Bad building survey report - what next?

markelanduk

Hi all,
We've had an offer accepted on a 17th century property and had have now received the RICS building survey report.
It has 9 x level 3 defects, relating to damage to the chimney stack, roof(s), gutters and rain pipes, main walls and floors. Unfortunately, the report didn't give an estimate on how much repairs might be.
I'd be grateful if anyone can give advice as to the next step please? Clearly, there's significant renovation work required so would we contact our solicitor with the report findings who, in turn, would contact the seller's solicitors? Or, do we provide a copy of the report to the estate agent and let them communicate with the seller with a reduction in the asking price in mind?
Many thanks!

davilown

Was the house priced with these in mind and are these issues actually a surprise given it’s a 400 year old house?

markelanduk

Hi, thanks for replying.
To be honest, it was a complete surprise and the house has certainly not been priced with all these issues in mind. 

BJV

We bought an old house not as old as yours but they are not called money pits for nothing and even now 5 years on there always seems to be something. But I would not swap for anything. Firstly you need to show a copy to the estate agents. They should start to prompt the seller that this will mean a drop in price. It is then all about negotiating. Do you want to do the repairs? Are you ready for the dust and mess? Even then you don't know if the sellers will want to drop the price? Gutters are not that much as long as they are not cast iron. Walls chimney stack it would depend how much and what exactly needs to be done. The roof can be mega expensive. I will not post how much ours cost, but re-roof in welsh slate? Not cheap. Again how big is the roof. So speak to your EA get them to talk to the seller and see what they say. If possible and if it is ok with the seller I would get a couple of quotes. This will mean that they will need to see inside, so have access. But again I stress before you do any of this decide if you are ready for a renovation. Good luck 

markelanduk

Many thanks for your detailed response! 
Glad to hear that you think all your reno work has been worthwhile but I'm not sure if I'm prepared for 5 years of upheaval! 
One of the main issues is probable dry rot in the timber sole plate which may have spread to the floor joists. 
The gutters are indeed cast iron, BTW.
As suggested, we'll send a copy to the estate agents and take it from there. Thanks so much again!

FreeBear

Is it a listed property - That could have a major impact on costs of repairs.

How much of the work would you be able to do yourselves, and how much do you know about old building practices & materials.

markelanduk

Thanks for your response!
Yes, it is indeed a listed property. My DIY skills are pretty limited so we'd need to hire contractors to do virtually everything, unfortunately. 

AdrianC

Was the surveyor a heritage specialist?

If you don't want a property that constantly needs expensive specialist work doing, with reams of paperwork at every turn, then save your sanity and run a mile from any listed 17th century building...

markelanduk

Hmmm, they've inspected many heritage properties before which is one of the reasons we selected them. I don't believe that they specialise in heritage properties per se though. 
My spider sense is telling me to do as you suggested and run a mile! The problem is, we love heritage homes..but I think we'll probably need to find one which isn't as cavernous a money pit as the one in question. 

Sandtree

markelanduk said
 The problem is, we love heritage homes..but I think we'll probably need to find one which isn't as cavernous a money pit as the one in question. 

Love them after living in several or after looking at them from afar?

Mickey666

AdrianC said:

Was the surveyor a heritage specialist?

If you don't want a property that constantly needs expensive specialist work doing, with reams of paperwork at every turn, then save your sanity and run a mile from any listed 17th century building...

I wouldn't go as far as saying that, but then I bought a G1* listed 16th century house and it hasn't bankrupted me yet so I'm probably biased

But you've asked a very important question because a big problem with period properties is that they are often judged on the basis of modern properties, which is really not appropriate. 

Mine was definitely in poor condition when I bought it so there were no suprises about the amount of work required.  Nevertheless, what I have learned over the past 15 years or so is that a property that is many centuries old only still exists because it is of fundamentally sound construction.  All the cheap, poorly built houses of that age (yes, 'cowboy builders' are not a new phenomenon) have long since fallen down!  Thus, whilst I could see daylight through my roof tiles in places, the roof structure itself is so incredibly over-engineered with huge oak timbers that a bit of wind and rain in the attic over the previous 20-30 years had caused little more than just cosmetic damage.

Similarly, I have one large window that was installed without a lintel supporting the wall above and over the centuries the wall has settled on the window causing it to bow outwards.  When I first saw this it was quite concerning and my surveyor pointed out that this should be remedied as soon as possible as the wall was structurally unsound, which I suppose was true although subsequent research revealed that the window had been in that bowed/broken state for the past 50 years or so.  I eventually got around to installing a 8x8-inch oak lintel above the broken window frame about 10 years after moving in and during all that time the window and wall didn't noticeably move at all.  And I could relate umpteen similar examples.

My point is that old houses are different and it is best for the occupiers to adapt to the house rather than attempt to adapt the house to the occupiers.  If you don't have the mindset to cope with sloping floors, wonky roofs or draughty windows then it's probably best to look for something more modern.  I could say the choice is 'character' or 'bland box' but that would show my own prejudice about such things  

As for the listing system being onerous and involving reams of paperwork, that's not my experience after making four successful applications for listed building consent (LBC).  The Historic Buildings Officer (sometimes called a Conservation Officer or CO) for my house has been a wonderful source of expert and free advice over the years and has not prevented me making various alterations and extensions.  What he has ensured is that all these changes have been done in a sensitive and appropriate way for the house itself.  I have written each LBC application myself and it has not cost me a penny in fees because even the LBC process itself is free.

I'd worry less about the state of the OP's potential purchase than the state of mind of the OP themself in terms of taking on a listed period property in the first place.