Survey showed spray foam, cut beam and sagging... recommending new roof

rundmc-k

tacpot12 said:

One possiblity that arises if the property does need a new roof (and if it is a detached bungalow that has solid walls) is to also add external wall insulation.  The new roof can be made larger so that it correctly covers the wall insulation. Although the cost of the wall insulation will add to your financial woes, you will make the money back over time through much lower heating bills. The wall insulation can be added at a later date if the new roof is built with the correct overhangs to cover the insulation.

This is interesting, thanks. I know nothing about it, but we definitely would look into this if the purchase was decided to be a goer

rundmc-k

Skiddaw1 said:

Interested to know whereabouts the house is OP. Helen's Bay area perhaps?

If it is going to be your forever home it might be worth just going for it on the basis that once the roof issue is sorted you'll have a fab house (and one that will almost certainly hold its value).

Mid Down instead of North Down, but you were close! We would like it to be our forever home. Certainly we're only in the early stages of this potential move and I already don't fancy doing it again haha. Just feels like such a big decision. Neither of us are big DIY-ers (I don't mind dabbling though) so we'd need to get all the right people in to do the jobs. So hard to know are the costs and inconvenience worth it in the long run. Where did I put my crystal ball!

Yorkie1

If you're planning on revising your offer to take account of replacing the roof, is it worth asking a local roofer for a very ball park estimate on cost, so that you can make an informed decision and offer?

Bonniepurple

rundmc-k said:

jimbog said:

The seller knows the spray foam will be  deal-breaker for whoever is interested (the estate agent would be aware of this too). So, drop the offer by £30K and let the owner and estate agent have a think about it

The seller definitely knows about the spray foam as the only part of the roof that isn't covered in it is where he has taken away part of the rafter with a view to putting a velux window in, hasn't done it, and the tiles are sagging in. The EA either doesn't know or is feigning ignorance as I asked them specifically about the tiles sagging and they said they knew nothing about it. Just wondering should we be dropping the offer by more than 30k given the prospective expenditure.

So you can see that roof supports have been removed and not replaced, and that the house is unmortgageable.  What other horrors are hidden if the current owners have taken such a cavalier approach to building works and maintenance?

Personally, I’d be assuming that it would need a new roof, rewiring and pretty much everything needing investigation and probable replacement and make an offer based on that.

youth_leader

I would definitely recommend asking the EA to ask the vendor if they could accommodate an appointment with a good roofer, so as to give you an accurate quote. 

I was very irritated by my buyer's ridiculous quotes for various works, I think he'd plucked the figures out of thin air.

ThisIsWeird

Absolutely - get some ballpark figures for a whole roof recover, and making good any damaged rafters/joists/beams. I have to say the £60k figures bandied about for a new roof seem excessive. Roofers should actually be able to come up with a close quote from a brief visit, even a pic; "To recover a house that size? Oh, around £25k, give or take £5k depending on what else we find..." type thing. This is 1-2 week's work. 

The EA had better start taking care - they 'must' disclose to potential buyers anything they are aware of that could significantly affect the property's value. If they are not disclosing this, they can be reported to their regulating body.

Albermarle

Bonniepurple said:

rundmc-k said:

jimbog said:

The seller knows the spray foam will be  deal-breaker for whoever is interested (the estate agent would be aware of this too). So, drop the offer by £30K and let the owner and estate agent have a think about it

The seller definitely knows about the spray foam as the only part of the roof that isn't covered in it is where he has taken away part of the rafter with a view to putting a velux window in, hasn't done it, and the tiles are sagging in. The EA either doesn't know or is feigning ignorance as I asked them specifically about the tiles sagging and they said they knew nothing about it. Just wondering should we be dropping the offer by more than 30k given the prospective expenditure.

So you can see that roof supports have been removed and not replaced, and that the house is unmortgageable.  What other horrors are hidden if the current owners have taken such a cavalier approach to building works and maintenance?

Personally, I’d be assuming that it would need a new roof, rewiring and pretty much everything needing investigation and probable replacement and make an offer based on that.

Probably the homeowner had the roof spray foamed, without realising the potential downsides. The product is promoted heavily as a suitable insulating product, and many people have installed it without realising the potential problems. Also probably they only learnt about the mortgage issue related to spray foam when they put the house on the market. 

ThisIsWeird

Albermarle said:

Probably the homeowner had the roof spray foamed, without realising the potential downsides. The product is promoted heavily as a suitable insulating product, and many people have installed it without realising the potential problems. Also probably they only learnt about the mortgage issue related to spray foam when they put the house on the market. 

I would certainly have some sympathy for the vendor in these circumstances, and would normally be advising they check over what they were promised by this 'insulation', and whether they could make a claim. 

But absolutely zero sympathy for having some serious structural work carried out, obviously without the proper knowledge, and ditto BC approval.

Sounds like a good opportunity for the OP. I'd be chomping

EssexHebridean

I grew up in a house which had previously been owned by a "Bill the Bodger" type DIYer - and can recall my parents having issue after issue with it - including a fair amount of stuff that never showed on the survey as it was too hidden to be seen. Personally, I'd be walking away from yours I'm afraid - there would simply be too much uncertainty there for me! 

rundmc-k

Appreciate all the replies to this thread. 
Here's the current update: 

The survey came back with multiple roof issues (spray foam, tiles sagging where rafters cut away for unfitted velux windows, damp ingress from existing velux windows, general uneven tiling). This prompted surveyor to suggest replacing the roof probably the best idea.

As well as this lots of other concerns that may or may not be "par for the course" with a 50+ yr old house (old original electrical wiring with potential issues where recent alterations have been made, old inefficient boiler, old 'at risk of breaking' oil tank, some old but significant wall cracking) and various other bits and bobs.

We contacted a few roofers, a couple of whom didn't want to touch it, and a couple of whom quoted 20-30k for a new roof. One of them drove to the property to view it from the roadside and told me in his opinion it would need a new roof and we'd need to bear in mind the damage to the interior of the house when this is happening, redecorating etc. 

So we went back to the vendor and said that to proceed further we'd need to know they would consider dropping 40k off the price. We chose this figure because it's not just the roof, it's the redecorating because of it, it's the new boiler when the old one's asbestos flue needs removed for the new roof. It's the inconvenience and delay with moving in, it's the potential winter owning 2 houses and having massive monthly loan expenditure in that time, and it's the other issues (potential rewiring for one).

Vendor comes back and says as he's a joiner by trade he'll remove the foam himself and fix up the rafters and get it certified. Won't take more than 5k off. 
We respond that we'd been strongly recommended by the surveyor not to let the vendor do the repair work but to get money off to do the work ourselves.
Vendor apparently is now getting his own level 2 survey and then the EA will "get back to us".

We're reaching the end of our tether and aren't enjoying this drawn out process. We thought we were at the stick or twist stage and were comfortable to walk away if he wouldn't drop the price, but this new 'getting his own survey' stage is deflating.
Would anyone have any further suggestions at this stage as to what they'd do? I know everyone is different, but reading other's thoughts does help to give a bit of perspective.