Selling house survey nightmare

Wilsonj400228

We have been trying to sell a house we refurbished ourselves (so no guarantees on a lot of the work) for a year. We have sold it 4 times and the buyers dropped out each time after the survey. Each survey has flagged up different issues, we have dealt with most of them, including replacing the whole roof, wall ties and wood treatment. However, our biggest problem are the fantasy comments the surveyors put in about what could be an issue in the future. The house was built in the 1950s and had a big damp problem when we bought it. We took up all the floors and replaced a lot of joists and floorboards and treated all the timber and installed a dry rod dpc to all internal and external walls. No damp has been found by surveyors but the last muppet made assumptions that the floors were possibly rotten including the joists. She made comments about the wall ties we had replaced (which are guaranteed for 25 years), said the roof structure needed reinforcing despite the building control inspection said it was fine, took everything out of the kitchen cupboard under the sink and said it was damp! I have cleaning cloths there which are not dry! She also made comments that were not remotely true, but the buyers we so put off by her fantasy report they pulled out and wouldn't discuss it. I am at my wits end with all these surveys. It is a bungalow, so the buyers are generally older and immediately get frightened off by the 'this might be a problem' comments. I know the surveyors are covering their !!!!!!, but what can I do to prove the damp works we carried out ourselves are effective. They obviously are as there is no damp, but the surveyor seems to be desperate to find potential faults when there aren't any. I feel like we are stuck with this house forever! We can't afford to keep it, but don't want to sell to a 'we buy any house' site when we've put a year's worth of work into repairs.

pinkshoes

You could make the work that has been done known to the buyer BEFORE they have a survey so that anything a surveyor says can be immediately disproved?

e.g. when the estate agent does viewings, he can let them know about the work that you have done e.g. floorboard replacements etc...  as they walk round. Make it clear it was taken on as a project.

You could also hire your own specialist surveyor to do a thorough survey that will verify what work has been done?

Little_bit_taller

Did you look at what was actually causing the damp before installing the dry rods? 

youth_leader

Could you get an independent surveyor in to do a damp/timber survey so you can reassure buyers?

I was had when I bought this bungalow, definitely 'caveat emptor'.  Stupidly trusting,  I thought a single woman of my age (66) would be honourable.  I didn't ask the vendor about the floors, and every single one except the concrete floor in the extension was rotten and had to be replaced.

NameUnavailable

The surveyors are doing their job, it's not fantasy. A lot of 'issues' they raise will indeed be '!!!!!! covering' so have the information to show the prospective purchasers that there are no problems.

If the damp they found was due to you leaving damp cloths under the sink (which I must say is unlikely) then don't leave them there next time! OTOH if there is still a damp issue then you need to deal with it or negotiate with the buyers.

The fact that it's multiple surveys finding issues with the property suggests that there are issues.

cymruchris

Wilsonj400228 said:

We have been trying to sell a house we refurbished ourselves (so no guarantees on a lot of the work) for a year. We have sold it 4 times and the buyers dropped out each time after the survey. Each survey has flagged up different issues, we have dealt with most of them, including replacing the whole roof, wall ties and wood treatment. However, our biggest problem are the fantasy comments the surveyors put in about what could be an issue in the future. The house was built in the 1950s and had a big damp problem when we bought it. We took up all the floors and replaced a lot of joists and floorboards and treated all the timber and installed a dry rod dpc to all internal and external walls. No damp has been found by surveyors but the last muppet made assumptions that the floors were possibly rotten including the joists. She made comments about the wall ties we had replaced (which are guaranteed for 25 years), said the roof structure needed reinforcing despite the building control inspection said it was fine, took everything out of the kitchen cupboard under the sink and said it was damp! I have cleaning cloths there which are not dry! She also made comments that were not remotely true, but the buyers we so put off by her fantasy report they pulled out and wouldn't discuss it. I am at my wits end with all these surveys. It is a bungalow, so the buyers are generally older and immediately get frightened off by the 'this might be a problem' comments. I know the surveyors are covering their !!!!!!, but what can I do to prove the damp works we carried out ourselves are effective. They obviously are as there is no damp, but the surveyor seems to be desperate to find potential faults when there aren't any. I feel like we are stuck with this house forever! We can't afford to keep it, but don't want to sell to a 'we buy any house' site when we've put a year's worth of work into repairs.

When you say there was damp and you've dealt with it - and that it's not there anymore - how do you know it's not there anymore other than not seeing big patches of discolouration on the walls? Have you used a damp meter to test? Surveyors will often use devices that measure the levels of damp - so if you're saying it's not there 'because you can't see it' - there's still a chance that the levels of damp are still above what might be considered normal. A surveyor wouldn't note there was damp in a cupboard from a couple of old dishcloths. You can get your own damp meter on amazon for about 20-25 pounds (they have two metal prongs that touch against the wall). The cheap ones may not be absolutely accurate - but would certainly confirm or deny the presence of damp.

With all that aside, if the whole process is getting you down then you might need to cut your losses as it were, just get shot, and send it to traditional auction. You won't make as much money - but it'll be gone quickly, without fuss, and no comeback. If however you're wanting to hold out for a better price, then you'll have to keep plodding on until someone goes for it, and accepts it with the surveyors comments. As has been mentioned - you can forewarn any potential buyer of previous survey findings, counteracting them with your own explanations and evidence - so that if they then decide to go ahead, there'll be nothing they haven't heard already. 

silvercar

Get a survey done yourself, pointing out the remedial work you have done. It should make a buyer more confident. It may tempt a buyer not to bother with their own survey, particularly if they are buying for cash.

Exodi

I would take some time to reflect on the whole situation.

Wilsonj400228 said:

We have sold it 4 times and the buyers dropped out each time after the survey. Each survey has flagged up different issues, we have dealt with most of them, including replacing the whole roof, wall ties and wood treatment. 

That's 4 different buyers paying for 4 different surveys. Each of them will be out of pocket £500 also, I expect they will not share your view that you are the victim in this.

As you've accepted the past surveys and made a lot remediation off the back of them (including replacing the entire roof), you accept on some level that there's truth to them. Obviously the previous buyers may be feeling resentful that they needed to pay for a survey before you decided to replace the roof and some may expect that you were at least slightly aware beforehand that the roof needed replacing.

Yes, surveys do contain a lot of '!!!-covering', but it sounds like a good amount of the issues raised in your buyers past surveys you have accepted. This isn't the usual 'Can't test the electrics but they may need replacing. Can't test the boiler but it may need replacing.'

I wonder if your intense irritation with the current survey is just the result of pent up frustration of not being able to secure a buyer. I don't think it's realistic to believe a surveyor would state a damp problem because of a wet sponge under the sink... they will be testing the walls.

I've also read your OP where you describe replacing the rotten materials and installing dry rods, but I can't see that you ever identified or fixed the cause of the damp?