Building survey shows £10k of repairs required

EsJay1

Hi all,

I'm a FTB and I've just had the Building Survey report back from the surveyor on the house I'm in the process of buying. 

The house is a 3-bed mid-terrace house built in the 1860s.  The total repairs have been estimated to come up to just under £10k.

The report synopsis shows the following:

• The property has a pitched tile roof (Concrete interlocking tiles) this appears to be in average condition but requires maintenance to the mortar and flashing areas.

• The ridge tiles and vertical dividing ridge line on the front roof pitch elevation require of maintenance where cracking/missing mortar is evident and common problem with a property of this age.

• The mortar fillets around the two chimney stacks are in a poor state of repair due to age related decay and will now have to be replaced with lead flashing.

• The is insufficient flashing between the main roof and rear addition roof which is causing water problems into the landing. Lead flashing is required.

• The top of the wall on the rear addition roof is in a poor state of repair due to age related decay which is allowing water penetration into the rear bedroom. Repairs are required

• The property has a single story pitched tile roof (Concrete tiles) at the rear of the property. It is evident that the flashing on the top section of roof is in a poor state of repair due to age related decay and will now have to be replaced.

• It was also evident that the tile covering to this roof is not sufficient for the pitch degree of the roof which will cause capillary action where water will penetrate above the head lap.

• Water is discharged from the roof via a PVCU gutter section rainwater system with outlet downpipes hold fast fixed to the external elevations.

• The gutter section rainwater system shows physical evidence of blockages with debris causing restrictions to the water flow leading to the rainwater outlets. There is also evidence of sagging to the front guttering

• Recommend these are cleared and repaired to prevent water penetration to the building.

• The independent chimney stack to the left-hand side of the roof is in a very poor state of repair due to age related decay over a period of time. This had caused leaning of the chimney pot, disintegration to the chimney flaunching and sagging and movement of the brickwork which is causing the stack to lean. In my considered opinion the stack needs to be removed and re-built before the stack collapses

• It was evident that the front timber fascia had started to rot away and will need to be replaced in the near future.

• Damp penetration is occurring to the basement wall which requires tanking and damp proofing.

• An extractor fan is required in the bathroom due to potential condensation issues.

• There is evidence of water droplets on the felt in the loft which suggests condensation issues in the loft and roof ventilation is required.

• There is evidence of two separate leaks occurring from the rear roof of the property which is causing damage to the landing and rear bedroom. External repairs are required ASAP

• A full inspection of the loft space and roof coverings revealed no roof ventilation, the roof relies on passive natural ventilation, however if re-roofing or re-developing the roof space ventilation should be provided in the form of ridge vents or similar.

• The floors generally throughout property have evidence of physical movement throughout detected with some floorboard movement due to age related decay to the fixings.

• These therefore should be monitored and investigated further if worsen over time.

• All windows are of a PVCU construction with no physical defects adversely affecting the natural opening movement or performance detected at the time of the inspection.

• The Bathroom had a 3-piece suit comprising of bath with shower, WC, pedestal and wash hand basin with tiled splash backs in average condition for age. The sealant has perished around the baths which has caused wall tiles to de-bond. The tiles and the sealant will now have to be replaced.

• The Kitchen had extractor units found to be in average condition for age, used to aid the reduction of condensation within the space.

• On inspection of the loft, which is accessed via a loft hatch, I noted that it appears insulated to areas but still requires additional areas of replacement to meet with current building regulations of 300mm depth. 

With this being said (and I'm trying not to panic here), can anyone advise me on what I should do next? Do I request the seller to reduce the price by £10k, request they fix certain things first (but how do I choose which issues they should resolve?) or walk away?

Any and all advice gratefully received. Anything to assist - as I mentioned, I'm a FTB so this is all very new to me. Thanks in advance!

davidmcn

EsJay1 said:

Do I request the seller to reduce the price by £10k

You haven't told us anything about the price. If it already reflects that the property isn't in tip-top condition (and it looks like a fair amount of that ought to have been obvious on viewing), the vendors may well be of the view that it's a fair price. There's no principle that you must buy a house with no defects.

