Damp and Leaks found on survey

OhSoCold

our structural survey (full level 3 survey ) has just come back on a 1930s bungalow we are buying .
for context we are cash buyers as using my inheritance and it’s no chain due to the owner being elderly and passing away , its being sold by his brother . House hasn’t been touched for years bar windows , doors and boiler and we knew we were looking at new kitchen , bathroom and wiring .
When we went to view for the second time , the vendor had replaced the bathroom flooring and living room bedroom and hall carpets , the estate agent said there had been a leak but no further info , however bathroom floor was springy and the key fob for the house keys said “do not walk on bathroom floor “ 

so survey comes back , external walls are damp , lots of mould and damp caused by condensation , expected with the condensation as it’s been empty for months floor joists are possibly rotten, guttering needs replacing , there is an issue with the under felt in the roof ….. and .. the water pipe from house to stop !!!!!! has a large leak .. surveyor suspects it’s the cause of a big house leak as the water is turned off . He’s advised a specialist damp survey which we’ll get but my husband thinks the house is going to be a box of problems and wants to walk away .. the sale is going through quickly too as no chain/cash buyers and we had to wait a month for the survey .
Would you get the damp survey then renegotiate?I suspect they’ll refuse a lower price as they’d refused a lower offer before ours . It had previously sold before us but the buyers couldn’t get a mortgage .

youth_leader

I would get an independent damp/timber survey and see what they say, it is so good you know in advance.  I suffered from buyer beware, absolutely awful situation.

I got caught with this 1930's bungalow, the seller said she'd 'overwatered a plant' - it was a hint I missed.  The photo is the room at the back of the bungalow where she'd overwatered .... I should have realised, why would anyone have a plant in this position, it's quite dark.   Every single floor was the same,  spongy and rotten because of the condensation here.  I had a L3 survey but they cannot lift carpets as you know.  I found out because the curtain rail fitter refused to work in the bay window - when we pulled the carpets back in each room the floor was completely rotten, covered in black sugary type mould.   

The independent damp surveyor that came said I had wet/dry rot and woodworm in the one room with a wooden floor, and  ideally I should replace the sub void with concrete, but that would be very very expensive.  He blamed the wet on a high water table and condensation through a lack of ventilation, he said the airbricks would be thoroughly cleaned out upon repair.  I found out from neighbours who had lived here all their life that  this side of the road had been built on what they as children called 'the muddy hill'.

I had sold my listed building for a song at auction, and had to spend every penny of equity I had replacing every single floor here.   The men said the previous owner had had cowboys in - the joists were not tannalised wood, just pine with a plastic bag stapled over the ends.  The wooden bedroom floor, the only one with wood, had had a woodworm repair - attached to the woodwormed joist.  They said I was lucky my bed hadn't gone through the floor.  I had to pull up all carpets and underlay before the work started.  Very heavy work.

The men were here for two weeks.  It's 964 sq ft here and the only room that didn't need replacing was the extension with a concrete floor, so I slept on a blow up bed with my cat and dog in here.  Actual wood and replacement works cost £12K, putting all my stuff into storage for two weeks was £800, chemical toilet was £250, getting the fitted wardobes/units/shower ripped out and taken away was £400 - it all added up.  When the men left they asked me what varnish I was going to use - I didn't realise I'd have to do that.  Nearly killed me being on my hands and knees for days, I was lucky a handyman was free for the first coat of three, another £100. 

My dog died six weeks after the men left, with a fungus in his nose.   I'll never forgive the single female seller who didn't elaborate on the 'over watering', but she did know.  I'd offered to put her up if she came back to the area - she'd gone up to Scotland to help her parents - so I texted her to ask if she could update me about the floors.  She responded with some rubbish about not being 'able to remember' and 'she had left me the floor surveys' - she hadn't.  Despicable woman.   I thought she was so nervous at my viewing because of Covid.  I've not got the money to replace the carpets, and have bought a few cheap rugs.  I also run a dehumidifier regularly.

My first winter here the double glazing windows were running with condensation, even with the tiny trickle vents.  I had to go into the loft and when I opened the hatch it was like rain pouring down - I've since had ventilation tiles put into the concrete roof, had the insulation topped up to 300 mm, and my electrician put  a positive ventilation unit which has worked marvels.  In extremely cold weather I now get about 2.5 cm of condensation at the bottom of the windows, rather than it running down.

Good luck,  I hope the executor can be reasonable considering the disruption you might be facing.  

FreeBear

Springy suspended timber floor sounds like it could be rotting away - To be certain would require lifting of floor coverings which the vendor probably wouldn't allow. So a damp & timber survey is unlikely to reveal any more than what your surveyor has already told you.

If floors need replacing, that is going to be very disruptive work (and expensive). On the plus side, gives you opportunity to insulate the floor. But it will put a strain on the relationship with your husband if he isn't on board with the level of work. Unless this property has a special appeal for both of you, it might be better to walk away and look for another house.

OhSoCold

@FreeBear

Weve now had the chance to read through the surveyors report and we have decided to walk away from the property as it appears to need more work than we have the budget for. 

He had highlighted severe damp in the roof caused by condensation and says the roof urgently needs vent tiles , not a big job but he’s picking up damp where floor joists meet the walls which is not good and due to what he’s picking up on internal walls he suspects rising damp . He also suspects water leaks as the main pipe into the house is leaking underground and the water has been turned off in the house . There is evidence of water ingress in the chimney and also there is a party wall where next doors extension joins the house which is showing signs of damp from their flat roof ..the upvc windows are all poorly fitted too and the bay windows need the flat roofs repairing and lintels adding .. so it’s all looking so much more expensive , he advices getting quotes for all the work and offering a lower price but it’s unlikely the vendor will accept and quite frankly I really don’t want to deal with damp so we are going to withdraw . 

I’ve just finished cancer treatment so I don’t think this is the house that is conducive to to recovery ! 

OhSoCold

@youth_leader I’m so sorry that sounds horrific and exactly what we want to avoid , I’ve just finished cancer treatment and I think this bungalow would kill me 

youth_leader

@OhSoCold It was horrific.  I'd only just recovered from the November 21 storm Arwen blowing the roof of the extension off - she'd paid some cowboy £3K for a 'new' resin roof in 2019, and he'd only nailed it down, not screwed.  9.30 pm on 26 November 21 the flat roof over this kitchen/lounge cracked and flew over the back of the bungalow, it was terrifying.  I ran next door to warn my new neighbour (I'd only been here six months) and he told me to go back inside, nothing we could do.  I had a real battle with Policy Expert to get the money for a new roof - I had to wait eight weeks with buckets and water pouring in before someone could come.

Very brave of you to withdraw, best of luck finding somewhere with less work you look forward to living in, but ask every question you can think of.  Phil Spencer has a nice viewing checklist on his website IMoveiq.  Best wishes for your full recovery. 

lincroft1710

If it is a detached bungalow the chances are a developer would now buy it, demolish it and replace with a 5/6 bed house.

OhSoCold

lincroft1710 said:

If it is a detached bungalow the chances are a developer would now buy it, demolish it and replace with a 5/6 bed house.

No it’s a semi so that won’t happen , but realistically needs a builder if similiar to buy it .