Mortgage "declined pending specialist advice" after survey

Regalia1

I'm a first time buyer trying to get a mortgage for a property, I applied direct with Nationwide however after a (What I believe is homebuyers report) survey they remarked the following

As per Nationwide Valuer Guidance the property is being declined pending specialist advice being received from a timber & damp report. Evidence of movement to the
 property was noted in the form of distortion to/around openings, internal cracking, uneven/sloping floors and bowed walls. A structural report should be produced from an appropriately qualified Engineer/Surveyor on behalf of the purchaser.

I now need to get a "Damp and Timber Report" and "Structural Engineers Report", but am unsure how that works, where is the best place to find one, or how much that would be costing. I was pretty much left on my own to get this sorted, so wondering if anyone who's been through this has any advice.

I did read the survey, and it noted a number of potential problems but not a lot of concrete things. Mostly a lot of "go ask an expert" kind of advice.

More details:

Damp and Timber Report:

Where the valuer identifies high damp readings or evidence of timber infestation in a property they will request a damp and timber report which will determine the cause of issues, the extent to which it is affecting the property and an estimate for remedying the issue.

The report should be dated within the last 90 days, and must cover the whole property.  Ideally, it should come from a firm which is Property Care Association (PCA) (formerly BWPDA) registered and any works should be covered by a 10 year insurance backed guarantee.  Any guarantee issued must be transferable to new owners.

Structural Engineers Report:

The report must be addressed to all the applicants, it should report on the whole property, and be dated within the last 90 days.
The report must be on appropriate letter headed paper and indicate that the Structural Engineer holds one of the following qualifications:
    MICE
    FICE
    AMI Struct E
    MI Struct E
    FI Struct E
Or one of the following Chartered Building Surveyor qualifications:
    MRICS
    FRICS
Or one of the following Corporate Building/Corporate Structural Engineer qualifications:
    MASI
    FASI
    MCABE
    FCABE
    MCIOB
    FCIOB
    MIEI (Members of Engineers Ireland)

This is also something that worries me a little because it seems to indicate there's some kind of problem with the property? Is this normal procedure and worth sinking money into? Is it expected that the buyer puts up with this and accepts the risk of sunk cost if it falls through?

propertyrental

The biggest problem is the requirement for the damp report to be done by "Property Care Association (PCA) " member.

These reports tend to actually be sales related, and almost inevitably recommend work that the company producing the report will provide! But if that's what the lender requires, that's what you'll have to get.

Or you find another lender or withdraw from the purchase.

For structural engineers, search

https://www.istructe.org/find-an-engineer/structural-engineers-near-me/

https://hoa.org.uk/services/structural-engineers/

Yes this is standard procedure where a potential issue has been identified which needs investigating.

And yes it's normal for the buyer to arrange/pay for the investigation (just as you've paid for the survey and electrical inspection etc).

Whether you choose to sink more money into the purchase, with the risk of it falling through, is a decision only you can make.

youth_leader

My buyer had a mortgage survey with Nat West and their advisor valued my heritage house at £0 pending a damp/timber report.  As a goodwill gesture I organised a PCA damp/timber survery as advised by my EA,  and it was thrown out as inappropriate.  It was just selling damp proof membranes etc, not addressing the source of the problem. 

Could you ask for recommendations for independent damp/timber companies on the local Community page on Facebook? 

If you have already engaged a surveyor they might know of an independent?  Good luck.

propertyrental

youth_leader said:

My buyer had a mortgage survey with Nat West and their advisor valued my heritage house at £0 pending a damp/timber report.  As a goodwill gesture I organised a PCA damp/timber survery as advised by my EA,  and it was thrown out as inappropriate.  It was just selling damp proof membranes etc, not addressing the source of the problem. 

Could you ask for recommendations for independent damp/timber companies on the local Community page on Facebook? 

If you have already engaged a surveyor they might know of an independent?  Good luck.

Absolutely agree.

As the report says "Ideally, it should come from a firm which is Property Care Association (PCA) (formerly BWPDA) registered" you should source an independent damp specialist who preferably does not provide damp proofing solutions himself. That way you'll get an unbiaised evaluation of any damp, its causes, and potential solutions as opposed to a sales scmiel.

But check first that it will be acceptable to the lender.

simon_or

For next time, don't pay for a Homebuyer Survey along with the mortgage valuation. You can always instruct your own survey AFTER you get a mortgage offer. That way you can get to a mortgage offer without risking any money upfront as Nationwide offers free valuations, as do most banks.

How much do you want this property?

What sounds worrying to me are the structural issues highlighted. A structural engineers report is not going to be cheap and at the end of it it could just confirm what the homebuyers report hints at.

If you really want to try again for this property and don't mind the issues then you could try another bank that uses a different surveyor panel (check with a broker). I've had BTL mortgages in the past when this has worked with "damp", though that's less likely with evident structural issues.

There's nothing wrong with doing everything direct but I would strongly suggest using a good broker, free one if you don't want to pay a fee. They couldn't have stopped this decline but like mine they might have advised you to not spend any cash upfront before you get a mortgage offer. Plus, they would be able to help with an alternate lender if you really want to proceed with this property.

Personally, those structural issues sound a bit off putting to me and if you can move on to another property, that might well be the best option overall.

Regalia1

simon_or said:

For next time, don't pay for a Homebuyer Survey along with the mortgage valuation.

Yep, this was something I realise and regret now. Won't be making that mistake again, at least.

youth_leader

It's all a huge learning curve, we are all wise in hindsight. 

I regret organising the damp/timber survey and paying for it.  I did eventually sell to the buyer who is definitely not short of a few bob,  looking at his proposed planning permission.  He could afford to pay for it more than I could.