Surveyor says house is uninhabitable

HampshireH

There are loads of houses on the market with polystyrene tiles (I've still no idea how anyone these days thinks living in a house with them is a good idea. If there was ever a fire it would be horrendous).

If you aren't prepared to drop the price/do the work and can afford to lose the sale then call their bluff but stand by your decision and put it back on the market

You may find they can intact get a mortgage and actually they just didn't want the work

Bigphil1474

OP, is it worth getting your own builder in to quote for the repairs - then tell the buyer you'll get it done but they need to take back the existing reduction you gave them in the first place? Depends what you are willing to let it go for. When we sold my dads house last year, we were just happy to sell the place and end 12 months of messing around.

Personally, if I was wanting rid quick, I'd be trying to work out a compromise the buyers are happy with.  

deannagone

Presumably, your Dad's house is free to you.  I wonder if its worth looking at the end goal of having a large sum of money on selling the house, get the ceiling tiles removed and the ceilings fixed and selling the house then - for more money?  

subjecttocontract

I think I'd stand my ground and say the house is being sold as is take it or leave it. Another buyer will be along shortly.

Herzlos

GDB2222 said:

Joliates1939 said:

I am selling my Dads house who died last year. It was advertised as needing re-wiring and we accepted an offer based on that.
The buyers intended building an extension, completely changing the whole of the downstairs including moving the kitchen and re-wiring at the same time. Their builder has already been round.
Apparently, their surveyor has said the ekectrics are unsafe and because every ceiling in the house is covered with polystyrene tiles, these 2 combined make the house uninhabitable. 

The buyers are saying they want all the tiles removed before moving in and I suggested their builder could come in between exchange and completion to do this. But now they are saying they can’t get insurance so can’t exchange.
E/A is pushing for us to remove all the tiles from the ceilings at our cost, which I am loath to do as I don’t know how much remedial work will be required afterwards. Any constructive advice appreciated. 

If you have the house insured at present, there's no reason why you can't keep it insured until completion.  It's only a matter of convention that the buyer insures from exchange, and the contract can simply be altered so that you retain the risk until completion. 

Then, after exchange, you give the buyer the right to come in and remove the ceiling tiles, or you get it done. 

I don't know why your solicitor has not suggested this. It's not rocket science.

I think the issue is that the mortgage won't release the funds until the house is insurable. That could take months or result in a massive price reduction. Another buyer might get a mortgage surveyor that doesn't mind the tiles but that's a bit of a gamble.

So the OPs options are narrowed down to: Get the tiles removed or find another buyer who doesn't hit the same restriction.

Personally I'd get a written agreement with the buyer that you'll remove the tiles but since they are remodelling anyway you won't do any remedial work on the exposed surfaces.

It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours per ceiling with a chisel to get them down. You can always see if they'll arrange a deal with their builder to do that part of the work in advance and you'll split the cost.

subjecttocontract

.......and if the buyer pulls out the op will have a house that looks a total mess and more problems selling it

dannim12345

A house needing a rewire isn’t usually an issue but poly tiles are seen as a fire risk so those combined is probably causing a concern. 

The risk is the buyers will not now be able to buy and you don’t know if other surveyors or mortgage companies will have the same stance. 

AskAsk

FreeBear said:

LHW99 said:

Section62 said:

Joliates1939 said:

My concern with removing the tiles is if they aren’t happy with what’s underneath they can just walk away leaving me with the cost of putting everything right before being able to put back on market. We are talking 10 ceilings here.

The issue here is probably that the tiles were put up in the first place to cover up issues with the ceiling above them - lath ceilings may be suffering from nail rot or poor adhesion between the plaster and laths, so sections of the ceiling might come down with the tiles.  Whatever they do, further remedial work is likely to be needed on the ceilings, it would be incredibly fortunate if a light skim is all that is needed.

Unless the tiles are fire retarding they represent a fairly significant fire risk - polystyrene burns well, and them being on the ceiling means flame can spread very rapidly. The smoke and fumes given off when polystyrene burns can be particularly bad.  Unfortunately it isn't easy to find out whether installed tiles are fire retarding or not.

I can understand why a surveyor and/or insurance company would red-light a property with so many rooms treated with polystyrene ceiling tiles.  Personally I'd hesitate to spend much more than a single night in the property.  On the other hand, this is something the buyers should have seen when viewing, and taken it into account when offering.

Putting up the tiles to cover issues with the ceiling is a possibility, although many years ago (1950's-60's) it was a popular way to put some insulation in, before glass fibre became common..

However if the ceilings are lath and plaster, it is likely that lumps will come off with the tiles anyway.

Had one room here with polystyrene tiles on the ceiling. Being stuck on with wallpaper adhesive, they came off fairly easily. Revealed some lovely cracks in the lime plastered ceiling.. Skimming a ceiling with existing cracks is a pointless task, even if you use scrim tape. The cracks will eventually reappear. Best thing to do after removing the tiles is either to board over (bit of a crap shoot at to whether you get screws going in to joists), or take the whole lot down. The latter option is very, very messy.

Quick fix would be to remove the tiles, make good any cracks with a bit of EasyFill or Fill'n'Finish, and slap a bit of paint on top.

You can also wall paper the ceiling after the tiles are removed. Lots of properties have wall papered ceilings.  Our last house and this current one, have wall paper ceilings.

Herzlos

subjecttocontract said:

.......and if the buyer pulls out the op will have a house that looks a total mess and more problems selling it

True, but if you leave the tiles up and the buyer pulls out, the next buyer might want the tiles pulling down too and you're exactly where you started again, except likely months later and for thousands less.

If you take them down now, and the buyer pulls out, then the house should be easier to sell without the tiles, and the seller can always get them plastered/skimmed and make it even more attractive.

AskAsk

Herzlos said:

subjecttocontract said:

.......and if the buyer pulls out the op will have a house that looks a total mess and more problems selling it

True, but if you leave the tiles up and the buyer pulls out, the next buyer might want the tiles pulling down too and you're exactly where you started again, except likely months later and for thousands less.

If you take them down now, and the buyer pulls out, then the house should be easier to sell without the tiles, and the seller can always get them plastered/skimmed and make it even more attractive.

If I were the OP, I would agree to get the tiles removed.  The buyers are obviously interested in the house and they can't get the insurance and the mortgage until the tiles are removed.  The issue is because all the ceilings are covered with the tiles.  If it was just one room, it wouldn't have been such an issue, but the whole house covered, makes it a liability, so I would think it will become an issue with the next buyer, so it needs to be sorted out.