Worrying Building Survey !!!

Biggie

Buying a 1930s 3 bed semi and the building survey has found many things that initially looked scary but I have narrowed then down to the following

Categories that need work

1)Roofing – Tiles uneven and lifting in places, some are chipped and broken and need replacement. Unevenness and movement to roof frame. Leading under main dormer needs re-dressing.
2)Structural movement – Evidence of cracking to main walls together with distortion and movement to internal partition and roof frame. But it’s non-progressive and further significant movement is remote. There are visible signs of the cracks on various walls in the house.
3)Damp – damp proof course applied to at least 3 areas of the house, discolouration to a wall in rear reception room. Paper is damaged and coming away may have been caused by leaking radiator pipe. Reading is low to moderate investigate area in more detail. Also one of the bedrooms which is against the shower wall also showed moderate to high and states the area should be further investigated.
4)Fireplace\gas – reception room has fireplace but no gas. Also chimney is blocked. No gas to kitchen for cooker. Why would someone block the chimney. Is it a lot of work getting it unblocked.
5)General - Damaged fascias, bad soffits, and cracks in outside render that should be covered to prevent damp.


I’m in London so getting any work done can be very expensive. Is this all standard stuff for a full survey. I’m partially concerned about the damp and structural movement.

Also how would I get estimates to put this right, do I get damp company out to look and the damp and a builder to look at the remainder.

Though the survey seems very vague they have flagged a couple of things that need doing. I’m thinking of renegotiating the price and getting 4k knocked off. Does this appear viable being as there’s nothing specific in the survey.

Doozergirl

It's a pretty good survey, presuming it's a typical London, Victorian/Edwardian style house or even a bit later. CPnsidering it a full survey, it reads pretty well if that's it.


1)It sounds like a new roof is in order at some point - perhaps not straight away, but a consideration.
2) No issue if it's a full building survey. Houses move over time. they just do. It's called 'character'
3) He's saying there is no general dam problem but you need to look at a small patch which won't be hard to fix, by the sound of it.
4)There's nothing wrong with blocking a chimney exactly - they've just covered the hole, it's unlikely they've filled it with stuff! You either reinstate a working fireplace in sympathy to the house or you drill a hole to ventialte and cover it with a vent. Costs pennies.
5)Soffits and fascias not that expensive really.

Get a roofing contractor in to quote on the roof, soffits and fascias. You'll find £4k there in London, I'm sure. Doesn't mean you're in desperate need of a new roof and perhaps you can repair but hey, if you want a quote to support your request, it will be there.

guppy

1)Roofing

Doesn't sound too major, but probably be an idea to get rough quotes, as you say London is expensive. I'd be inclined to ask the surveyor to explain the significance of the movement, might it continue?

2)Structural movement

Again, not major if its stopped moving, but I'd want to pay less. Does this mean the brickwork is damaged, in need of repointing etc.?

3)Damp

If the problems are caused by the radiator or shower this can be addressed easily with maintenance. not sure what you mean about the DPC. Is it breached or damaged?

4)Fireplace\gas

Annoying, but fixable, how is it blocked? I'd suggest getting quotes locally.

5)General

Again, all this can be repaired or replaced, but I'd want to pay less. How much less would depend on whether the asking price takes these things in to account. The market is quite weak most places though, and something like this might be proving hard to sell. Any idea how long its been on the market? £4k don't sound much for London anyway.

I'm not sure how to get quotes on a property you don't own, you could get rough estimates I'm sure. Why not just phone around a few builders. Damp proofing seems to attract cowboys...the injection method isn't considered that useful by all. There's lots about that on the net anyway.

Don't be afraid to go back to the surveyor and ask for explanations, you probably paid him enough :-)

IveSeenTheLight

Biggie wrote: »

I’m thinking of renegotiating the price and getting 4k knocked off. Does this appear viable being as there’s nothing specific in the survey.

I think it seems quite low.

Roof - We had a flat which the roof had shown signs of needing a few tiles replaced. Due to the age of the property we received a few quotes and were all around the 7,000 pounds.
Structural Movement - Also looking at the structural movement part, I would be very put off by this. I'm sure mortgage lenders would be as well. Get this checked out more thoroughly.
Damp - Damp can be fixed. In many cases it simply needs to have regular heating applied to dry out the house, however you should check there are nothing on the outside which could be causing this (maybe back to the roof)
Fireplace / Gas - Does the neighbour have gas?, if so it could be quite easy to get installed from the street to your house. A friend of mine did this a few years ago and I think it cost him about 2,000 pounds
General - All points that could be fixed, but can add up

You need to look at what the property is asking for and valuate if the asking price reflects the level of work required.
If you are serious about the property, arrange with the estate agent to get some local contacts in to evaluate the work required. Then you'll be better advised as to how much work is going to cost you and figure into your offer ammount

Good luck

Doozergirl

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

Structural Movement - Also looking at the structural movement part, I would be very put off by this. I'm sure mortgage lenders would be as well. Get this checked out more thoroughly.

