FTB House Purchase Process

Martico

On a quick skim, lack of a fire break in the loft / moss on roof / lack of visible damp course would not worry me at all. Woodworm (if already evident) might make me pause. Other than that I'd not worry. It's an old place, so those kinds of bits and pieces are to be expected 

RHemmings

Martico said:

On a quick skim, lack of a fire break in the loft / moss on roof / lack of visible damp course would not worry me at all. Woodworm (if already evident) might make me pause. Other than that I'd not worry. It's an old place, so those kinds of bits and pieces are to be expected 

Wow, that's quite a bit in there to not be concerned about. 

Martico

As a FTB, when I asked my solicitor about the report that I got, he said something along the lines of, "it's a pile of bricks by the side of a road, and it'll last longer than you or I will."

[Edit - I'm not trying to minimise the importance of maintenance, just saying that all of this kind of stuff can usually be dealt with in time. And mostly you won't quite get around to doing it, but the place will still be there]

Martico

RHemmings said:

Martico said:

On a quick skim, lack of a fire break in the loft / moss on roof / lack of visible damp course would not worry me at all. Woodworm (if already evident) might make me pause. Other than that I'd not worry. It's an old place, so those kinds of bits and pieces are to be expected 

Wow, that's quite a bit in there to not be concerned about. 

Seriously? No fire break in loft - very common among houses that age. Can be dealt with in time for little cost if it worries you. Moss on roof - moss happens on rooves, and it'd be a long, long time before it does material damage. Lack of visible damp course - I didn't (on a skim) see reference to penetrating damp, so I'd say "so what?". None of those suggest any urgency, and are all to be expected on a 100-year old house.  

Martico

I admit I can be quite blasé, and also like to think I have a decent enough eye to spot potentially problemsome things. The OP has already secured a good reduction in the offering price, but if they'd rather have some more peace of mind, perhaps make the renewed offer contingent on being able to have another look with a friend who's experienced in the reality of houses

RHemmings

Martico said:

RHemmings said:

Martico said:

On a quick skim, lack of a fire break in the loft / moss on roof / lack of visible damp course would not worry me at all. Woodworm (if already evident) might make me pause. Other than that I'd not worry. It's an old place, so those kinds of bits and pieces are to be expected 

Wow, that's quite a bit in there to not be concerned about. 

Seriously? No fire break in loft - very common among houses that age. Can be dealt with in time for little cost if it worries you. Moss on roof - moss happens on rooves, and it'd be a long, long time before it does material damage. Lack of visible damp course - I didn't (on a skim) see reference to penetrating damp, so I'd say "so what?". None of those suggest any urgency, and are all to be expected on a 100-year old house.  

I would be concerned about a lack of fire breaks even if it is common. I'm reading up on the topic, e.g. here: https://cfpa-e.eu/fire-sectioning-in-the-attic-can-save-a-terraced-house-from-total-destruction/ and here: https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/expert-advice/party-wall-roof-fire-barrier/ Though, this is only out of curiosity as unlike @Zoyya I'm buying a detached house. 

I'm not concerned about the moss on the roof. It's the slipped tiles, the pointing breaking down in some areas, and the potential leaks that concern me more. There's enough different things listed as wrong with the roof that it would concern me. Not the moss. The other things. 

There are some damp readings that were described as being high - low down - and some damp damaged plaster. I'm not sure what I would make of a lack of visible damp course if there was no sign of damp. But, given some high damp readings, that again would concern me. 

And, given that the woodworm shows signs of being ongoing, and that part of the wooden structure in the roof was reported as being broken due to the action of woodworm, that would also concern me. I can't remember the exact language now. But, something was described as broken because of woodworm. 

As I said, I'm a FTB. And, I'm particularly interested in this thread because of my own Level 3 Buildings survey on Thursday. So, perhaps I'm worrying about nothing. But, I'm not just worrying about moss and the fire breaks.

