To sell my house with a known damp problem?

You're right but, alas, the only option is for the buyer to sue, which requires them to have the money, time and energy to do so. I imagine most people don't have the funds to sue after all the expense that comes with buying a property, not to mention the cost of the property itself.

I'd sell now, OP. You've got the report from the specialist surveyor and quotes for repairs. As long as you're honest and price the property accordingly, I don't see why this issue alone should put you off selling. (It wouldn't put me off buying, by the way, as long as I was comfortable I had the money for the repairs and the property was priced to take this into account. Although, that being said, if there are a lot of similar properties for sale that don't have issues, I'd choose one without an issue.)

My friend sold her house with a knoen damp problem and just knocked it off the asking price. No problem in selling it.

Many years ago I paid 93,000 per house with similar problems others in the area we’re going for 120,000 without the problems. That’s the kind of drop you should be expecting. It cost £6000 to put it right. Do the Work now.

I’d have the work done before selling, what you’ll lose on the price compared to paying for the work will be massive.

That sounds awful! Im so sorry. Was there any comeback on the surveyor?

I think it might be quicker to do the work to sell at best price, than find a buyer who is willing to take it on, argue whatever off the price, etc. As a buyer I might walk away; before getting a survey done of my own when you're upfront about your own survey findings, after the detail of it being laid out in my survey, or after getting people in to quote after my survey and I find out it costs more than the money you've taken off/will take months to get a tradespeople to do the work/I meanwhile find another property without the issue and decide to buy that one instead. If you can, I'd just fix the problem now.

Like others have said sell it but you need to price it with the works in mind (and then also costs for putting right any cosmetic work afterwards and uncertainty/ inconvenience ). You also should disclose it with the buyers and their surveyors.

I know you’re not planning to not disclose it from your post - but others have suggested not disclosing it- here’s what happened to me in a similar situation:

the sellers of my house didn’t disclose a damp issue, and they also interfered with the specialist survey I commissioned and obstructed areas without my knowledge so the survey didn’t pick it up. The seller (older gentleman moving in with kids) died shortly after I bought the house so I can’t take legal action now. It’s cost us £1000’s to put right and was money we didn’t have to spend after just buying the house. the whole experience has made me hate the house as it was such stressful time.If I had known in advance and the price of the house was reduced accordingly it wouldn’t have been as much as a shock and I wouldn’t have had all the emotional distress and financial issues that I’ve had.

Whilst you can hide issues with your house it’s really unethical and you are basically preventing the buyers from making an informed decision on their financial future- they might not be able to afford to fix the works. Your home also sounds like it might be a house that a first time buyer might buy - they are unlikely to have the money to pay for expensive damp works if you don’t reduce the price.

Yanbu but don't be surprised if you are asked to drop the asking price by the amount the works will cost.
Whether or how you negotiate on that is obviously up to you.
Edit for typo

Rendering is not a big problem to fix. The roof on the other hand.....

Whatever the cost of the repair double or triple it and take it off the price - you’re willing to take that hit go ahead.
Penetrating damp is the easiest to solve. I would get it done.

Not what you've asked, but at 38 I would have the baby first and then move. Fertility can decline quite quickly at that stage.

I bought first house in 1990 and it was in place then

issue is that some scamming home owners fill it in without thought that it is a legal document and lie through their teeth

see my link to a site with details on this

As it's very likely to be a first time buyer looking for a 'starter' home, things like can freak out a a less experiences buyer. What we did was get three quotes from reputable firms and use the average to price house accordingly. These quotes were shared with the buyer. That way, it's already factored into the price. Without this or just based on a verbal estimate, buyers will make an offer, get a survey and the surveyor being risk averse will come up with a eye watering estimate to cover their backs. Then they will either be freaked out and pull out or want a big discount before exchange. Best thing we did as it put everyone's mind at rest. No one could argue at the facts and buyers appreciated the honesty. Hope it all goes well!

Why would it take 6 months to sort?

As long as you declare it up front then not an issue, it's a valid choice to sell for less due to work needing to be done rather than doing it all upfront and selling for max possible price.

I think to figure out your expected final sale price you'd need to knock off the cost to fix (mid range estimate - not the absolute cheapest) plus a few grand extra due to the inconvenience from whatever you'd hope to achieve if the house was in perfect condition.

@Dartwarbler

people like you who want to try to scam others aren’t very nice
Missed this bit it isn't about scamming anyone it is how it is done here and the advice you get from the estate agent. I have never scammed anyone because I have never sold a house with a defect but when we were buying in Ireland it is clear here that houses are sold "as seen" and the estate agents and solicitors advice is to not disclose anything to a buyer it is up to the buyer to find the faults. Everyone gets a structural survey done, bank wouldn't lend money without one. It is not about not being nice it is just a different system

Ok I am in Ireland so obviously different system here. It is completely up to the buyer to identify any defects.

When was the conveyancing questionnaire brought in? The house I was referring to in my post that needed damp proofing course was bought in UK in early noughties. I don't remember there being any conveyancing questionnaires then because it only came up in our survey

Op, I’d agree with this.

Damp is always scary prospect . Also as you will know, it’s bloody hard to find trades right now and costs can escalate between now and when they’d be able to complete works. Therefore costs aren’t known

you may get lucky with selling to someone with building trade connections that’ll be immune to repair costs uncertainties , but there’s certainly a more limited buyers market in selling with damp issues

like others said , id want way more off than your quote for inconvenience and cost uncertainty

but the bigger issue for me here is damp issues get worse quickly.all the time you’re doing nothing about it youre adding to damage and cost are increasing. Houses are selling slowly, another 6 months on market the damage might be so bad that you will struggle to sell and end up doing it yourselves at higher costs.

if you can possibly bare it, much better to do works and then sell at your max price, especially if you’ve done lots of other works and spent money

Absolutely, but I’m saying that the buyer will likely want their own diagnostics done on it. I would if I were buying a house with an issue. And there’s no knowing what would arise from that.

Absolutely, but I’m saying that the buyer will likely want their own diagnostics done on it. I would if I were buying a house with an issue. And there’s no knowing what would arise from that.

You’ve got two options:

1. declare it from the outset and say the price reflects the work that needs to be done.
2. Put the property on for more £ and don't declare and then when it gets found in the survey have to spend time negotiating the price.

as a buyer, the sellers quote for the work would be of interest however I would not accept the quote. I’d expect the seller to have found the lowest possible price for the work and that to get a proper job done I’d have to pay a considerable amount more. (Plus also the cost of redecorating)

Probably a bit more than it costs to fix it, so something for the time and energy invested.

I agree with @Didimum

But, the OP does mention penetrating damp in this case.

OP. Some people will be put off. Others (a builder or someone planning to do a bit of work anyway) would find it appealing.

https://www.chancellors.co.uk/resource-centre/useful-information-for-sellers/what-do-you-legally-have-to-disclose-selling-a-house-uk#:~:text=As%20a%20seller%2C%20you%20might,buyers%2C%20both%20positive%20and%20negative.