Mid purchase - roof needs replacing - what would you do?

JReacher1

Not sure if this is right but when I has my previous houses roof reslated (1920’s terrace) they said I couldn’t get it signed off by the local council building inspector unless I insulated the loft. That added £300 to my costs. 

Section62

diystarter7 said:

If they have told you that. If you go ahead and buy, the first thing is get the roof redone ie watertight and then the other bits.

No.  The first thing to do is to get the roof assessed by a professional who doesn't have a vested interest in saying it needs to be "redone".

diystarter7

JReacher1 said:

Not sure if this is right but when I has my previous houses roof reslated (1920’s terrace) they said I couldn’t get it signed off by the local council building inspector unless I insulated the loft. That added £300 to my costs. 

Hi
I believe it depends on the local authority.
This is why I said to the OP to get the build regs people involved if to change roof.

Section62

diystarter7 said:

JReacher1 said:

Not sure if this is right but when I has my previous houses roof reslated (1920’s terrace) they said I couldn’t get it signed off by the local council building inspector unless I insulated the loft. That added £300 to my costs. 

I believe it depends on the local authority.
This is why I said to the OP to get the build regs people involved if to change roof.

No.  The requirements with regard to building regulations are set on a national basis.  All local authorities within a country are obliged to apply the same national standards and processes.

Variation occurs in what the BCO or IBCI (or their employer) deems to be acceptable on a case by case basis. Whilst there should be consistency in decision making between works of the same type, the decision whether compliance has been achieved is ultimately the responsibility of the BCO (subject to appeal to the Secretary of State).

northernlass29876

Lots of useful/helpful comments in here so thanks to all positive contributors. I am persuaded by the insulation arguments. 

So far we have not been able to find out whether there are any active leaks in the roof, but the sellers say there aren’t so we’ll take them at face value (for now). It’s unlikely we’ll be given access to the roof at this point to find out conclusively for ourselves.

Given the cost of scaffolding, we’ve been advised against making only minor fixes, because it does doesn’t make any economic sense, although I can easily be convinced otherwise.

Section62 said:

diystarter7 said:

If they have told you that. If you go ahead and buy, the first thing is get the roof redone ie watertight and then the other bits.

No.  The first thing to do is to get the roof assessed by a professional who doesn't have a vested interest in saying it needs to be "redone".

Can you name this professional so I can contact one of them? 

(The opinions I’ve gathered so far come from a family member who runs a building firm and is a property developer, a RICS surveyor and several roofing professionals). 

Section62

northernlass29876 said:

Section62 said:

diystarter7 said:

If they have told you that. If you go ahead and buy, the first thing is get the roof redone ie watertight and then the other bits.

No.  The first thing to do is to get the roof assessed by a professional who doesn't have a vested interest in saying it needs to be "redone".

Can you name this professional so I can contact one of them? 

(The opinions I’ve gathered so far come from a family member who runs a building firm and is a property developer, a RICS surveyor and several roofing professionals).

A RICS surveyor working in a professional capacity for you as owner of the property would do.

As a prospective buyer of a property, a surveyor working for you will err far towards the side of caution, to avoid the risk of being liable for the cost of remedial work they 'failed' to warn you about.  This is a form of vested interest - when working for a prospective buyer it is in the interests of the surveyor to overplay (rather than underplay) all possible defects.

Does this mean you have had a RICS surveyor carry out a survey of the property and provide a written report?  If so, what exactly does it say about the condition of the roof?

diystarter7

northernlass29876 said:

Lots of useful/helpful comments in here so thanks to all positive contributors. I am persuaded by the insulation arguments. 

So far we have not been able to find out whether there are any active leaks in the roof, but the sellers say there aren’t so we’ll take them at face value (for now). It’s unlikely we’ll be given access to the roof at this point to find out conclusively for ourselves.

Given the cost of scaffolding, we’ve been advised against making only minor fixes, because it does doesn’t make any economic sense, although I can easily be convinced otherwise.

Section62 said:

diystarter7 said:

If they have told you that. If you go ahead and buy, the first thing is get the roof redone ie watertight and then the other bits.

No.  The first thing to do is to get the roof assessed by a professional who doesn't have a vested interest in saying it needs to be "redone".

Can you name this professional so I can contact one of them? 

(The opinions I’ve gathered so far come from a family member who runs a building firm and is a property developer, a RICS surveyor and several roofing professionals). 

Looks as though you have it covered with all of them inc RICS
so lets see what the poster comes up with that is not already tried/considered.

Section62

diystarter7 said:

northernlass29876 said:

Lots of useful/helpful comments in here so thanks to all positive contributors. I am persuaded by the insulation arguments. 

So far we have not been able to find out whether there are any active leaks in the roof, but the sellers say there aren’t so we’ll take them at face value (for now). It’s unlikely we’ll be given access to the roof at this point to find out conclusively for ourselves.

Given the cost of scaffolding, we’ve been advised against making only minor fixes, because it does doesn’t make any economic sense, although I can easily be convinced otherwise.

Section62 said:

diystarter7 said:

If they have told you that. If you go ahead and buy, the first thing is get the roof redone ie watertight and then the other bits.

No.  The first thing to do is to get the roof assessed by a professional who doesn't have a vested interest in saying it needs to be "redone".

Can you name this professional so I can contact one of them? 

(The opinions I’ve gathered so far come from a family member who runs a building firm and is a property developer, a RICS surveyor and several roofing professionals). 

Looks as though you have it covered with all of them inc RICS
so lets see what the poster comes up with that is not already tried/considered.

Please see the post immediately before yours.

If you are unaware of the difference between "hav[ing] it covered" and getting impartial advice free from vested interest, then other forum members should treat your advice with due caution.

northernlass29876

Thanks for the clarification. 

Therein lies the issue for me though. I’ve gotta take a leap of faith, buy the house first and then only take a surveyors word AFTER I’ve purchased, on the basis that he is now telling the truth whereas he was only concerned about protecting himself from liability before. 

Section62

northernlass29876 said:

Thanks for the clarification. 

Therein lies the issue for me though. I’ve gotta take a leap of faith, buy the house first and then only take a surveyors word AFTER I’ve purchased, on the basis that he is now telling the truth whereas he was only concerned about protecting himself from liability before. 

This is why people were asking you to clarify whether this is a house you are buying and whether you have had a survey done.

You can take the 'bad' stuff from the surveyor's report and try to negotiate with the vendor for them to reduce the price.

Once you own the property you can take a view on whether the work actually needs doing now, or if it can wait. Perhaps with some minor/temporary repairs to actual leaks or other defects.

As you note, the cost of scaffolding is high, and ideally you'll only want to do that once.  Having a full roof replacement now - solely on the basis of reports/advice written/given to aid your negotiating position - isn't necessarily a good approach, which is why diystarter7's advice was poor.

When you become the owner of the property your POV is likely to change.

It is usually better to live in the property for a while, get used to it and find out what else is wrong, before starting major improvements/remediation.  Depending on the property and your circumstances there may be other work (e.g. loft conversion, chimney removal etc) you decide to do, which could be a more appropriate time to redo the roof.

If the roof does need replacing urgently then don't delay.  But don't take reports/advice intended to help you as a buyer as an absolute requirement on you as an owner to carry out work on an urgent basis.  This in essence is what the more experieced/knowledgeable posters have been saying throught the thead.  Find out exactly what you need to do, and how long you've got to do it.  Don't rush to spend money solely on the basis of advice from people who aren't wholly impartial.