Zoyya

Martico said:

I admit I can be quite blasé, and also like to think I have a decent enough eye to spot potentially problemsome things. The OP has already secured a good reduction in the offering price, but if they'd rather have some more peace of mind, perhaps make the renewed offer contingent on being able to have another look with a friend who's experienced in the reality of houses

Thank you very much for the advise. I am one woman army and my friends are also mostly FTB and they all went for very modern type of houses (out of my budget though) to avoid these kind of issues. So have not got anyone to actually view the house like from your pov. The surveyor mentioned  a few more things on the call like the floor in the reception was really bouncy when I viewed and when I checked that with him, he said could be that the woodworm infest might have spread and rotten the wood underneath the carpet etc. Also I am not sure if all these repair are to be done before I move in. In that case I will lose more money becuase I am currently renting out. Also, I have not yet got the local searches done (The stuff Solicitors do) I thought of asking for further reduction in the price going with the estimated costs mentioned in the report but cant makeup mind at all!

Zoyya

RHemmings said:

Martico said:

RHemmings said:

Martico said:

On a quick skim, lack of a fire break in the loft / moss on roof / lack of visible damp course would not worry me at all. Woodworm (if already evident) might make me pause. Other than that I'd not worry. It's an old place, so those kinds of bits and pieces are to be expected 

Wow, that's quite a bit in there to not be concerned about. 

Seriously? No fire break in loft - very common among houses that age. Can be dealt with in time for little cost if it worries you. Moss on roof - moss happens on rooves, and it'd be a long, long time before it does material damage. Lack of visible damp course - I didn't (on a skim) see reference to penetrating damp, so I'd say "so what?". None of those suggest any urgency, and are all to be expected on a 100-year old house.  

I would be concerned about a lack of fire breaks even if it is common. I'm reading up on the topic, e.g. here: https://cfpa-e.eu/fire-sectioning-in-the-attic-can-save-a-terraced-house-from-total-destruction/ and here: https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/expert-advice/party-wall-roof-fire-barrier/ Though, this is only out of curiosity as unlike @Zoyya I'm buying a detached house. 

I'm not concerned about the moss on the roof. It's the slipped tiles, the pointing breaking down in some areas, and the potential leaks that concern me more. There's enough different things listed as wrong with the roof that it would concern me. Not the moss. The other things. 

There are some damp readings that were described as being high - low down - and some damp damaged plaster. I'm not sure what I would make of a lack of visible damp course if there was no sign of damp. But, given some high damp readings, that again would concern me. 

And, given that the woodworm shows signs of being ongoing, and that part of the wooden structure in the roof was reported as being broken due to the action of woodworm, that would also concern me. I can't remember the exact language now. But, something was described as broken because of woodworm. 

As I said, I'm a FTB. And, I'm particularly interested in this thread because of my own Level 3 Buildings survey on Thursday. So, perhaps I'm worrying about nothing. But, I'm not just worrying about moss and the fire breaks.

Yeah right ! Roofing was the main thing and that woodworm infest has broken the timber hanger. Regarding the lack of visible damp , could that becuase of the dry weather condition currently ? I wonder what could be the case if there is a heavy rain

RHemmings

Zoyya said:

RHemmings said:

Martico said:

RHemmings said:

Martico said:

On a quick skim, lack of a fire break in the loft / moss on roof / lack of visible damp course would not worry me at all. Woodworm (if already evident) might make me pause. Other than that I'd not worry. It's an old place, so those kinds of bits and pieces are to be expected 

Wow, that's quite a bit in there to not be concerned about. 

Seriously? No fire break in loft - very common among houses that age. Can be dealt with in time for little cost if it worries you. Moss on roof - moss happens on rooves, and it'd be a long, long time before it does material damage. Lack of visible damp course - I didn't (on a skim) see reference to penetrating damp, so I'd say "so what?". None of those suggest any urgency, and are all to be expected on a 100-year old house.  

I would be concerned about a lack of fire breaks even if it is common. I'm reading up on the topic, e.g. here: https://cfpa-e.eu/fire-sectioning-in-the-attic-can-save-a-terraced-house-from-total-destruction/ and here: https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/expert-advice/party-wall-roof-fire-barrier/ Though, this is only out of curiosity as unlike @Zoyya I'm buying a detached house. 

