Scary Homebuyer report

Hi,

Apologies in advance for the long post. We are currently in the process of selling our flat and buying a house with a garden. We've found a house which we really love, and have had our offer accepted. Our mortgage has been also been approved. The property seemed to be in a very good condition to us. It is detached and has had some extension work and garage conversion done. Since it is a 1965 build, we decided to go with a HomeBuyer survey. The overall opinion of the surveyor is positive, however he has pointed out quite a few urgent issues that need to be looked into. Having read them, I'm now really worried, as we were not expecting this many urgent problems. I was wondering if anyone has come across these issues in their experience and can point out whether or not they are as bad as they appear to be, or if the surveyor is covering their back. Many Thanks

Our overall opinion of the property
Following my inspection I found no reason why you should not purchase the property but I have recommended some improvement works. The proposed purchase price of £680,000 reflects the need for the work.

E2 Roof coverings
The main roof is pitched and covered with plain clay tiles. The bay roofs is also tiled. The main roof is lined with sarking felt. There are lead flashings to the roof abutments. The roof covering appears to be the original. There is a flat roof to the rear extension with a felt covering.
I noted the following Condition Rating 3 items:
The roof covering to the rear extension is in poor condition with signs of severe weathering. There is no sign of leakage internally at present but this could occur at any time. The roof covering needs replacing. Due to the poor condition of the covering, there could be unseen damage to the roof deck and supports and you should budget for their repair/replacement as necessary. Insulation and ventilation are important elements of flat roof construction and will need to be upgraded to meet current Building Regulations. It should be appreciated that
the roofing timbers may need upgrading at this time due to the span of roofing coverage and lack of central support.

E3 Rainwater pipes and gutters
The rainwater goods are a mixture of plastic and cast-iron sections. Some of the rainwater downpipes pass below ground. They are assumed to be connected to a suitable discharge point such as a drain or soakaway but this cannot be verified without further investigations.
I noted the following Condition Rating 3 items: There are insufficient downpipes to drain the guttering and this could cause overflowing in heavy rain. A design check should be carried out by an appropriately qualified person. Higher capacity guttering or additional downpipes may need to be installed. Condition Rating 3.

E4 Main walls
The main walls to the original parts of the property appear to be of cavity brick construction with some rendered masonry and tile hung elevations. The walls have been built with a felt damp-proof course. Cavity wall insulation appears to have been retro-fitted. The rear extension walls appear to be of cavity construction and have brick elevations.
I noted the following Condition Rating 3 items:
There is evidence of structural movement in the form of cracking to the front and rear elevations. This appears to be caused by lack of lintels over some openings. It is not possible to determine whether the movement is old, or on-going in nature on the basis of a single inspection and within the scope of a Homebuyer survey. Therefore Further Investigation is required by a Structural Engineer or Chartered Building Surveyor. When the further
investigation is carried out, the support for the first floor side extension should be investigated to confirm adequacy of the load from above. This was not able to be seen during our inspection. Upgrade and repair may be very costly should this element be proved to be inadequate.
The converted garage area only has half thick brick walls. The walls have cracked externally and are damp internally. These walls are considered to be of substandard construction and require upgrading which may be both costly and very disruptive. It would appear that further damp proofing work is necessary. Additional advice and repair is needed by a member of the Property Care Association or similar contractor. As a precaution, the whole property should be inspected.
High damp meter readings have been recorded to walls throughout the ground floor where the evidence suggests that the damp proof course is being bridged by high external ground levels and the external render finish. External ground level should be lowered. The external render should be properly terminated above the damp proof course. It may well be necessary to replace the affected plaster internally with a special plaster if damp persists. Condition Rating 3.

F3 Internal Walls and partitions
The internal walls and partitions are a mix of solid masonry and studwork partitioning. Most of the walls have a solid plastered finish. Ceramic tiling is present in the bathroom, en-suite, kitchen and cloakroom. Timber paneling is present in the several rooms to the property. A textured wall finish is present in several rooms. I noted the following Condition Rating 3 items:
I found evidence of damp to several rooms on the ground floor. Please refer to the advice provided in Section E4. Further investigation and repair is needed by a member of the Property Care Association or similar contractor. As a precaution, the whole property should be inspected. Depending on age, the textured wall finishes could have an asbestos content. These are easily disturbed and this introduces the risk of releasing harmful asbestos fibres. I refer you to my comments in Section J3. You should therefore have the asbestos content checked by a specialist. Further Investigation. This is considered to be a potential safety risk and requires urgent attention. Condition Rating 3.

G6 Drainage
I believe the property is connected by a shared drainage system to the public sewer. I could not lift the inspection chambers. It was not possible to confirm whether this property has separate foul and surface water system. Legal Advisers should clarify the arrangement. The above ground waste pipes are of a mixture of plastic and cast-iron. As noted in the Limitations, our inspection of the drainage was limited. There were no signs of flooding or drainage problems on site. I recommend that you commission a precautionary CCTV survey of the underground drainage because of the structural movement noted in Section E4, the proximity of the trees to the drainage and the shrinkable soil in the locality.