The surveyor is saying the movement is historical. If they were concerned then they would very clearly recommend further investigation. I have never bought an old house where I haven't seen this phrase at the very least. The ground moves and houses go with it.

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

Damp - Damp can be fixed. In many cases it simply needs to have regular heating applied to dry out the house, however you should check there are nothing on the outside which could be causing this (maybe back to the roof)

Surveyor is saying that the DPC doesnn;t appear to be breached, hence low damp readings but an isolated patch which appears to be a leaky radiator. They are bound to be correct with this assumption - you can almost always see what is causing it.

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

Fireplace / Gas - Does the neighbour have gas?, if so it could be quite easy to get installed from the street to your house. A friend of mine did this a few years ago and I think it cost him about 2,000 pounds

London properties are often without gas. Quite expensive to link up but it cost me £2000 to provide separate gas supplies to four flats, so fingers crossed, it won't be anywhere near that much. Besides, do you really need it?

IveSeenTheLight

Doozergirl wrote: »

The surveyor is saying the movement is historical. If they were concerned then they would very clearly recommend further investigation. I have never bought an old house where I haven't seen this phrase at the very least. The ground moves and houses go with it.

All I said was make sure you get it checked out.
If it's moved before it surely can move again. You have to be very careful of subsidance. Again I just said to get it checked out. P.S. I had a property of well over 100 year old which had not moved so the area and type of construction plays a big part.

Doozergirl wrote: »

Surveyor is saying that the DPC doesnn;t appear to be breached, hence low damp readings but an isolated patch which appears to be a leaky radiator. They are bound to be correct with this assumption - you can almost always see what is causing it.

I had a property that had been treated with a DPC but also had a damp problem. The cause was a rockery on the outside allowing the damp to rise above the rockery. Again I said it can be fixed and needs to check that there is nothing which can cause problems (See OP's post about Roof tiles being loose, chipped and broken which need replacing). roofs can be a major source of leaking that is not always apparent to the owner / tenant. Again all I advised was to get it checked out.

Doozergirl wrote: »

London properties are often without gas. Quite expensive to link up but it cost me £2000 to provide separate gas supplies to four flats, so fingers crossed, it won't be anywhere near that much. Besides, do you really need it?

The major cost is taking the gas from the street to the property. If then supplying to a number of properties then the cost of this is much smaller. Again just recommending you get a quote to see how much this will cost.



It's always best to obtain as much information as possible and in order for the OP to understand how much their costs will be, they need to get the relevant quotes rather than hoping it is a minor cost.
Only then can he make a valued decision on how much lower to make the offer.

Biggie

Initially I was shocked but now I have had the time to absorb some of the stuff it doesn't seem that bad for an old house, it appears this is all quite common for old houses. As you say the surveyor hasn't flagged up anything that’s alarming. Movement doesn't appear to be an issue and couple of places of damp detected that have been dealt with.

I'm currently going through the survey and writing up a list, I will then get a builder to give me estimates and hopefully renegotiate.

btw the property does have gas as it has a gas boiler, it's just not available in the kitchen ot reception at the moment.

thanks for the advice

Doozergirl

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

All I said was make sure you get it checked out.

Is a full buildings survey by a RICS member not enough?

It's an important ability for a house to move. Houses settle onto their foundations when they are built; they move. They all do. The more flexible they are, the longer they stand - hence why old timber framed buildings have stood the test of time so well. You'll barely find a straight wall in an older house. Older houses are built using lime mortar which is intrinsic to keeping the things standing because it has flexibility in it!/

IveSeenTheLight

Doozergirl wrote: »

Is a full buildings survey by a RICS member not enough?

Quite often no. I have had a few surveys in which I have had to call in a specialist for verification.

The OP initally was asking if negotiating 4k was enough.
I still stand by my advice to get quotes so he is fully aware of the work required before making a valued decision.
What is wrong with that?

Fortunately the property appears to already have gas so spurring a line off to the kitchen will not cost so much and he has resolved the damp issue.
The roof is still one to watch out for though.

Doozergirl

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

Quite often no. I have had a few surveys in which I have had to call in a specialist for verification.

Well you'd have to if you really believe that some houses don't move and that a surveyor isn't capable of walking round the outside of a house to check for a breach of the DPC. :rolleyes: