Building survey giving me cold feet.

Cheeseorham

My partner and I put an offer on a 3-bed mid-terrace house of £245k (asking £240-250) in mid June. We got the building survey back and there's a handful of stuff we didn't notice on our first and only visit and a few things we did.

Firstly, the house is covered in artex which the owner initially wouldn't let us test for asbestos but now might allow it. The boiler is quite old but still serviceable...not too big a deal but noted future expense.

The building survey came back with a whole list of things we didn't notice, they recommend an electrician do a condition report on the electrics and likely will need a new consumer unit, tile roof needs some repair, the flat roof on a single storey extension needs to be replaced and there's rising damp which is exacerbated by cementitious render on the outside and artex on the inside. We're willing to pay for testing the artex walls and ceilings (particularly where high levels of damp were recorded) and pay for an electrician's survey but initial feedback from the owner is that they don't want to budge on the price. We're worried if there is asbestos and a complete rewire needs to be done, we could be looking at £20k (including asbestos removal, rewire and roof replacement) for repairs before we can move in. We're a little on the fence if we should progress with the expense for additional testing and survey or walk away now and start the process all over. The area we're looking to move to is generally pre-war terrace so not sure if it's just going to be the same storey elsewhere with other unknowns. Also we live 3.5 hours away from the place we are moving to so it's not super convenient to travel back an forth with kids to view properties at the weekend.

If the property requires significant remedials, is it reasonable to ask for the seller to come down £10-15K or 5-6% off the initial offer.

P.S. Please don't lecture me on with the 'YoU sHoUld HaVe kNoWn tHeSe tHiNgS wErE wRoNg!' I'm not an expert at spotting issues with residential properties which is why I paid for a building survey.

Thrugelmir

I'd have found the time for a second viewing. You notice a lot more by doing so.  

Bonniepurple

Don’t panic.  The heating and electrics are old, work, but might not be not up to modern standards. The surveyor isn’t a Gas Safe plumber or an electrician and therefore can’t say anything other than “they look old”.  Asbestos- pretty much everything built pre 1990s will have some asbestos somewhere.  It’s only an issue if you disturb it.

What does the valuation say?  If it agrees with the price, then the work is part of that price.  If it’s valued lower, then you can try to renegotiate.  You may not be successful.

FWIW we had a partial rewire and earthing done in 2017.  The fuse box no longer meets regulations as it’s metal.  

ssparks2003

The artex issue could effect any how built before 1995 and to be honest the chances is your ceiling causing any harm is fairly minimal, if it worries you that much plasterboard over it when you are decorating rooms.

You electrics will not be up to today's standards, quite simply because it was built to a previous standard, fitting a new consumer unit makes life easier, re-wiring the house seems fairly pointless unless there is a genuine reason. 

The rest seem like maintenance of a house with some age, why not buy a new build if you are concerned about doing work.

yllop1101

If the buyer is saying they won't move in price,  I would think that there is little point in getting the further tests as it isn't going to affect the outcome anyway, unless of course they confirm it's inexpensive- but that seems unlikely given the survey?

Artex ceilings, you can just cover them- asbestos is only an issue if you disturb it, so you could plasterboard them and skim over the top and they will be visually gone. 

Often consumer units do need replacing, but if the electrics are fine this is more a matter of preference than priority. 
The roof work and outside render and damp are potentially bigger and costlier issues however.

I would be saying to the owner that if they say that hypothetically should expensive work need doing, they're not willing to drop the price, then I'm going to walk away now- save your time and money. Whilst it may be reasonable to ask, it doesn't mean they will accept. 

[Deleted User]

I think it depends if the house was priced based on the fact that a few things needed doing, or if it is in line with houses that don't? If that makes sense. 

NameUnavailable

It's probably safe to assume that the artex DOES include asbestos. So you just need to decide yourself if you want to cover/remove it or live with it.

The damp sounds like it is trapped due to the artex and cement render not allowing the brickwork to breathe so that will require attention. Likewise the roof issues (although surveyors will usually say flat roofs need attention even if they're fine).

The electrics/boiler are non issues, nothing you need to do about them if you don't want to.

Cheeseorham

Bonniepurple said:

Don’t panic.  The heating and electrics are old, work, but might not be not up to modern standards. The surveyor isn’t a Gas Safe plumber or an electrician and therefore can’t say anything other than “they look old”.  Asbestos- pretty much everything built pre 1990s will have some asbestos somewhere.  It’s only an issue if you disturb it.

What does the valuation say?  If it agrees with the price, then the work is part of that price.  If it’s valued lower, then you can try to renegotiate.  You may not be successful.

FWIW we had a partial rewire and earthing done in 2017.  The fuse box no longer meets regulations as it’s metal.  

Thank you for the reassurance. The valuation in the building survey came back at £230K considering the current condition and recommends there is £30k worth of remedial work to do.

Irishpearce26

I cant really see you being able to ask for a reduction to cover the cost of removing perfectly fine Artex even if it has asbestos. If you want rid of it then that's something you'll have to pay for in the future.

Cheeseorham

Irishpearce26 said:

I cant really see you being able to ask for a reduction to cover the cost of removing perfectly fine Artex even if it has asbestos. If you want rid of it then that's something you'll have to pay for in the future.

Perhaps I wasn't clear. We wouldn't ask the owner to pay for the cost of removing artex for cosmetic reasons but there the damp and roof repairs would disturb the artex which may contain asbestos. Depending on the electrical condition report, it could be worse. The vendor isn't being super cooperative with our requests to investigate possible contamination either (at our own expense).

Mildreds_Earrings

Cheeseorham said:

Perhaps I wasn't clear. We wouldn't ask the owner to pay for the cost of removing artex for cosmetic reasons but there the damp and roof repairs would disturb the artex which may contain asbestos. Depending on the electrical condition report, it could be worse. The vendor isn't being super cooperative with our requests to investigate possible contamination either (at our own expense).

When we were selling, the Buyer expected us to pay for all of the work the Surveyor mentioned. The Estate Agent did the negotiating and we ended up agreeing to split the costs 50/50 (for some of the work, not all) but we also got cheaper quotes ourselves and not the extortionate quotes the Buyer expected. The Vendor doesn't sound very helpful but speak to the EA about your concerns. The EA should be able to negotiate between the two of you and the EA will explain to the Vendor that they will experience the same issue from the next Buyer who comes along but you need to know ASAP, otherwise there is no point if the vendor absolutely won't budge.