Bad survey

Homebuyer278

I recently viewed a house after the owner sadly died. The people selling the house aren’t living in it and have their own property. The house was in perfect condition or so I thought. I had a survey done on the property and they found that there was a ridge board not fixed properly and advised getting a structural engineer before proceeding, also the electrics are old and he things it will need a full rewrire, there is damp (looks like rising damp) on one of the outside walls, this has caused peeling of the paint in the lounge and the advice was to remove the render on the outside wall and re point, then the inside will need replastering. There are a couple more issues that I am prepared to take on after moving in. 

I asked for the seller to fix the issues and they said the house was priced accordingly for the age of the property which is around 1880’s, if it was priced accordingly does this mean they knew about the issues and didn’t declare I wonder? They have now arranged for a structural engineer to visit the property. I am worried they won’t share the findings with me so I have arranged for a contractor to look at the roof too, so I have my own report and quote for the work that’s needed. I’m worried they are only going to look at the roof and not the damp or the electrics, a full re wire can cost £4k and rising damp can be expensive. I originally asked for £8k of the price that’s when they arranged for the structural engineer. My question is am I being reasonable asking for the work to be done or asking for a reduction in price for all the work to be done? I am prepared to walk away if they don’t either fix the roof and the damp or agree a reduction in price to fix the roof and damp and electrics. Does this seem fair, what I am asking?

user1977

We don't know, because we can't tell from what you've said whether the original price was fair? The principle is not that you start with the asking price and then subtract everything in your surveyor's shopping list...

p00hsticks

how come you didn't spot the peeling paint yourself ?
I think I'm probably with the sellers on this one - you expect properties like this to have out-of-date wiring etc, it doesn't necessarily mean it's dangerous and f needs to be replaced and things like that are built into the price. 

Bear in mind that if it's a probate sale the executors will have a legal responsibility to the beneficiaries (who may or may not be the same) to ensure that they get the best price they can for the property.

You don't say if you offered the full asking price or what an 8k reduction represents in terms of a percentage drop.
How long has it been on the market ?

Homebuyer278

p00hsticks said:

how come you didn't spot the peeling paint yourself ?
I think I'm probably with the sellers on this one - you expect properties like this to have out-of-date wiring etc, it doesn't necessarily mean it's dangerous and f needs to be replaced and things like that are built into the price. 

Bear in mind that if it's a probate sale the executors will have a legal responsibility to the beneficiaries (who may or may not be the same) to ensure that they get the best price they can for the property.

You don't say if you offered the full asking price or what an 8k reduction represents in terms of a percentage drop.
How long has it been on the market ?

I offered over the asking price because the property was very well presented, the percentage drop would be just under 5% it was on the market a month. The damp was behind furniture I didn’t move 

EssexHebridean

The vendors don’t have to declare the sorts of things you are talking about unless any of them relate to specific questions in the property information form - and even then, when selling as executors you would expect a fair number of “Don’t know” replies. This is why you have a survey - to make you aware of the things you will need to know if you are to proceed and buy. 

ognum

How does the price of the property compare with other similar houses, that's the only way you will know if its priced correctly.   I recently sold a house that needed work and priced it to sell.   

We had a mixture of viewers, some who wanted a perfect house for the price but of course there are none of those available, perfect houses of similar size and location sell for 150K more. Others said there is too much work, that's fine, and others understood they needed to do work but the price reflected that.  

It sold easily and quickly, maybe we could have got an extra few thousand but we felt issues would come up at survey, which they did but the buyers new that the price reflected that.

Homebuyer278

EssexHebridean said:

The vendors don’t have to declare the sorts of things you are talking about unless any of them relate to specific questions in the property information form - and even then, when selling as executors you would expect a fair number of “Don’t know” replies. This is why you have a survey - to make you aware of the things you will need to know if you are to proceed and buy. 

I totally understand that and that’s why I got a full survey done, and because the house wasn’t listed as needing any renovations or modernisation I viewed the property. Now I’m left with a dilemma 

Homebuyer278

ognum said:

How does the price of the property compare with other similar houses, that's the only way you will know if its priced correctly.   I recently sold a house that needed work and priced it to sell.   

We had a mixture of viewers, some who wanted a perfect house for the price but of course there are none of those available, perfect houses of similar size and location sell for 150K more. Others said there is too much work, that's fine, and others understood they needed to do work but the price reflected that.  

It sold easily and quickly, maybe we could have got an extra few thousand but we felt issues would come up at survey, which they did but the buyers knew that the price reflected that.

I wasn’t made aware of any issues or that the price reflected any work done until I shared the survey finding with them, the house was listed as ready to move in 

FreeBear

Homebuyer278 said: there is damp (looks like rising damp) on one of the outside walls, this has caused peeling of the paint in the lounge and the advice was to remove the render on the outside wall and re point, then the inside will need replastering.

a full re wire can cost £4k and rising damp can be expensive. I originally asked for £8k of the price that’s when they arranged for the structural engineer. My question is am I being reasonable asking for the work to be done or asking for a reduction in price for all the work to be done?

A fairly good chance that the damp is penetrating, not rising - The latter being a lot less common than many would have you believe. It is the people selling damp (expensive) treatments that promote the idea that rising damp is a thing.

If there is cement render on the outside, a good chance that this is causing the problem - Cracks in render will let rain in which soaks in to the brick. The render being fairly waterproof will trap this moisture, and it only has one path of escape, namely inside. The damp "surveyor" will tell you that it is rising damp, and sell you chemical DPC and waterproov render/plaster (sometimes with a membrane) on the inside to a height of 1.2m. The chemical DPC does !!!!!! all apart from alerting people to inappropriate treatments. The waterproofing internally just pushes the damp further up the wall. By the time you notice the problem has not been fixed, the company will have gone out of business and/or any guarantee will have expired.

The correct solution is to knock any cement render off and rerender using a pure lime mix. But if this covers more than 25% of the exterior wall, Building Regulations kick in - Building Control would want to see insulation added to the wall. Cork or woodfibre with a lime render - That will blow your £8K out of the window.

As for a rewire, you might get it done for £4K, £6-8K would be my ballpark.

Lastly, you need to commission any work yourself. That way, you have control over the quality and benefit from any guarantees issued. If the vendors a left to do it, they will go for the cheapest without any concerns over quality or longevity of the repairs.

sammyjammy

Homebuyer278 said:

ognum said:

How does the price of the property compare with other similar houses, that's the only way you will know if its priced correctly.   I recently sold a house that needed work and priced it to sell.   

We had a mixture of viewers, some who wanted a perfect house for the price but of course there are none of those available, perfect houses of similar size and location sell for 150K more. Others said there is too much work, that's fine, and others understood they needed to do work but the price reflected that.  

It sold easily and quickly, maybe we could have got an extra few thousand but we felt issues would come up at survey, which they did but the buyers knew that the price reflected that.

I wasn’t made aware of any issues or that the price reflected any work done until I shared the survey finding with them, the house was listed as ready to move in 

It sounds like it still is ready to move in just that there will be some maintenance works that need doing in a relatively short timeframe,  A house built in 1880s will need constant work done to maintain it.

Albermarle

also the electrics are old and he things it will need a full rewrire, t

Probably 80% of houses that old ideally need rewiring, but it is usually not urgent . The electrics can be out of date but still safe. Assuming that some cowboy has not been messing with it at some point.

As long as the wiring is plastic/PVC coated and not obviously degraded, then it is still OK, even if it is 50 years old. Although if it is an old fuse box, then replacing that with a new consumer unit would be a good idea ( £500??)