Structural survey done - issues - what next??

felinefancy

Morning all..

Anxiously awaited the surveyor's report from the full structural survey of an old terraced house. We knew it had damp so were expecting that to come up in the report (though no idea of costs).

So he said:

Roof needs re-covering - approx £8k
Damp - £500 per linear metre (?)
Repointing outside £2k

I have NO idea about these sort of things - I've just had basic home buyers reports in the past and never had any issues.  (We had the full structural on this one due to the property's age.)

What do we do next? We'll get the full report within 5-6 days so I presume we'll needed to contact the estate agent and advise the findings.  What then - do we try to negotiate the cost?  Do we ask vendor if we can get companies in to provide quotes for the work?  What are the processes we need to do next. 

In terms of renegotiating the sale price, how does this work?

Any help or advice would be really welcomed.

We haven't seen any houses we've liked except this and the market is just dreadful and not sure I can mentally go back to square one again.  Alternative is something more modern but that's going to be more expensive and attract more offers.

TheJP

I would get a roofer to go look at the roof and see if it actually needs re-covering and if it does they will give you a realistic price. Did the surveyor give a valuation taking into consideration of the work?

felinefancy

TheJP said:

I would get a roofer to go look at the roof and see if it actually needs re-covering and if it does they will give you a realistic price. Did the surveyor give a valuation taking into consideration of the work?

Thanks JP - no, not as far as I am aware.  Haven't seen the full report yet.  Only a mortgage valuation was provided and no issues arose. 

But I assume we can't go ahead with any quotes etc until we've  had the report and spoken with the estate agent about the issues?  

babyblade41

Depends if the house was priced accordingly , older houses will always have problems of one thing or another and surveyors cover every aspect ...(of their backside) 

Give me an older house any day of the week 

FreeBear

felinefancy said: Roof needs re-covering - approx £8k
Damp - £500 per linear metre (?)
Repointing outside £2k

Old terrace house - I'm guessing that this is prewar, perhaps Victorian ?

It is quite possible that the roof is in need of recovering. If it is slate, and they are at the end of their life, it may not be possible to reuse the old slates. In which case, the cost could be quite a bit higher - Just don't use Spanish slate as much of it is very low quality (as is some of the Chinese & Brazilian slate). Clay tiles should last quite a bit longer, but don't go replacing them with concrete - The walls & roof timbers may not be able to take the extra weight.

Damp - Get a surveyor in who is experienced in old & heritage properties. You will need to pay for it, so none of these "free" surveys from a PCA registered outfit. In all probability, the damp (if there is any) is easily fixed by undertaking low cost works outside (reducing ground levels, fixing leaking gutters & downpipes, etc).

Repointing - If this is an older property, please, use a lime mortar, not cement. Is is a little more flexible and won't cause the bricks to spall. You might have to search for a tradesman that understands lime and the reasons for avoiding cement.

felinefancy

FreeBear said:

felinefancy said: Roof needs re-covering - approx £8k
Damp - £500 per linear metre (?)
Repointing outside £2k

Old terrace house - I'm guessing that this is prewar, perhaps Victorian ?

It is quite possible that the roof is in need of recovering. If it is slate, and they are at the end of their life, it may not be possible to reuse the old slates. In which case, the cost could be quite a bit higher - Just don't use Spanish slate as much of it is very low quality (as is some of the Chinese & Brazilian slate). Clay tiles should last quite a bit longer, but don't go replacing them with concrete - The walls & roof timbers may not be able to take the extra weight.

Damp - Get a surveyor in who is experienced in old & heritage properties. You will need to pay for it, so none of these "free" surveys from a PCA registered outfit. In all probability, the damp (if there is any) is easily fixed by undertaking low cost works outside (reducing ground levels, fixing leaking gutters & downpipes, etc).

Repointing - If this is an older property, please, use a lime mortar, not cement. Is is a little more flexible and won't cause the bricks to spall. You might have to search for a tradesman that understands lime and the reasons for avoiding cement.

Thanks for your comments FreeBear - so even though we've had a structural survey where damp has been quoted, we still should get a damp survey done?  Sorry for blinding ignorance on this!

youth_leader

@felinefancy hopefully the vendor will agree to a damp/timber survey, and the specialist will be able to inspect the joists. They will need to lift the floorboards in advance of the visit.  I paid for my buyer's d/t survey, it was £300, but unfortunately was one of the 'sales' companies.

felinefancy

Thanks everyone for comments so far.. so basically shall I just wait to get the report before proceeding any further?  I have contacted a few damp specialist companies and waiting for their response so hopefully I'll get the report by then.  And then I can go back to Estate Agent and advise them the feedback from the surveyor and ask (or tell?) them that we want to have a damp survey carried out?  Is that the right process?

And as for the re-covering of ther roof.. would we need to get a roofer to look at this and quote?

Sorry, no experience at all with this and no-one in my family/friends circles I can ask so looking for your guidance.  Thanks so much.

youth_leader

Have you had your mortgage survey yet felinefancy?  My buyer's lender valued the house at £0 and insisted on the damp/timber report.  Perhaps wait to see what they say before spending any money.  If they do value it at your offer price, I would still go ahead and pay for a damp/timber report, as well as finding a good roofer to take a look.  As they are so busy the roofer might charge you to quote.

To do this you would inform the EA you would like to arrange some inspections, they can ask the vendor to accommodate them.  As for the roof you could go onto the local community Facebook page and ask for a recommended roofer - although many are involved with storm damage still, might be difficult. 

babyblade41

Vendor may not be happy with certain inspections .. be prepared for them not always to accommodate especially if the valuation has matched the offer 

felinefancy

youth_leader said:

Have you had your mortgage survey yet felinefancy?  My buyer's lender valued the house at £0 and insisted on the damp/timber report.  Perhaps wait to see what they say before spending any money.  If they do value it at your offer price, I would still go ahead and pay for a damp/timber report, as well as finding a good roofer to take a look.  As they are so busy the roofer might charge you to quote.

To do this you would inform the EA you would like to arrange some inspections, they can ask the vendor to accommodate them.  As for the roof you could go onto the local community Facebook page and ask for a recommended roofer - although many are involved with storm damage still, might be difficult. 

Yes, with TSB - they looked on Google LOL.. and confirmed our offer price was appropriate.

Should I go to EA about asking for some further inspections before we get the report, or simply stop panicking and wait to get our hands on the report next week?  Whole thing is giving me migraines!