FTB needing advice regarding structural survey

sacvwgolf

Hello,

I am in the process of purchasing a property for £160k (FTB 90% LTV) and we were told at the viewing that the house's previous transaction fell through due to the purchasers failing to find a school for thier children and that the house passed its survey/ valuation and was structurally fine. We offered asking price and had a homebuyers report done which has comeback with a whole load of errors - not surprising, we knew the house was old and we're not afraid of doing things.

However the surveyor has said he is unable to give the house a value until it's had a structural survey done and a damp specialist look at it. My problem is I'm not sure if it's wise for me to pay for a structural survey (£750-£1000?) to then say the house needs £20k (example) worth of work doing and the lender not willing to lend until the requested work has been completed. We can't afford to lump that up and I can't imagine the vendors likely will be. They have inherited the house after someone has passed away so it's empty ATM.

It is fair to ask the vendor to pay for the structural survey to be done seeing as it's thier property and it will need one at some point regardless of who buys it? No idea how the previous buyers got close to exchanging without going through all of this.

Not sure what the norm is at times like this being a first time buyer so any advice is appreciated

ChewyyBacca

I highly doubt if the vendor will cough up money for ''Your'' structural survey.
The house doesnt need the survey nor does the vendor. Its the buyer's necessity. The surveys ensure adequate due diligence on part of the buyer before they make a substantial purchase of their life. 
If the survey points out significant work to be done, you can ask for a reduced price to reflect the cost of the works to be done. Again, vendor is not duty-bound to accept your demands.

macman

'Fair' doesn't really come into it. You can ask, and they can agree or refuse, or you can compromise. If they are aware of the issue, they are hardly going to pay for a survey that will reveal it.
What has aroused suspicions that there is a structural issue?

FreeBear

sacvwgolf said: However the surveyor has said he is unable to give the house a value until it's had a structural survey done and a damp specialist look at it.

They have inherited the house after someone has passed away so it's empty ATM.

It is an old house standing empty. Heating probably turned off and all the windows & doors shut - Not really surprising that damp has been detected, especially if the surveyor has been using a pointy damp meter (they only give reliable readings when used on untreated timber).

If you must get a damp "specialist" in to do a survey, avoid anyone with connections to a damp treatment company or any affiliation with the Property Care Association (PCA). You need someone who is independent and experienced in old properties. Anyone else will try to sell you a whole bunch of dodgy "cures" that will only damage the fabric of the building over the long term.

sacvwgolf

FreeBear said:

sacvwgolf said: However the surveyor has said he is unable to give the house a value until it's had a structural survey done and a damp specialist look at it.

They have inherited the house after someone has passed away so it's empty ATM.

It is an old house standing empty. Heating probably turned off and all the windows & doors shut - Not really surprising that damp has been detected, especially if the surveyor has been using a pointy damp meter (they only give reliable readings when used on untreated timber).

If you must get a damp "specialist" in to do a survey, avoid anyone with connections to a damp treatment company or any affiliation with the Property Care Association (PCA). You need someone who is independent and experienced in old properties. Anyone else will try to sell you a whole bunch of dodgy "cures" that will only damage the fabric of the building over the long term.

I believe it's more due to the fact that it looks like the outside ground is above the original DPC layer..I think the pathway on the side was added at a later date and has made the ground too high so the only option (I'm guessing) is to add a course of injection DPC....that or add a trench to the pathway (not possible). 

AdrianC

sacvwgolf said:

I am in the process of purchasing a property for £160k (FTB 90% LTV) and we were told at the viewing that the house's previous transaction fell through due to the purchasers failing to find a school for thier children and that the house passed its survey/ valuation and was structurally fine. We offered asking price and had a homebuyers report done which has comeback with a whole load of errors - not surprising, we knew the house was old and we're not afraid of doing things.

However the surveyor has said he is unable to give the house a value until it's had a structural survey done and a damp specialist look at it.

These are not necessarily all mutually exclusive.

You basically have two people who have looked at the house, and reported their own opinions based on what they saw.

You have been told one found no real issue.
You know that the other has said they'd like somebody specialist to look at two things.

One of those things is damp. The house is empty, unheated - and it's now November after a very wet October... No great surprises if the house is a bit cold and clammy, really... That's not necessarily the same as it having a real problem.

FreeBear

sacvwgolf said:

FreeBear said:

sacvwgolf said: However the surveyor has said he is unable to give the house a value until it's had a structural survey done and a damp specialist look at it.

