sent a form email to the seller saying that anything like this wouldn't be done for the foreseeable future (and who knows how long that is).
-I had provisionally been aiming to move around the end of April and this also suited the seller. However, again due to COVID-19, everything feels up in the air as we don't know if a full lockdown is looming and how long it will last, and how that will affect the whole process including actually moving. I also don't know to what extent the further work to be done by the solicitors will be impacted, and the end of April is really a short time away now. The solicitors are really not very helpful or communicative and I don't know yet what their thoughts are on the timeline. I think my seller is able to be flexible and I suggested pushing everything back by a month. She is also buying and her sellers are moving into rented accommodation. I gathered that they could probably be flexible too but I think this is unsure. If we push things back it might be easier to get my concerns resolved and hopefully...but maybe not...things would be more "normal" by end of May.
So the above raises the following for me...
-If I can't get an answer to the question of whether the terrace/damp issue is being resolved, before exchange of contracts, would that be incredibly unwise? It does seem positive that the management company investigated the flat above and put in some damp proofing, but I'm just worried about possibly leaving the overall damp question unresolved until I actually buy the place.
-Am I crazy to be going ahead with this uncertainty with COVID-19? The fact is, I'm currently renting (with a flatmate I dislike and the feeling is mutual) and owning will put me in a better position, especially considering I am incredibly lucky to not have to pay a mortgage. (ie. if I lose my job in the looming recession, or something like that, at least I won't be paying monthly rent any more.) I do intend to live in the place - very likely for at least 4 or 5 years, but if for some reason I don't live there that long, I could keep it for at least a while longer and rent it out.
-Is there anything else I'm obviously missing here??
I have read the other threads here related to the current virus situation, and probably my concerns are minor compared to some. And I do realise I'm privileged to be a cash buyer, and the place would be to live in rather than for investment purposes. I think I'm just feeling a bit like it's jinxed at the moment (although I am not particularly superstitious!) and I'm not very happy with my solicitors which doesn't help. It is just a crazy time to be in a property transaction. In a way I'm most concerned by the idea that this damp thing might still be unresolved, although in other respects the signs are not terrible in terms of the management company dealing with it, based on what they did so far.
-I paid for a home buyers survey and overall it came back fairly positive. The survey did point out damp in a few places in the ceiling and walls and said that this seemed to be caused by penetrative damp from an issue with the terrace above, probably blocked drains or something. From (not very helpful) information from the sellers' solicitors, and from more helpful conversations with the seller herself, I've established that the building management company had investigated this up to a point but only looking at the plumbing of the flat above, which didn't have issues. They did pro-actively put damp proofing in for the most obvious damp damage (a stain on the ceiling, essentially) and paint, and this was covered by the building insurance. The seller has now asked them to investigate further regarding the terrace, and the surveyor had said that this should at least be in progress before exchanging contracts. However, due to COVID-19, the management company has just sent a form email to the seller saying that anything like this wouldn't be done for the foreseeable future (and who knows how long that is).
-I had provisionally been aiming to move around the end of April and this also suited the seller. However, again due to COVID-19, everything feels up in the air as we don't know if a full lockdown is looming and how long it will last, and how that will affect the whole process including actually moving. I also don't know to what extent the further work to be done by the solicitors will be impacted, and the end of April is really a short time away now. The solicitors are really not very helpful or communicative and I don't know yet what their thoughts are on the timeline. I think my seller is able to be flexible and I suggested pushing everything back by a month. She is also buying and her sellers are moving into rented accommodation. I gathered that they could probably be flexible too but I think this is unsure. If we push things back it might be easier to get my concerns resolved and hopefully...but maybe not...things would be more "normal" by end of May.
So the above raises the following for me...
-If I can't get an answer to the question of whether the terrace/damp issue is being resolved, before exchange of contracts, would that be incredibly unwise? It does seem positive that the management company investigated the flat above and put in some damp proofing, but I'm just worried about possibly leaving the overall damp question unresolved until I actually buy the place.
-Am I crazy to be going ahead with this uncertainty with COVID-19? The fact is, I'm currently renting (with a flatmate I dislike and the feeling is mutual) and owning will put me in a better position, especially considering I am incredibly lucky to not have to pay a mortgage. (ie. if I lose my job in the looming recession, or something like that, at least I won't be paying monthly rent any more.) I do intend to live in the place - very likely for at least 4 or 5 years, but if for some reason I don't live there that long, I could keep it for at least a while longer and rent it out.
-Is there anything else I'm obviously missing here??
I have read the other threads here related to the current virus situation, and probably my concerns are minor compared to some. And I do realise I'm privileged to be a cash buyer, and the place would be to live in rather than for investment purposes. I think I'm just feeling a bit like it's jinxed at the moment (although I am not particularly superstitious!) and I'm not very happy with my solicitors which doesn't help. It is just a crazy time to be in a property transaction. In a way I'm most concerned by the idea that this damp thing might still be unresolved, although in other respects the signs are not terrible in terms of the management company dealing with it, based on what they did so far.
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Comments
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3 weeks and then a review.eevamaija said:........ ... we don't know if a full lockdown is looming and how long it will last, and how that will affect the whole process including actually moving........
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Yes, quite. Which makes me think that if we all still want to go ahead, at least somewhat of a delay is inevitable.greatcrested said:
3 weeks and then a review.eevamaija said:........ ... we don't know if a full lockdown is looming and how long it will last, and how that will affect the whole process including actually moving........0
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