FTB - Pulling out of Sale due to Survey

LunaAndBelle

Hey all, I’ve posted a few times on here but I didn’t realise how much of a nightmare this all is. 

I found a property, offered and everything was going well until the survey. Lots of work is required due to damp - lots of raking and repointing of the entire house and chimney. Including internal work needing to be done too. The vendor was surprised but understands my concerns and is willing to negotiate. 

After obtaining quotes, it’s very expensive and time consuming but they’d much prefer to reduce the price. I’m not sure I wish to do that as I offered the asking price purely for the fact that it didn’t need work. 

I’ve instantly started looking again, whilst this process goes on, and I’ve found a house I prefer. Of course I could be met with the same issues after a survey. It’s similar price and not guaranteed that it would be accepted anyway. Other than being out of pocket for surveys and solicitors is there anything else I need to be mindful of? 

All the searches have been done by my solicitor already (curse of a good one) who will of course need to be paid. Then start again. 

Any advice please?! 

hairydog

Without seeing the house or the survey, this is only a generic comment, but in general, some surveys are an utter and complete waste of money. They find non-existent defects and overlook important ones.

In particular the "damp surveys" done by PCA surveys are almost all a scam. They always identify "rising damp" and recommend injection dampcourses, cement and gypsum plastering and somethines repointing with cement.

These treatments are inappropriate for non-cavity wall constructon, which is most buildings over 100 years old. This scam has been going on for at least 25 to 30 years, so most vulnerable properties have suffered by now.

Your survey sounds like you have reached the next stage, because these PCA recommended treatments will increase dampness, reduce insulation and are quite expensive to remedy.  It involves removing the cement pointing and replacing with lime mortar, stripping the interior walls to remove the cememt and gypsum plaste, then replace with lime plaster and breathable decoration.

If you pull out of this one, you may discover that the next has the same issues, but maybe the survey didn't notice.

km1500

No problem pulling out and starting again, other than money

Budget for loss of survery fees, some solicitor work and outgoings, maybe mortgage application fees and valuation.

On the plus side you may be able to get a better mortgage deal now

ManuelG

Well I've pulled out in the past because of a survey - that is after all, why you have a survey in the first place. As long as you've separated 'expected' and 'unexpected' issues in the house, it's not unreasonable. Better to see it as saving £hundreds of thousands than wasting a few hundred quid.

The only thing I would be wary of is doing it too often - who wants a reputation as the person who does nothing but get surveys and then get spooked? So that goes back to the expected and unexpected issues...

robatwork

Make sure you use the same surveyor to get consistency in your reports. It's up to you how much you believe their report but better to miss out on a decent house than to buy a lemon. There's always another one...eventually

FreeBear

LunaAndBelle said: After obtaining quotes, it’s very expensive and time consuming but they’d much prefer to reduce the price.

If you do find a place that you really, really like, but needs work, one bit of advice - Reduce the offer and pay for any remedial work yourself. If you leave it to the vendor, they will get the cheapest which may not be of a particularly good quality. At least, if you are in the driving seat, you get to decide on what you consider acceptable.

As an example - Solid brick/stone walls should be repointed with a lime mortar. This comes at a premium price. The vendor may well get Bob the Builder to slap a bit of cement in because it is cheap despite the fact that it is an inappropriate repair. 5-10 years down the line, you will end up paying considerably more to replace spalled bricks and have the job done properly.

LunaAndBelle

hairydog said:

Without seeing the house or the survey, this is only a generic comment, but in general, some surveys are an utter and complete waste of money. They find non-existent defects and overlook important ones.

In particular the "damp surveys" done by PCA surveys are almost all a scam. They always identify "rising damp" and recommend injection dampcourses, cement and gypsum plastering and somethines repointing with cement.

These treatments are inappropriate for non-cavity wall constructon, which is most buildings over 100 years old. This scam has been going on for at least 25 to 30 years, so most vulnerable properties have suffered by now.

Your survey sounds like you have reached the next stage, because these PCA recommended treatments will increase dampness, reduce insulation and are quite expensive to remedy.  It involves removing the cement pointing and replacing with lime mortar, stripping the interior walls to remove the cememt and gypsum plaste, then replace with lime plaster and breathable decoration.

If you pull out of this one, you may discover that the next has the same issues, but maybe the survey didn't notice.

My homebuyer’s survey had damp readings and recommended a specialist damp specialist. I paid for an independent report, so they did not push a hard sell. 

No injection damp proof course was suggested and no mention of rising damp so I fully respect the recommendations. 

Both surveys touched on the same issues and they wouldn’t have known what others have looked at. Ultimately it’s down to some shoddy work from the previous owners to this one. I’ve also seen photos of where there is evidence of damp, these were hidden in my viewings but they were there. 

The recommendations are exactly what you’ve said. It’s a 100 year old terraced property. It’s hard to ignore when there’s evidence of damp, maximum damp readings and can see the outside work hasn’t been great. 

This is the thing, new survey could highlight the same on this property but I didn’t see any damp spots this time and I looked a lot closer than before. 

LunaAndBelle

ManuelG said:

Well I've pulled out in the past because of a survey - that is after all, why you have a survey in the first place. As long as you've separated 'expected' and 'unexpected' issues in the house, it's not unreasonable. Better to see it as saving £hundreds of thousands than wasting a few hundred quid.

The only thing I would be wary of is doing it too often - who wants a reputation as the person who does nothing but get surveys and then get spooked? So that goes back to the expected and unexpected issues...

I’d much rather not waste lots of money on surveys that’s for sure. There are certainly issues I can live with but unfortunately with the damp this is one I can’t. I guess that’s the risk with an older property. 

NameUnavailable

Older houses will almost always have damp at this time of year as bricks will absorb some water and dry out again - the issue is whether the damp is excessive. It's very likely that it might need repointing (which needs to be with the correct lime based materials). At least if you did the work you know it's going to be good for a long time but it depends if you have the funds for it and can be bothered or if you prefer to buy something else that doesn't need work doing now.

[Deleted User]

The problem with a price reduction is that unless you are paying cash it's not like you will have that money in your pocket to spend on repairs.

LunaAndBelle

NameUnavailable said:

Older houses will almost always have damp at this time of year as bricks will absorb some water and dry out again - the issue is whether the damp is excessive. It's very likely that it might need repointing (which needs to be with the correct lime based materials). At least if you did the work you know it's going to be good for a long time but it depends if you have the funds for it and can be bothered or if you prefer to buy something else that doesn't need work doing now. 

[Deleted User] said:

The problem with a price reduction is that unless you are paying cash it's not like you will have that money in your pocket to spend on repairs.

The cost is also the issue because lowering my deposit would be teetering on the edge of the bracket needed for the rates. The other money I have is for furnishings and emergency repairs. 

I really wanted to find somewhere liveable without huge work. Unfortunately the damp does need sorting more urgently.