They have inherited the house after someone has passed away so it's empty ATM.

It is an old house standing empty. Heating probably turned off and all the windows & doors shut - Not really surprising that damp has been detected, especially if the surveyor has been using a pointy damp meter (they only give reliable readings when used on untreated timber).

If you must get a damp "specialist" in to do a survey, avoid anyone with connections to a damp treatment company or any affiliation with the Property Care Association (PCA). You need someone who is independent and experienced in old properties. Anyone else will try to sell you a whole bunch of dodgy "cures" that will only damage the fabric of the building over the long term.

I believe it's more due to the fact that it looks like the outside ground is above the original DPC layer..I think the pathway on the side was added at a later date and has made the ground too high so the only option (I'm guessing) is to add a course of injection DPC....that or add a trench to the pathway (not possible). 

So you have identified the possible source of the damp - Injecting "stuff" in to the walls and slapping waterproof render/plaster on the inside will not fix the problem, only mask it for a few years. If the DPC is just below the floor level (and assuming a suspended floor), a breached DPC will lead to rot of the joists. Chemical injections will not stop the rot.

The correct solution is to either reduce the level of the path or dig out a trench and install a French Drain - Neither solution is particularly difficult. A Stihl saw will make short work of any paving, and a pick axe plus grunt will soon have any spoil out. Only if the path is owned by the council does the task become more difficult, but even that can be resolved (eventually).

Rambosmum

Is it the bank who can't get a valuation? Or your own surveyor? If the bank can, and will lend then I wouldn't worry too much - you know what is likely causing any issue (or will cause it in the future). If the bank can't then that is obviously a bigger issue - but they should be organising the damp survey and charging you for it. 

sacvwgolf

Rambosmum said:

Is it the bank who can't get a valuation? Or your own surveyor? If the bank can, and will lend then I wouldn't worry too much - you know what is likely causing any issue (or will cause it in the future). If the bank can't then that is obviously a bigger issue - but they should be organising the damp survey and charging you for it. 

It's both, bank and surveyor can't get a valuation until a structural survey and damp survey has been completed. It's currently valued at £0. On the mortage application we upgraded our valuation to a homebuyers report (thinking as we've been told the house structurally was sound we didn't need to upgrade to the building survey level). Guessing we can't go back to the surveyor and upgrade again and pay the difference in price?

sacvwgolf

FreeBear said:

sacvwgolf said:

FreeBear said:

sacvwgolf said: However the surveyor has said he is unable to give the house a value until it's had a structural survey done and a damp specialist look at it.

They have inherited the house after someone has passed away so it's empty ATM.

It is an old house standing empty. Heating probably turned off and all the windows & doors shut - Not really surprising that damp has been detected, especially if the surveyor has been using a pointy damp meter (they only give reliable readings when used on untreated timber).

If you must get a damp "specialist" in to do a survey, avoid anyone with connections to a damp treatment company or any affiliation with the Property Care Association (PCA). You need someone who is independent and experienced in old properties. Anyone else will try to sell you a whole bunch of dodgy "cures" that will only damage the fabric of the building over the long term.

I believe it's more due to the fact that it looks like the outside ground is above the original DPC layer..I think the pathway on the side was added at a later date and has made the ground too high so the only option (I'm guessing) is to add a course of injection DPC....that or add a trench to the pathway (not possible). 

So you have identified the possible source of the damp - Injecting "stuff" in to the walls and slapping waterproof render/plaster on the inside will not fix the problem, only mask it for a few years. If the DPC is just below the floor level (and assuming a suspended floor), a breached DPC will lead to rot of the joists. Chemical injections will not stop the rot.

The correct solution is to either reduce the level of the path or dig out a trench and install a French Drain - Neither solution is particularly difficult. A Stihl saw will make short work of any paving, and a pick axe plus grunt will soon have any spoil out. Only if the path is owned by the council does the task become more difficult, but even that can be resolved (eventually).

Yes I agree, better to avoid the problem in the first place instead of having to find a temporary cure. The solicitors are in process of finding out who owns the path but obviously we may not have a choice but to go the injection route. It's a single skin external wall that's exposured to South/west.

Marshaltown

It is probably highly unlikely that a "Structural Survey" (now known as a Building Survey) is required of the entire property. Is it not more of a case that a "Structural Report" has been asked into a specific defect i.e. structural movement etc? Some mortgage lenders require that a property is not given a valuation until any further investigations are completed.