Mould and electrical socket problem on final viewing - where do we stand?

MBJUK

Hi

We are buying a house that has been part-ex'd by someone moving to a new build from the developer. They've been extremely pushy throughout the process, and as we're keen to move quickly too we've not put up too much resistance.

We've not exchanged yet, but are due to next week. My partner did a third viewing of the property (the first since the prior occupants moved out) and have discovered a reasonable amount of fairly obvious grey-black covered mould in the top corner of the master bedroom, on the external facing wall at the front of the house.

We're a little frustrated as it appears the previous owners have deliberately covered this up (they had all of their moving boxes stacked high in this room on top of the wardrobe, covering it up when we did the first two viewings. We are FTB's so perhaps we were a little naive to miss such an obvious cover up looking back). Also quite strangely, the previous occupants have turned off the upstairs water but not the downstairs water - we noticed when we checked taps/showers were working etc. Could they be trying to cover up a leak?

We also spoke to the surveyor who did the homebuyers report to ask why it wasn't picked up on his survey. He's come back to say that there was no mould identified at all during his survey and therefore he thinks it's a ventilation issue causing condensation, and not to worry, no further inspection needed. Seemed a bit odd but I suppose I have to take him on his word (although originally he mixed up half of my report with another person's, meaning a lot of the details were incorrect and he had to send out a new one - hardly inspires confidence).

We have been in touch with the sales agent who confirmed that the vendors had not been made aware of any such issues when the previous occupants part exchanged their property, and that she would speak to them to see if they're willing to get a contractor in to identify and remediate the issue.

Another minor thing - there is a power socket with a good amount of solidified insulation foam sticking out all around it in the box room, on the other side of the wall to another socket in the master bedroom. Could this indicate some dodgy electrical work having been done? Again, this was covered up by stacked boxes when we last viewed.

All in all, it's got us feeling very deflated about the purchase when we were initially on a high from setting an exchange date after around a month of back and forth between solicitors, brokers and sales agents. We intend to hold the developer to account on fixing issues before we exchange, but in reality is it likely they'll fix the problems? We're unlikely to want to proceed without having the mould issues resolved before exchange (or at least solid proof that it's just a minor ventilation issue that we can address) which could mean wasted solicitors and surveyor's fees so far if we pull out. Are the previous owners also doing anything illegal here in attempting to cover up the issues from both us and the developer (or am I just being dramatic?)

We're also viewing the property again on Saturday so I can see it myself for one last time (was unfortunately working today so my partner attended alone) so any tips anyone has in uncovering the extent of the issues easily would be greatly appreciated!

FreeBear

MBJUK said: Another minor thing - there is a power socket with a good amount of solidified insulation foam sticking out all around it in the box room, on the other side of the wall to another socket in the master bedroom. Could this indicate some dodgy electrical work having been done?

Expanding foam - Often called "Bodger's foam" - Good for filling cracks & holes as a quick skim of filler, and you'd never know it was there. It is quite possible that this socket has been spurred off the socket in the other room. Whether it has been done to a high enough standard would require inspection by a reputable electrician - It may be prudent to get an electrician in to provide a report on the electrics.

Robin9

http://www.structuralsurvey.org/house-buying-surveys-explained

You might be wise to have a more comprehensive survey - it will cost buy may well save you a lot of money

RelievedSheff

If the house has been locked up with no ventilation then that will very quickly cause mould growth if a wall was slightly colder than the rest of the room.

Confused789

We are part exchanging our house. The developers have never seen it but they have asked us to get gas safety and electrical safety certificates. If your developer is the same it might reassure you about the electrics at least.

Davesnave

All those words and not a hint at the age of the property. Yes,you're a FTB all right!

Mould in an external top corner of a bedroom is most likely to be caused by condensation. This would be especially true if boxes/suitcases had been piled up there, and not necessarily subterfuge of any kind. People give off a lot of moisture while they sleep. We had it in our old house. It can be a hard/unwise place to insulate.

An explanation of why the upstairs water was turned off at this time of year would be in order. It could be a simple precautionary measure. It's unusual for there to be a control valve for upstairs and more likely individual valves to outlets were closed; very easy for anyone armed with a coin or screwdriver.

As for foam around a socket. Well, not the best way to stabilise an over-large hole, so it might be an amateur spur, but the best way to assess the electrics is to employ your own electrician to do a safety test. You surely wouldn't trust a report done for the developer, would you? It will only relate to the day of testing.