I'm not concerned about the moss on the roof. It's the slipped tiles, the pointing breaking down in some areas, and the potential leaks that concern me more. There's enough different things listed as wrong with the roof that it would concern me. Not the moss. The other things. 

There are some damp readings that were described as being high - low down - and some damp damaged plaster. I'm not sure what I would make of a lack of visible damp course if there was no sign of damp. But, given some high damp readings, that again would concern me. 

And, given that the woodworm shows signs of being ongoing, and that part of the wooden structure in the roof was reported as being broken due to the action of woodworm, that would also concern me. I can't remember the exact language now. But, something was described as broken because of woodworm. 

As I said, I'm a FTB. And, I'm particularly interested in this thread because of my own Level 3 Buildings survey on Thursday. So, perhaps I'm worrying about nothing. But, I'm not just worrying about moss and the fire breaks.

Yeah right ! Roofing was the main thing and that woodworm infest has broken the timber hanger. Regarding the lack of visible damp , could that becuase of the dry weather condition currently ? I wonder what could be the case if there is a heavy rain

I'm wondering if damp low down is a common 'problem', or an indication of an actual problem. 

For my house, I'm planning on getting smart active heat-exchange ventilation installed. AKA the world's most expensive extractor-fans. I wonder if they might be useful in your situation. Quite likely over-kill, but an ex-partner of mine insisted on sealing all of the air bricks, and damp was always a problem. 

Zoyya

RHemmings said:

Zoyya said:

RHemmings said:

Martico said:

RHemmings said:

Martico said:

On a quick skim, lack of a fire break in the loft / moss on roof / lack of visible damp course would not worry me at all. Woodworm (if already evident) might make me pause. Other than that I'd not worry. It's an old place, so those kinds of bits and pieces are to be expected 

Wow, that's quite a bit in there to not be concerned about. 

Seriously? No fire break in loft - very common among houses that age. Can be dealt with in time for little cost if it worries you. Moss on roof - moss happens on rooves, and it'd be a long, long time before it does material damage. Lack of visible damp course - I didn't (on a skim) see reference to penetrating damp, so I'd say "so what?". None of those suggest any urgency, and are all to be expected on a 100-year old house.  

I would be concerned about a lack of fire breaks even if it is common. I'm reading up on the topic, e.g. here: https://cfpa-e.eu/fire-sectioning-in-the-attic-can-save-a-terraced-house-from-total-destruction/ and here: https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/expert-advice/party-wall-roof-fire-barrier/ Though, this is only out of curiosity as unlike @Zoyya I'm buying a detached house. 

I'm not concerned about the moss on the roof. It's the slipped tiles, the pointing breaking down in some areas, and the potential leaks that concern me more. There's enough different things listed as wrong with the roof that it would concern me. Not the moss. The other things. 

There are some damp readings that were described as being high - low down - and some damp damaged plaster. I'm not sure what I would make of a lack of visible damp course if there was no sign of damp. But, given some high damp readings, that again would concern me. 

And, given that the woodworm shows signs of being ongoing, and that part of the wooden structure in the roof was reported as being broken due to the action of woodworm, that would also concern me. I can't remember the exact language now. But, something was described as broken because of woodworm. 

As I said, I'm a FTB. And, I'm particularly interested in this thread because of my own Level 3 Buildings survey on Thursday. So, perhaps I'm worrying about nothing. But, I'm not just worrying about moss and the fire breaks.

Yeah right ! Roofing was the main thing and that woodworm infest has broken the timber hanger. Regarding the lack of visible damp , could that becuase of the dry weather condition currently ? I wonder what could be the case if there is a heavy rain

I'm wondering if damp low down is a common 'problem', or an indication of an actual problem. 

For my house, I'm planning on getting smart active heat-exchange ventilation installed. AKA the world's most expensive extractor-fans. I wonder if they might be useful in your situation. Quite likely over-kill, but an ex-partner of mine insisted on sealing all of the air bricks, and damp was always a problem. 

Do you think it would be better I go back to the surveyor and tells him the offered reduced price and ask him for any advice ? I am thinking to counter offer around £55K but have a quick check with him first?