First Time Buyer - Survey Results & Dealing with Property Issues in Shared Freehold

alwaysquestioning

I'm a first-time buyer, and I've just had an offer accepted for a first-floor flat in a Victorian house (there are only two flats – mine and the ground floor flat). We are both buying at the same time, so the other buyer is going through the same steps as me at the same time.

I recently received the results of my survey, and it flagged a few issues, mainly with the roof and gutters. The surveyor noted problems like overflowing gutters and drainage that are soaking the walls, and wet main purlins in the roof – these are urgent and need fixing. There's also an issue with the downstairs flat’s extension (I can see it from my window), but this doesn't impact me directly. The issue is on the extension’s flat roof, and it affects the downstairs flat only.

As it's a share of freehold property, these problems are shared 50/50 between the two of us, so we're both responsible for fixing them. With this in mind, I want to go back to the estate agent and ask if the seller is willing to address these issues before I proceed with my offer. If the seller is unwilling to make repairs, I'll get quotes from my contractors, adjust my offer based on their costs, and move forward that way.

Here’s where I’m stuck, though. Since these problems are shared by both flats, I’m wondering if I should reach out to the other buyer to let them know about the issues in my survey. My thinking is that they might want to do the same and ask the seller to fix the problems, or at least adjust their offer based on the findings.

However, I’m also concerned that sharing my survey with him might cause complications. I can see the other buyer's name on the lease, and we have a mutual friend, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to contact him. But I'm unsure if it’s appropriate to do so. Additionally, my surveyor wasn’t able to check certain parts of the building, like the garden wall, because I don’t have access to that area. If the other buyer’s survey flags any issues that weren’t covered in mine, I’d want to be aware of those too.

So, essentially, I’m wondering if it makes sense to share surveys with each other in order to get a complete picture of the property, understand all the problems, and figure out what to do next with the seller in terms of repairs and offers.

What would you do in my shoes? Would it be a good move to share my survey with the buyer of the downstairs flat? Or would that backfire? I’m also curious if anyone else has dealt with a similar situation – is it common to share surveys in these types of deals?

Thanks for your advice!

gwynlas

The problem usually with conversions is that the surveyor is unable to access the remainder of the building so only comments on what is accessible.
Given you are both buying at the same time and will be jointly liable for the structure it makes sense to share all relevant information.
How would you feel if the downstairs neighbour was holding back information relevant to your purchase?

TELLIT01

Personally, not matter how nice the property, I would walk away from any major structural issues.  Wet roof timbers could result in the entire roof needing to be replaced.

Albermarle

Often we have FTB's on the forum, panicking about surveys, which then turn out to be relatively minor issues.

However this sounds like it could something more to worry about.

The surveyor noted problems like overflowing gutters and drainage that are soaking the walls, and wet main purlins in the roof – these are urgent and need fixing.

ThisIsWeird

Wet purlins is obviously significant, but if the cause is obvious, it hasn't become 'rot', and it's all explained in your report, then it just becomes an issue that you need to take into account with your offer. It isn't enough reason, in itself, to walk away, but obviously you need to ensure you have it taken into account it into account.
The terms of the lease are worth checking carefully - ask your conveyancing solicitor for clarification. For instance, I would expect - hope - that an obviously shared structural part like the property's roof would be an equally shared responsibility, so will only cost you 'half' to fix. That is not always the case, however, and sometimes the upper flat has sole responsibility for this - so check.
Conversely, I would expect any non-shared extension to be the sole responsibility of its owner - so check/confirm that too; Ie, that you won't be contributing to your neighbour's roof.
Yes, it would make complete sense to me to share all the info you have. It'll also give you a chance to figure out whether the other buyer is realistic about the work required, and aren't going to be stretching themselves too far with the work required. That would not be a good start - you knowing that there's essential communal repairs required, and them trying to fix their own flat first...