FTB worried about Condition rating 3 on my Homebuyers report

mattymoo13

I am struggling to determine how critical the level 3 ratings are on my Homebuyers Report. I would love some help and guidance as to whether I should consider pulling out of the purchase or if these issues are common in a property that is 100 years old. The main points arfe listed below. Is there cause for serious concern? The Surveyor has valued the property at the purchase price.

Several slates are damaged, cracked, slipping and held in position with metal straps (tingles). The bedding mortar under the verge is loose and has cracked in places. The mortar    (torching) under the roof is in poor condition and has fallen away in places.   
There are signs of repaired leakage and the patched roof coverings are nearing the end of their life.
The repairs and improvements should be undertaken soon. It is advisable that you obtain quotations for this work before exchange of contracts so that all costs are known before     you commit to the purchase. Rating 2

The walls are of solid brick construction. We cannot confirm whether a damp-proof course is present on the front because of the construction style obscuring the construction.   
High damp meter readings were recorded throughout the ground floor. This is a risk to the building, and we refer you to our comments in section J.
You should ask a Property Care Association contractor the remedial work needed before exchange of contracts as the repairs/replacements may be costly.
Condition    Rating 3

The roof is formed with conventional timber rafters, purlins and cut timbers. The roof space is insulated with fibreglass quilt.   
The property is of an age where timber decay and Woodboring Beetle Infestation(WBI) May be present. This should be checked and reported upon by your appointed  contractor. Some of the roof timbers next to the slipped slates are damp and stained. The roof space  is not insulated to modern standards.   
The repairs needed  are not serious or urgent and are considered to be part of normal maintenance work of the property and should be dealt with after taking ownership or when    annual maintenance is next carried out.
Condition    Rating    2

mixture of solid masonry, plasterboard lined and timber framed internal walls. These have been plastered, paper lined and painted. 
High damp meter readings were recorded as reported previously.
This has led to timber decay. This is a risk to the building.

Condition Rating 3

greatcrested

The roof and tiles etc is just maintenance. Needs doing but not a major problem. You are buying a 100 year old building so you must expect above-average on-going maintenance issues. If this is a problem, buy a New Build!

The dampneeds investigation, but NOT by a damp proofing company which will offer a 'free survey', better known as a 'hard sell'.

Start by quizzing your surveyor as to his guess as to the cause of the damp. Take alook yourself for obvious causes eg

* leaking gutters/downpipes

* ground level outside too high against the outside walls

* poor drainage

Then send round an independant damp surveyor who is not trying to sell you anything. And ignore anyone who suggests chemical injection.......

shinytop

And it's worth actually talking to, i.e. phoning, the surveyor. You are likely to get a more candid response that you would by email. 

princeofpounds

The roof - this is normal degradation for an old roof, but the obvious point is that you may need to make repairs and/or re-roof earlier than you might normally anticipate. That could be expensive depending on how extensive it ends up being.

The damp walls - this style of construction is not unusual for a 100 year old property, although cavity walls were coming in by that stage. Damp meter readings are not always that reliable, but it is probably indicative of an underlying predisposition to damp. I would be cautious if all the interior were freshly painted, as you don't know what lies under that paint. Even if not, you may have problems if you produce more vapour, under-heat the house or don't ventilate enough. A lack of damp-proof course is something that can easily cause these issues. It's also something that can often be retro-fitted, for a cost, but i note the construction is non-standard here so it may not be possible. It's probably a bigger issue if you have penetrating damp through the walls.  What were the comments in Section J?

Roof-timbers - looks like normal back-covering from the surveyor. Better insulation and fixing the tiles would probably look after this.

Second wall comment - ok, so now he is saying there is timber decay, which is a more explicit indicator of damp damage. That's a problem in a partially timber framed building! 

So, in summary and IMHO, the roof is normal but will need some addressing. The damp issue is clearly more structural and I wouldn't be buying unless I was confident I knew what it would take to sort it out. Given the valuation, however, it's likely that an element of this poor condition is being accounted for in the price already.

mattymoo13

Thank you all for your responses so far, section J was just basically a list of the problems see below:

J1 Risks    to    the    building:

E3: Rainwater Pipes & Gutters - defective/leaking downpipes
E4: Main Walls - damp present
F3: Walls & Partitions - damp present with rot to timbers

H2: Other - flash flooding and increase rate of deterioration

I have no problem with ongoing minor works that would be required with this type of property, but if it is a case that I will be stung for thousands of pounds in the near future due to a major issue, I will be walking away from the purchase which based on the responses thus far looks a major possibility which is unfortunate because we love the property

FreeBear

mattymoo13 said: You should ask a Property Care Association [PCA] contractor the remedial work needed before exchange of contracts as the repairs/replacements may be costly.

  
The property is of an age where timber decay and Woodboring Beetle Infestation(WBI) May be present. This should be checked and reported upon by your appointed  contractor.

[construction is a] mixture of solid masonry, plasterboard lined and timber framed internal walls. These have been plastered, paper lined and painted. 

The PCA is the trade body for the damp & timber treatment industry - I generally advice avoiding anyone with links to this outfit as the vast majority have a vested interest in selling "treatments" that are ineffective & mask the problems or cause long term damage that ends up costing even more to fix.

Damp timber will always be attractive to wood boring beetles (a.k.a. woodworm), and if damp enough, will also suffer from rot. Dry the timber out and keep the moisture level below ~20%, and the beetles go elsewhere to lay their eggs. Any timber that has been severely damaged should be replaced. A small number of woodworm holes can be tolerated as long as the timber is sound.

Solid masonry & timber framed (stud) walls is pretty much standard construction for most pre-war property. Stud walls are still used today in new builds - The only difference being old properties would be lath & plaster over the top, and modern walls skinned in plasterboard. When renovating a Victorian property, replacing the lath & plaster on internal walls with plasterboard is acceptable in most cases. Sticking plasterboard on the inside of the external walls, not such a good idea. Lime plaster (which would have been used originally) is "breathable" in that it allows moisture in the walls to evaporate without falling to bits. Plasterboard will allow some moisture through, but the main ingredient (gypsum sulphate) is water soluble, and the plaster eventually turns to mush. If the walls have been covered in lining paper, I have to wonder how much cracking the paper is hiding.

mattymoo13

Can anybody offer advice in regards to the costs involved in completing the work being proposed (worst case scenario) and potentially a realistic amount based on the comments? Please. 

FreeBear

Without seeing the property and looking at the extent of any damage, it is very hard to put a price on the work involved. If it is just a couple of slipped slates and a leaking gutter, £200 would probably cover it.If there is extensive rot to the roof timbers and floors, you could easily spend £10K or more.

Your surveyor would be in the best position to give an indication of work needed and perhaps the costs involved - Try and sit down with him and have a chat about the points raised.