Selling a house after Damp Survey

ratb23

Backstory, we were halfway through a sale, valuation survey from the buyer's mortgage company brought up a rising damp query in their report and recommended a damp survey, which we paid for. The damp survey brought up considerable damp issues, and ventilation issues, the ventilation issues we knew about, but we are fairly militant with door and windows being open when required. The damp, however, was an unwelcome surprise. The buyers initially asked us to knock off 5k plus we pay for the work, our negotiator answered for us and said no, but as we had some wiggle room and as we are halfway through the underwriting the mortgage/survey process on our next house we decided to go down the "take our house, have your money off and we will even pay for all the work" route. They then declined, which is utterly devastating, but our agent got the house back onto the market and we are booking viewings, so there's that I suppose... Our damp work will cost around 4k, which we've already booked with to happen in around 4 weeks time, we need to do this regardless because it's only fair to the next buyer, it's going to be a full tanking job, including DPC and installation of passive vents in our kitchen. We will then redecorate the areas required so the house looks ready to move into and pay for an "end of tenancy" clean to ensure everything looks sparkly.

My question is how do we navigate this subject with those viewing the house, my first thoughts were to let them know the install DPC has failed (which is very clearly has according to the report) and state we are having an epic amount of work done in 4 weeks time and will decorate etc. Our new house (if we even get it at this point) is a new build so it will take around 5 weeks to finish installing everything inside anyway, our moving date would be the end of August.

Any help or general advice would be great here, we are obviously VERY keen to dip back into the property chain as soon as humanly possible.

FreeBear

ratb23 said:Our damp work will cost around 4k, which we've already booked with to happen in around 4 weeks time, we need to do this regardless because it's only fair to the next buyer, it's going to be a full tanking job, including DPC and installation of passive vents in our kitchen. 

Noooo..... Damp proof courses do not fail - Think about it. You have a strip of waterproof material (slate, bitumen, or a modern plastic) protected from the elements and incidental damage. There are only two ways it can be compromised. Either a buildup of soil/debris externally, or some serious and major structural damage.

Tanking will only trap moisture within the walls, and stick its ugly head up elsewhere at a later date. In the meantime, it will be quietly causing damage to the wall as the temperature drops outside and freezes the water.

The way to combat damp is to identify the source and fix the root problem. Often it is a breached DPC, leaking gutter/downpipe, or a faulty roof. Underfloor ventilation (if a suspended timber floor) is always a good idea, as is making sure that existing vents are clear. Check the pointing on external walls, and repair with appropriate materials where necessary (i.e. Lime mortar on old buildings).

Injecting chemicals in to the walls and slapping waterproof cement everywhere will devalue the property and store up no end of problems for future owners.

[Deleted User]

Id not put the house on the market until all the work is done and new pictures taken.