From what you've written, I see nothing that warrants panic or pulling-out. All second-hand houses come with faults and there will be things you and your surveyor may have missed. (For example, have you had the drains checked?)  If you're feeling deflated now, just wait till you get in! If you want a perfect house, buy a new one....err, but don't hold your breath on that either, judging by what we read here. I wouldn't know; I only buy oldies and expect to find a few issues the previous owner just lived with.

RelievedSheff

Confused789 said:

We are part exchanging our house. The developers have never seen it but they have asked us to get gas safety and electrical safety certificates. If your developer is the same it might reassure you about the electrics at least.

We part exchanged our property last year and had to get a gas and electrical safety test and also a damp and timber survey was carried out by the developers.

When we moved out of the house they requested that we turn off the water as well as turning off the boiler.

RelievedSheff

Davesnave said:

All those words and not a hint at the age of the property. Yes,you're a FTB all right!

Mould in an external top corner of a bedroom is most likely to be caused by condensation. This would be especially true if boxes/suitcases had been piled up there, and not necessarily subterfuge of any kind. People give off a lot of moisture while they sleep. We had it in our old house. It can be a hard/unwise place to insulate.

An explanation of why the upstairs water was turned off at this time of year would be in order. It could be a simple precautionary measure. It's unusual for there to be a control valve for upstairs and more likely individual valves to outlets were closed; very easy for anyone armed with a coin or screwdriver.

As for foam around a socket. Well, not the best way to stabilise an over-large hole, so it might be an amateur spur, but the best way to assess the electrics is to employ your own electrician to do a safety test. You surely wouldn't trust a report done for the developer, would you? It will only relate to the day of testing.

From what you've written, I see nothing that warrants panic or pulling-out. All second-hand houses come with faults and there will be things you and your surveyor may have missed. (For example, have you had the drains checked?)  If you're feeling deflated now, just wait till you get in! If you want a perfect house, buy a new one....err, but don't hold your breath on that either, judging by what we read here. I wouldn't know; I only buy oldies and expect to find a few issues the previous owner just lived with.

If you want perfect then new build is definitely not the way forward as we have been finding out 

Although we have been lucky and only found minor faults and defects there has been a long long list of them. Hopefully the last of the problems will be sorted out next month but after 18 months the house is finally feeling like a finished product and our home.

MBJUK

Davesnave said:

All those words and not a hint at the age of the property. Yes,you're a FTB all right!

Mould in an external top corner of a bedroom is most likely to be caused by condensation. This would be especially true if boxes/suitcases had been piled up there, and not necessarily subterfuge of any kind. People give off a lot of moisture while they sleep. We had it in our old house. It can be a hard/unwise place to insulate.

An explanation of why the upstairs water was turned off at this time of year would be in order. It could be a simple precautionary measure. It's unusual for there to be a control valve for upstairs and more likely individual valves to outlets were closed; very easy for anyone armed with a coin or screwdriver.

As for foam around a socket. Well, not the best way to stabilise an over-large hole, so it might be an amateur spur, but the best way to assess the electrics is to employ your own electrician to do a safety test. You surely wouldn't trust a report done for the developer, would you? It will only relate to the day of testing.

From what you've written, I see nothing that warrants panic or pulling-out. All second-hand houses come with faults and there will be things you and your surveyor may have missed. (For example, have you had the drains checked?)  If you're feeling deflated now, just wait till you get in! If you want a perfect house, buy a new one....err, but don't hold your breath on that either, judging by what we read here. I wouldn't know; I only buy oldies and expect to find a few issues the previous owner just lived with.

Haha. Thanks for the info - it’s 30ish years old.

ProDave

When are people going to learn that old properties have no or little insulation, so the walls are cold unless you throw a LOT of heat into the building and condensation forms on cold surfaces if there is little ventilation.

Let me guess the EPC rating is E or worse?

If you want a cosy warm house that is well insulated and never gets any condensation, buy a new house.

MBJUK

ProDave said:

When are people going to learn that old properties have no or little insulation, so the walls are cold unless you throw a LOT of heat into the building and condensation forms on cold surfaces if there is little ventilation.

Let me guess the EPC rating is E or worse?

If you want a cosy warm house that is well insulated and never gets any condensation, buy a new house.

30 years old doesn’t seem that old to me...it’s energy rating is D so no, your guess is wrong. I’m not keen on buying an extortionately priced new house with a tiny garden that is boxed in super close to the neighbouring homes, and a sales agent trying to flog me loads of overpriced extras - we strongly considered a new home and once we’d looked at some of the preowned ones of a similar size for less money it didn’t seem very appealing.