Building survey done - what now?

Jd843

Hi, this is probably a stupid question but I'm a first time buyer and have no idea what I am doing in the house-buying process and have no one knowledgeable to help me.

I'm buying a house and got the building survey report back yesterday.  There was nothing catastrophic on there - lots of minor things were mentioned, including minor damp, and the final recommendations only say "roof overhaul and repair, including lead flashings and guttering repairs." I know that the roof was recently re-slated, so the suggestion of an "overhaul" might be a bit much, but I'm a bit lost about what to do next.  If there was something huge that needed fixing, I know I'd want to get a quote for the work to help with renegotiating the purchase price, but I'm not sure whether I need to do any of that since the report is fairly ordinary.  

There was some fierce competition when we were buying the house, so I'm slightly worried that if we start asking for money knocking off, the sellers will be annoyed enough to look for a buyer who doesn't care about the repairs.  So, I only want to renegotiate if it's really worth it, i.e. if the repairs are going to be enormously expensive, but how can I know this unless we get a quote for everything in the report?  

What are the sensible next steps here? The MSE "house buying timeline" article recommends getting a second opinion on damp, which I think I will do, but other than that I'm not sure if anything else is necessary.

Thanks

Swash

As a first time solo buyer for my current house, my survey also came back with minor repairs on the 1930's house I was buying. I didn't get a trades person in for quotes because I figured if they were minor, they weren't urgent so I could save up and do them as and when I wanted to. I didn't renegotiate on price (I offered full asking). After searching for over a year and knowing this was the house I really wanted, I decided it was still worth full asking price. I stand by my decision.

I'm sure many people would say try and get money knocked off the price, and if you feel the repairs are enough for you to think it needs to be reduced, then by all means ask for a reduction. It's worth saying my house didn't have any damp, and I would have paid for a second opinion if the survey implied it might be anything more than bad ventilation in the bathroom, for example. 

hazyjo

Most things won't need doing immediately it will just be in with general future maintenance.

Unless it's been down-valued, I'd not renegotiate. There's no harm in trying if you want to, unless you really take the proverbial with the drop.

Sounds like you know the roof will need replacing at some stage in the not too distant future. If the cost of that means you will walk, or if you have no idea how much it'll cost, then get an estimate from a roofer for your own peace of mind.

Jd843

hazyjo said:

Most things won't need doing immediately it will just be in with general future maintenance.

Unless it's been down-valued, I'd not renegotiate. There's no harm in trying if you want to, unless you really take the proverbial with the drop.

Sounds like you know the roof will need replacing at some stage in the not too distant future. If the cost of that means you will walk, or if you have no idea how much it'll cost, then get an estimate from a roofer for your own peace of mind.

Thanks for the advice.  

What makes you say, "Sounds like you know the roof will need replacing at some stage in the not too distant future"?  I mentioned that the roof had recently been re-slated, so I wouldn't have expected it to need replacing.

Unicorn_cottage

Have you gone back to the surveyor for more info on the roof? What is causing the damp? How old is the building?

Jd843

Unicorn_cottage said:

Have you gone back to the surveyor for more info on the roof? What is causing the damp? How old is the building?

I will be going back to him - I only got the report yesterday.  He seems to think problems with the chimney have caused the damp.  I can't 100% remember, but I think the sellers said when we viewed the house that they'd had some work done on the chimney quite recently.  Is it possible the signs of damp the surveyor noted were from before this work was carried out?

The house is over 100 years old.

Unicorn_cottage

Would urge you to contact these guys...you have probs seen this on other threads. You really need a surveyor that knows what they are talking about. https://www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/managing-damp-in-old-buildings.html 
Avoid any damp proofing companies like the plaque.

onyx911

I would get some quotes for the work suggested in the survey. This time round we are buying a “project house” that was reasonably priced so we have accepted that we can remedy most things during our renovations. 

When we bought our last house we were Got quotes for damp proofing, roof repairs and a drainage issue. We got £10,500 knocked off of a £415k agreed price and immediately carried out all the work. We showed the invoices to the vendor and they took into account things like damp proofing meant redecoration and inconvenience. When we viewed the house it was being sold in good decorative order (just not a good state of repair). 

But as I said this time round we have a lot thrown up in the survey but we anticipated it when we offered so we aren’t asking for any money off. 

hazyjo

Jd843 said:

hazyjo said:

Most things won't need doing immediately it will just be in with general future maintenance.

Unless it's been down-valued, I'd not renegotiate. There's no harm in trying if you want to, unless you really take the proverbial with the drop.

Sounds like you know the roof will need replacing at some stage in the not too distant future. If the cost of that means you will walk, or if you have no idea how much it'll cost, then get an estimate from a roofer for your own peace of mind.

Thanks for the advice.  

What makes you say, "Sounds like you know the roof will need replacing at some stage in the not too distant future"?  I mentioned that the roof had recently been re-slated, so I wouldn't have expected it to need replacing.

Just sounded like they'd put new tiles on to look good but hadn't actually done anything else. Could be wrong, I'm no roofing expert! Did they replace the felt and whatever else is under? Seems odd they didn't sort out the flashings etc. It's not just missing or broken tiles that cause leaks.