RelievedSheff

There is nothing on there that would not be expected for a property of that age. Certainly nothing to walk away for.

You need to get a roofer in to sort out the issues with the roof and guttering to stop any further deterioration.

You can try and get the vendor to knock some money off the purchase price but they are likely to come back and say no. You are not buying a new property. This house is 160 years old. It will require more upkeep and maintenance then a new property.

EsJay1

davidmcn said:

EsJay1 said:

Do I request the seller to reduce the price by £10k

You haven't told us anything about the price. If it already reflects that the property isn't in tip-top condition (and it looks like a fair amount of that ought to have been obvious on viewing), the vendors may well be of the view that it's a fair price. There's no principle that you must buy a house with no defects.

Sorry, the house is currently priced accurately and reflects a house in good condition!

babyblade41

A property of this age will require upkeep (general maintenance)  if looking at these types of properties within your price range then possibly most surveys will say something similar as it would have been visible at viewing most of the defects 

I would expect the price will reflect to a certain amount what needs doing immediately but with little information it's hard to give opinions

EsJay1

RelievedSheff said:

There is nothing on there that would not be expected for a property of that age. Certainly nothing to walk away for.

You need to get a roofer in to sort out the issues with the roof and guttering to stop any further deterioration.

You can try and get the vendor to knock some money off the purchase price but they are likely to come back and say no. You are not buying a new property. This house is 160 years old. It will require more upkeep and maintenance then a new property.

Thank you for the advice! Do you recommend proceeding with the purchase or sorting out these issues upon completion or is it reasonable to try and get a roofer to look at the property now (with the report in mind) to give a more accurate quote? I'm not sure whether a roofer would even be willing to do this but I'm just cautious that the £10k quote given by the surveyor is not realistic

lincroft1710

Sounds a bit repetitive.

What percentage of the so far agreed purchase price is £10K? If it is 10% or more expect resistance from the vendor. They or the agent will probably say the agreed price reflects the need for some repairs.

EsJay1

lincroft1710 said:

Sounds a bit repetitive.

What percentage of the so far agreed purchase price is £10K? If it is 10% or more expect resistance from the vendor. They or the agent will probably say the agreed price reflects the need for some repairs.

Hi, the agreed property price is £205K, so the repair quote only represents approx. 5%!

lincroft1710

EsJay1 said:

lincroft1710 said:

Sounds a bit repetitive.

What percentage of the so far agreed purchase price is £10K? If it is 10% or more expect resistance from the vendor. They or the agent will probably say the agreed price reflects the need for some repairs.

Hi, the agreed property price is £205K, so the repair quote only represents approx. 5%!

It's worth further negotiating, even if you just got £5K off. Usually whoever is least desperate wins on these occasions, but if it a "dream house" don't alienate the vendor. 

FreeBear

I'm seeing at most, £2-3K (back of fag packet calculation) needed. Most of that would be for scaffolding and work on the failing stack. The floor joists should be checked to make sure they are not rotting - This should be easy enough from the cellar, but would need floorboards lifted elsewhere (the vendor would probably refuse permission for the latter).

Tanking of the cellar - Nope. That space was never designed to be habitable and cellars are by their very nature, cold and damp. Tanking isn't going to fix that, so save your money and use it as it was originally designed for (storage).

EsJay1

FreeBear said:

I'm seeing at most, £2-3K (back of fag packet calculation) needed. Most of that would be for scaffolding and work on the failing stack. The floor joists should be checked to make sure they are not rotting - This should be easy enough from the cellar, but would need floorboards lifted elsewhere (the vendor would probably refuse permission for the latter).

Tanking of the cellar - Nope. That space was never designed to be habitable and cellars are by their very nature, cold and damp. Tanking isn't going to fix that, so save your money and use it as it was originally designed for (storage).

FreeBear - thanks for your comment. This has actually really helped to put my mind and ease and decide what to do from here!