FTB: damp comes back from survey

Louisa_001

Hi all,
We’ve just had a survey done on a house we love (on first look it looked ok condition but in need of modernization).  The surveyor called us up to inform us that there are extensive damp issues throughout, an unsupported chimney and hole in the roof and essentially lots of things in need of replacement from the windows to the gutters! 

We don’t have the written report yet (that takes up to 10 days) but we gave the EA a heads up late last week that we need to get a damp survey done. We were looking at Kenwood plc as they offer free surveys although we are aware they can sometimes quote higher but figured this was ok as it may help with negotiations. 

Fast forward today, EA informs us the   the seller instructed kenwood already and they will forward the report to us. 

We ideally wanted to instruct the damp surveyor ourselves to ensure we get full sight of all issues raised. Wanted to get advice on whether we should still instruct our own or trust that the report the seller forwards us is full and complete? 

daveyjp

Never get a 'free' damp survey from a company which also sells solutions to fix the 'problem'.  They are guaranteed to find an issue.

A survey commissioned by the seller is worthless to you.

However holes in roof, leaking gutters and windows mean they need sorting first before you consider anything internally.

You need a damp surveyor who charges for their time and report.  You can then find companies to do the work recommended.

FreeBear

Louisa_001 said: We don’t have the written report yet (that takes up to 10 days) but we gave the EA a heads up late last week that we need to get a damp survey done. We were looking at Kenwood plc as they offer free surveys although we are aware they can sometimes quote higher but figured this was ok as it may help with negotiations. 

Fast forward today, EA informs us the   the seller instructed kenwood already and they will forward the report to us.

https://www.heritage-house.org/case-histories-1/damp-and-timber-surveys/best-fraudulent-damp-survey.html

If you want a proper, honest damp survey, you need to find an independent surveyor experienced in older properties and without links toe the PCA.

The likes of Kenwood will try to sell you expensive "treatments" for problems that don't exist or can be cured by simple DIY tasks. About the only benefit you might gain from one of these "free surveys" is a few quid off the price of the property.

Louisa_001

We do agree- what we were thinking was to take the information gleaned from Kenwood’s survey onwards to an independent surveyor (post-purchase in order to limit our costs for now). If their assessment is overblown and quotes too high a price, at this stage of the sale we figure that would help us with negotiations anyway whilst also giving us useful information on areas of concern. And that link is helpful, thank you for advice. Do you think that, because the seller has gone ahead and hired Kenwood’s survey before we could, that their report would be more skewed towards the seller’s interests than ours? 

lookstraightahead

I have an old house that I have just bought. I had a L3 survey. I expected, and do, have damp issues but I have spent time researching different types of damp depending on age etc.

you really need to do your homework and make sure whoever you use knows your type of house, material used etc. 

For example, our best approach is ventilation - not damp course, not tanking etc.

I've no idea how old your house is, what type of bricks etc. But you need to know these things.

freebear talks a lot of sense. 

robatwork

Unsupported chimney could either mean the surveyor wasn't able to inspect properly, or could mean imminent danger to health. I'd be more worried about that.