Asbestos and other problems revealed after survey

Leftyness

Hi all, 

FTB here looking for some of advice. We had an offer of £445k accepted on a property which was £430k (London). The property looked ok when we did our viewing hence we continued with the process and I instructed a level 3 survey because it was a house built in 1940s. The survey report came back with repair cost estimates of £45k and the main bits are below: 

• Roof - The roof covering is however old and is nearing the end of its useful life. You should therefore prepare for having the roof re-covered. It is likely that ongoing repairs will be needed prior to the roof being recovered.
• Ventilation - The DPC (Damp Proof Course) is low due to the raised ground height. This could lead to dampness and damage internally. We therefore recommend that a ventilated box drain gully is installed at the base of the wall to help remove moisture away.
• Conservatory - The conservatory has generally been built below standard as we noted uneven brickwork and damaged flashings. The floors are very springy indicating potential rot. Repair work is possible but most potential purchasers would wish to have the conservatory either removed or rebuilt.
  
• Outbuilding - The outbuilding to the rear appears to be generally built below standard. There are new plumbing and electrics that would also require signing off by local building control. Your legal advisers should check for documentation of the work. However, we suspect that building regulation approval has not been obtained and therefore you should budget for the reconstruction of the extension.
• Asbestos - There appears to be an asbestos cement soffit. Asbestos is a hazardous material when disturbed and, therefore, any work to replace or repair this part of the property should be carried out by a reputable contractor that is qualified in asbestos awareness.  The ceiling to the understairs cupboard is made of asbestos cement. 
• Roof/ Asbestos - The roof covering and battens are underdrawn with bituminous sarking felt, that was found to be badly damaged. Whilst this material does not normally perform a significant function, most prospective buyers of the property would probably wish to allow for having the sarking material renewed. This will entail removing the roof covering and battens, then renewing the sarking material before replacing the battens and roof covering. This material can contain asbestos of the type which is hazardous when disturbed, and any work undertaken should be implemented by a reputable contractor who is qualified in working with asbestos.
• Electric/gas - no certificates, checks and works needed

We will go back to the vendor  with the report to renegotiate the offer however I am concerned that there will be more asbestos to be found around the house. I sent the report to a friend who is builder and he said to be a wary of finding more asbestos around the house and it would cost a good amount of money if that happens. Not I am unsure since we have budgeted for repairs but not a significant amount of money. 

Any advice or previous experience would be welcome? 

Many thanks for your help in advance! 




 

powerspowers

Have a chat with your surveyor and seeing if there is anything they would recommend as urgent and then negotiate on that basis. Sometimes surveyors are just covering themselves for example with roofs, is there any indication of leaks or repairs required or is it just old? 

user1977

As the surveyor has said, the main issue about asbestos is taking more care if you're doing anything with it - you don't need to immediately rip it all out if it's undamaged.

What is the £45k made up of? What did the surveyor value the property at?

Section62

Leftyness said:

• Asbestos - There appears to be an asbestos cement soffit.
  

Soffits can also be AIB, which would be more of a concern to me (in terms of risk and cost of dealing with) than asbestos cement.

I'd probably ask the surveyor to clarify what they mean by "appears".

jonnydeppiwish!

I’m not sure that a bad surgery, rather than a surveyor covering their backside.

Nothing there to renegotiate with the vendor but you can try.

Leftyness

powerspowers said:

Have a chat with your surveyor and seeing if there is anything they would recommend as urgent and then negotiate on that basis. Sometimes surveyors are just covering themselves for example with roofs, is there any indication of leaks or repairs required or is it just old? 

Thanks, I arranged through the company to schedule a phone call with the surveyor and it seems like it is just old for now. hopefully they can provide more information. 

DE_612183

Asbestos while not in new properties is still in many older ones - you don't actually have to remove it, but should take precautions to leave it undisturbed.

Did your surveyor say what type of asbestos it was?

Leftyness

user1977 said:

As the surveyor has said, the main issue about asbestos is taking more care if you're doing anything with it - you don't need to immediately rip it all out if it's undamaged.

What is the £45k made up of? What did the surveyor value the property at?

Thank you!

With regards to the asbestos, I am worried that if I need to do any works, it will become more expensive than I budgeted. I might find more. The surveyor didn't provide a valuation. 

£10k for conservatory, £10k for outbuilding (timber built), £8k for roof plus chimney and then other things including elec/gas/plumbing/ventilation/joinery/rendering

babyblade41

A little over reaction maybe, nothing in that survey says it has to be done imminently , just maintenance& upkeep plus a few weekends DIY

hannahcolobus

Leftyness said:

user1977 said:

As the surveyor has said, the main issue about asbestos is taking more care if you're doing anything with it - you don't need to immediately rip it all out if it's undamaged.

What is the £45k made up of? What did the surveyor value the property at?

Thank you!

With regards to the asbestos, I am worried that if I need to do any works, it will become more expensive than I budgeted. I might find more. The surveyor didn't provide a valuation. 

£10k for conservatory, £10k for outbuilding (timber built), £8k for roof plus chimney and then other things including elec/gas/plumbing/ventilation/joinery/rendering

Nothing to stop you asking but you’ll need a much more detailed breakdown of all of it before you start asking for a reduction, you’ve left £17k for elec/gas/plumbing and the rest but what does that actually break down to? If you want to ask for a reduction for those three you’ll probably need checks doing which you may have to pay for yourself.  

user1977

Leftyness said:

user1977 said:

As the surveyor has said, the main issue about asbestos is taking more care if you're doing anything with it - you don't need to immediately rip it all out if it's undamaged.

What is the £45k made up of? What did the surveyor value the property at?

The surveyor didn't provide a valuation. 

Never really understand why people don't instruct a valuation when they're sending round somebody eminently qualified to provide one, but anyway...the point is that the price may already accurately reflect the condition of the property (or at least do so to some extent). Deducting £45k from the agreed price doesn't necessarily make sense, especially as much of that appears to be for works which aren't immediately necessary.