FTB House Purchase Process

RHemmings

Zoyya said:

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?

I'm sorry, but I don't know the answer to this. It might be reasonable to ask further advice of a surveyor, or they may just say that it's all in the report. You might ask your solicitor this question, or hopefully others here will be able to help. 

Zoyya

RHemmings said:

Zoyya said:

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?

I'm sorry, but I don't know the answer to this. It might be reasonable to ask further advice of a surveyor, or they may just say that it's all in the report. You might ask your solicitor this question, or hopefully others here will be able to help. 

yeah right .. I actually took the advises and email the surveyor. This below was the reply. I was not sure if solicitor deals with this kind of question, though ?

Tiglet2

Zoyya said:

RHemmings said:

Zoyya said:

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?

I'm sorry, but I don't know the answer to this. It might be reasonable to ask further advice of a surveyor, or they may just say that it's all in the report. You might ask your solicitor this question, or hopefully others here will be able to help. 

yeah right .. I actually took the advises and email the surveyor. This below was the reply. I was not sure if solicitor deals with this kind of question, though ?

Your solicitor will primarily advise you to obtain further surveys as suggested by the surveyor.  Solicitors are not experts about damp or woodworm and they don't visit the property, so the next step for you is to decide whether you want to spend more money getting further surveys done before deciding to proceed any further with this purchase.  You can do all the work after you've moved in, but you do need to know exactly what issues you are dealing with.  

I haven't read the whole survey (neither will your solicitor - they only read the section I covering legal issues), but one positive is that there is no sign of movement, i.e. subsidence or heave which is great news.

RHemmings

I hope it's appropriate to post something about my own situation here. The survey (also level 3 buildings survey) for my house is today and my surveyor just phoned me up. She asked if I had any particular concerns or questions. I mentioned that I'm a FTB and that I had read another level 3 buildings survey yesterday (Zoyya's) and it scared me. She laughed and said that they do look scary but that she hopes she can put my mind at rest when she phones back. So: this thread has definitely helped me, and my surveyor is aware of the need to address my concerns. 

Zoyya

RHemmings said:

I hope it's appropriate to post something about my own situation here. The survey (also level 3 buildings survey) for my house is today and my surveyor just phoned me up. She asked if I had any particular concerns or questions. I mentioned that I'm a FTB and that I had read another level 3 buildings survey yesterday (Zoyya's) and it scared me. She laughed and said that they do look scary but that she hopes she can put my mind at rest when she phones back. So: this thread has definitely helped me, and my surveyor is aware of the need to address my concerns. 

I am glad it helped All the best! keep us updated

Vannaa

user1977 said:

Zoyya said:

user1977 said:

You don't need the surveyor to advise you, just plug the postcode into the Coal Authority's site and it tells you whether it's an area where coal reports are recommended. In any event the solicitors will do this if necessary.

Did not know there is a website to check..thank you for pointing me to it .. just checked and it does say on the coalfield

Similar to millions of others. Not an issue though (99% of the time).

I bought recently in South Wales, the mining report was interesting - there were coal shafts in the area, 73 meters down and the mining stopped in 1923.