Want to sell but our roof is leaking

karjam

We want to put our house up for sale but the roof is leaking. About once or twice a year when it rains heavy, the rain drips into the corner of our bedroom. We've had a look on the roof but can't see where it's coming from, there's no obvious hole.

The problem is we really can't afford to have it fixed so what do we do?

PasturesNew

If you really can't afford to have it fixed, then you'll just have to put the house on the market and be done with it. However, mentally build into the price your EA gives you: [1] the usual 5% drop expected from an offer [2] a further drop of, say, £2-3k for the new owner to fix it once they've got their survey back. Ultimately, it has to be paid for by somebody at some stage and that person is at one of three stages: [a] you now spotted at survey, you by dropping price [c] new owner either because they want the house and don't try to drop the price once they find out, or after they've bought it.

See if the buyer has a survey done/if it's picked up. Depending on the type/price of house, it is possible that a buyer won't even have a survey done, I was told by my council that about 1/3rd of buyers don't, although that is just hearsay and I can't substantiate it with a link/facts/evidenc.

Water can travel along some strange routes to reach the point where it emerges.

How much leeway do you have in the price?
What do you expect to market the house at? How much do you need?

karjam

PasturesNew wrote: »

If you really can't afford to have it fixed, then you'll just have to put the house on the market and be done with it. However, mentally build into the price your EA gives you: [1] the usual 5% drop expected from an offer [2] a further drop of, say, £2-3k for the new owner to fix it once they've got their survey back. Ultimately, it has to be paid for by somebody at some stage and that person is at one of three stages: [a] you now spotted at survey, you by dropping price [c] new owner either because they want the house and don't try to drop the price once they find out, or after they've bought it.

See if the buyer has a survey done/if it's picked up. Depending on the type/price of house, it is possible that a buyer won't even have a survey done, I was told by my council that about 1/3rd of buyers don't, although that is just hearsay and I can't substantiate it with a link/facts/evidenc.

Water can travel along some strange routes to reach the point where it emerges.

How much leeway do you have in the price?
What do you expect to market the house at? How much do you need?

If we don't mention it and it comes to light after someone buys the house can we be held liable for it?

The house is worth around £119k but we'd accept £115k, possibly £112k. Our mortgage is £75,000 and we have a secured loan of £10,000. Other debts we need to pay off amount to about £27,000.

Zammo

karjam wrote: »

If we don't mention it and it comes to light after someone buys the house can we be held liable for it?

Somebody tried this trick with me, but luckily the full survey I had done picked up on the fact that the roof was leaking. It became rather obvious the seller was trying to pull the wool over my eyes, and the episode soured the entire deal as I could no longer trust them.

Why not just be honest, get a roofer in for a quote and discount the price to reflect the work that needs doing.

Don't be a scumbag.

UK007BullDog

Hear hear!

If this were to happen to me I would sue you to get the money back as you must have known of this and also there must be present water damage to prove the point.

Be honest and drop the price and tell them why. Get a couple of free quotes.

silvercar

one of the questions on the SIP asks if there is any ingress of water to the property, so you will have to declare it.

Our buyers said there was a small leak when it rained hard and the wind was in a particular direction. It turned out there were two leaks, one whenever it rained and one from a central heating pipe joint!

paintpot

Hi

If I were you i would get a roofer or two round to assess what's causing the leak. I had a similar problem with a rental house I own and it was a small problem with the flashing in the corner. Ask friends etc if they can recommend anyone. My point being, it could be a really small problem and maybe you could scrape the money together to have it repaired so you don't put off potential buyers or have to declare any problems but if you can't you at least know the extent of the problem i.e whether it is big or small and therefore can negotiate the price of the house with full possession of the facts and not have buyers pulling out at the last minute or trying to reduce the price by a ridiculous amount that doesn't equate to the cost of the actual problem.

Running_Horse

karjam wrote: »

The house is worth around £119k but we'd accept £115k, possibly £112k. Our mortgage is £75,000 and we have a secured loan of £10,000. Other debts we need to pay off amount to about £27,000.

Without wishing to sound too judgmental, you appear familiar with accessing credit. Shame you didn't spend a few hundred of it fixing the roof. Rule number one of property, keep it dry top and bottom; much more important than furniture or decoration. From the OP this seems to have been happening for a number of years, so there may now be considerable avoidable damage in the attic.

Sazere

It is the buyers responsibility to have a survey done and even if they only have a basic (mortgage valuation) survey done the surveyor will look for water ingress in the property and assess the roof visually from the ground. So if by some miracle the surveyor does not pick up on the roof and the buyer does not notice the water damage on viewings then once completion has taken place there is nothing the buyer can really do.

It is however more likely even on a basic valuation the surveyor will highlight the age/condition of the roof. The buyer will then probably ask the estate agent if they can get a roof report (quote from a roofer) to detail any work required and costs involved. They will then go through the agent or maybe the solicitors to renegotiate the purchase price if you are not in a position to repair/renew the roof and fix any interior damage.

HTH, comes from my experience as an estate agent.

P.S. Just a thought but next time it leaks could you not claim off your home insurance for a repair.

silvercar

home insurance won't pay for wear and tear damage, though they would pay for any damage caused by the leak in the first instance.

As the question sheet from the buyer's solicitor asks about water ingress, you have no option to declare it. You could say it happens "sometimes", but you have to declare it. It may not affect your buyers.

We bought without worrying about the leak because it was on a flat roof that we intended to pitch straight away.

silvercar

ts_aly2000 wrote: »

Many rooves on houses do leak, particularly in very heavy rain. It's really not very much to worry about. Now if it leaks in normal rain then it's a serious problem.

I doubt most people would agree with you; the point of a roof is that it doesn't leak, whatever the weather.

I would buy a house with a roof that leaks in very heavy rain. Mainly as I don't suffer from OCD and life goes on

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