Bad buyers survey - help!

youth_leader

I know what you mean WannabeNigella, I was uncomfortable with my horrible buyer's surveyor and also wondered if there was an 'agreement' between them and mentioned it to my EA, but they said it couldn't happen?

His surveyor was in my house for six and a half hours, it was awkward,  especially so when he asked if he could 'go for a wee'.  

RS2OOO

Not sure if I'm mad but beyond the buckling gable wall I wouldn't see those survey results as grounds for any kind of negotiation on a 100 year old house if I really wanted it. 

But for sure I'd want a second opinion at the very least on the gable wall, or at least to see the evidence with my own eyes so I can make a more informed decision as to whether I wanted to negotiate on price.

WannabeNigella

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

WannabeNigella said:

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

It's a funny one, this.  Surveyors are supposed to be regulated, so ought to be offering completely impartial advice.  Whether they do or not, however, is a matter of opinion.  The report is, the OP suggests, too bad to be true.  From the buyer's perspective, therefore, it is too good to be true.  I assume the buyer commissioned the survey and chose the surveyor.  The most sensible thing to do is discontinue negotiations with this buyer, who may or may not have had a bent survey produced for the purposes of putting pressure on the vendor, and to commission another report for peace of mind.
Once done, relist.  

Yes the buyer chose the surveyor. He was thoroughly unpleasant and whilst I know he's not in the game to win any popularity prizes, he was an obnoxious presence in my home and he left me feeling uncomfortable.

I've just spoken again to my EA who said that he was surprised that they'd buy this kind of house as a buy to let. Usually these buyers go straight for newish builds that are unlikely to cone with the defects that an Edwardian house will inevitably display. He's also miffed that they came direct to me with the issues, terrified me and left me shaken rather than going to the EA where they can allay most fears posed by a survey. 

Fairly definitely some sort of intimidation tactic from the buyer.  Tell the agent that you're no longer interested in continuing to negotiate with the buyer and leave it at that.  He ought to have no reason to bother you again.  The salient point is that you must not believe anything this buyer or his surveyor have told you; what they are doing is par for the course at the less scrupulous end of the property market.  

Thank you for this because yes, I did come out of their house (I know them!) panicking and intimidated last night! And no, I don't think I want to sell to them any more, unfortunately. 

milkskae873

lookstraightahead said:

WannabeNigella said:

Hi, hoping for some constructive (and kind please!) advice 

My buyer's survey came back this weekend with some scary findings. Long story short, they want circa 30k off the price 😭😭 I am gutted and extremely scared. I'm looking for some advice on whether to sell to them or relist the house.

The survey found evidence of damp (news to me, the house was damp coursed in 2010) no fire wall between lofts of the adjoining house and ours, apparently the rear gable wall of the kitchen is buckling (again, news to me, can't see any cracks or misaligned windows etc) chimney needs repointing and a window lintel needs replacing.

Many thanks!

Don't be scared - must people have some kind of problems with their houses but just don't know it yet.

Our house is underpinned and old so I've had to learn a lot and usually the scary part is not knowing what it all means.

I agree with the damp - get it properly checked out not some surveyor with a damp meter.

Personally I would take off a bit for the work (nowhere near £30k) and if they don't accept just relist.

we had lots of issues on our level 3 survey as a buyer but accepted that houses need maintaining,

how old is your house?

our vendors cleverly had their own structural engineer write a report which they sent to us so that we could see problems in advance so that it was all upfront. If the house does fall through (not literally) then this might be a proactive way forward.

So you bought an underpinned house? 

WannabeNigella

RS2OOO said:

Not sure if I'm mad but beyond the buckling gable wall I wouldn't see those survey results as grounds for any kind of negotiation on a 100 year old house if I really wanted it. 

But for sure I'd want a second opinion at the very least on the gable wall, or at least to see the evidence with my own eyes so I can make a more informed decision as to whether I wanted to negotiate on price.

The "buckling" gable wall was detected with a spirit measure. That's how severe it is! 🙄 As in there's no mortar line cracks, no visible bulging, no misaligned windows. The fitted kitchen on the other side of the wall has not moved in the ten yrs I've been here so I would say this wall has been "leaning" since way before my time. 

lookstraightahead

milkskae873 said:

lookstraightahead said:

WannabeNigella said:

Hi, hoping for some constructive (and kind please!) advice 

My buyer's survey came back this weekend with some scary findings. Long story short, they want circa 30k off the price 😭😭 I am gutted and extremely scared. I'm looking for some advice on whether to sell to them or relist the house.

The survey found evidence of damp (news to me, the house was damp coursed in 2010) no fire wall between lofts of the adjoining house and ours, apparently the rear gable wall of the kitchen is buckling (again, news to me, can't see any cracks or misaligned windows etc) chimney needs repointing and a window lintel needs replacing.

Many thanks!

Don't be scared - must people have some kind of problems with their houses but just don't know it yet.

Our house is underpinned and old so I've had to learn a lot and usually the scary part is not knowing what it all means.

I agree with the damp - get it properly checked out not some surveyor with a damp meter.

Personally I would take off a bit for the work (nowhere near £30k) and if they don't accept just relist.

we had lots of issues on our level 3 survey as a buyer but accepted that houses need maintaining,

how old is your house?

our vendors cleverly had their own structural engineer write a report which they sent to us so that we could see problems in advance so that it was all upfront. If the house does fall through (not literally) then this might be a proactive way forward.

So you bought an underpinned house? 

Yes I did. And did all my homework.

stuart45

The correct method is to drop a plumbline down from top to bottom.

WannabeNigella

stuart45 said:

The correct method is to drop a plumbline down from top to bottom.

Yes that's how I understand it too. However, if the lean was significant, I would expect visual clues? 

stuart45

If you put a level on most walls in various places you will get an out of plumb reading somewhere. Even on a newly built wall the centre often tends to settle out a bit overnight. 

WannabeNigella

stuart45 said:

If you put a level on most walls in various places you will get an out of plumb reading somewhere. Even on a newly built wall the centre often tends to settle out a bit overnight. 

If little Noddy comes back with his plumb line and measures the rest of the walls I fear he'll be in for a surprise bc all of the walls in the kitchen were on the wonk when we had the kitchen fitted. We were told it was common, nothing to worry about and they'd work round it.