Survey results - render needs replacing

housebuyer7

Hello,

I am purchasing a home for £475,000 (not a FTB but sold my previous home and currently in rental). Just got the full building survey done yesterday and the report will be received in 6-7 days. In the mean time the surveyor called to advise of initial main findings. The biggest one was that at the front of the house it's brick, but at the back it is render and painted white. He said the render is in a bad way and needs removing and re-rendering. It is cracked, hollow and potentially causing rot inside. I am not sure of the cost of this yet (I'm South East England), so will start making enquiries for quotes. My husband though is saying we need to ask for a reduction in price. I would personally prefer not to do that as I feel we are getting a good deal in this current market (previous buyer fell through so the seller is very keen to sell asap and we are in the ideal circumstances for her not being in a chain), therefore I think we have it at below market value as it does need work doing. Still, my husband says yes we have budgeted for the work we knew needed doing but we haven't budgeted for this.

Just wondering people's thoughts on whether it is reasonable to see this as grounds to renegotiate the price? If the cost is above £5000 (i.e., £10000 and the cost of a new roof then I would likely be inclined). We really, really want the house though and this wouldn't be something I would consider pulling out over or want to lose the house over. 

t1redmonkey

I'm no expert but I did get some quotes on a similar job at the start of the year on my last house (mid terrace in south wales).  The cheapest quote I had to remove the render on the back of the house and redo it was approximately £6k however access was also not good (only way to reach the back of the house was going from the front, there was no rear lane or similar).  This was including all scaffolding/waste disposal/labour/materials costs.

I reckon you'd be looking at more than that, given prices have gone up since then and I imagine south-east England is probably more expensive than south wales for trade jobs.  But would depend on what the access is like and size of the area they need to do.

housebuyer7

OK we are in a terraced house so will also not have good access (would need to go through the front I think)

t1redmonkey

Oh, and also on negotiating the price, I guess it depends on whether they were pricing the house with this in mind.  Maybe it was also priced at what it was because the vendors/estate agents were aware it needed re-rendering (you've kind of mentioned that in your post).  If that is the case then they'd be less likely to budge but maybe worth asking.

housebuyer7

It's just the kind of house that looks tired/dated and needs modernising throughout (Victorian house that has likely not been updated since the 80s). The bathroom is on the ground floor and needs moving upstairs.

lookstraightahead

housebuyer7 said:

It's just the kind of house that looks tired/dated and needs modernising throughout (Victorian house that has likely not been updated since the 80s). The bathroom is on the ground floor and needs moving upstairs.

In that case I would see it as part of buying an older house.
Ive bought a 1800s house and there's no surprise that there's work needs doing.

FreeBear

housebuyer7 said:

It's just the kind of house that looks tired/dated and needs modernising throughout (Victorian house that has likely not been updated since the 80s). The bathroom is on the ground floor and needs moving upstairs.

I was about to ask the age of the property. Being Victorian, it is likely solid brick walls - Cement based renders (and that includes stuff like K-Rend) can do a lot of damage to old buildings. Water can get in through cracks, soaking the brickwork behind, and when it freezes, the brick breaks up. In addition, a damp wall is a cold wall, and it will suck the heat out from inside.

Yes, get the render off, but don't go slapping another coat of cement on. Ideally, you want to use a lime render, which isn't going to be particularly cheap. And if this render covers more than 25% of the building, Building Regulations kick in - This would require you to add insulation to the wall where technically possible and within certain financial constraints (or undertake other thermal improvements). Best solution would be cork or wood fibre insulation with a lime render over the top. Just don't ruin the work by slapping Weathershield or Sandtex paint on top.

Cost - Finger in the air calculation, £10k-20K. If you are doing any work to the roof or gutters, you will save a little on scaffolding costs if all the works can be done at the same time.

housebuyer7

Thanks so much that is really useful - I am wondering whether we could get the render off and restore the brick, repointing with lime mortar?

FreeBear

housebuyer7 said: Thanks so much that is really useful - I am wondering whether we could get the render off and restore the brick, repointing with lime mortar?

Depends on how much damage is caused by removing the render. If the bricks are heavily spalled underneath, they won't be pretty to look at. If it is only light damage, the bricks may clean up with the use of a carbide block.

Budget for the worst, and hope for the best.

housebuyer7

Thanks FreeBear!! In my position would you renegotiate on the price? Our other issue is that the roof was replaced in the 80s and we need to find out if the tiles contain asbestos. The surveyor thought it was unlikely but we need to check. Could mean replacing the whole roof if so but hopefully not!

housebuyer7

Also as this is at the back of the house, i think we can live with ugly brick haha, unless you think it's out of the question if the bricks are heavily spalled.