I'm buying a house alone and there's a problem which I would love to ask for advice on, if anyone has experience with this sort of thing. I'm finding it hard not having anyone else to bounce my thoughts off and this is potentially a big issue.
My survey just came back and it turns out there's been a plumbing leak which might well have been an issue for months - the house was empty and so I have no way of knowing how long the leak has been an issue. The kitchen (laminate) floor is ruined and needs ripping out (although when I viewed the house there was no obvious damage, to put it into context. It's an issue but the floor wasn't rotting to nothing). The damp seems to have spread into the party walls too (terraced house). I know already all the plaster downstairs has now debonded and will need replacing. I asked for money off the price to cover repairing all this damage so that doesn't really bother me in terms of going ahead for that reason but I'm concerned that if the water damage been spreading, I have no way of knowing what harm has been done to the neighbours' floors/walls. Am I right in thinking that by buying knowing there is an issue, if a neighbour complains and asks my insurance to pay for their damage, my insurance wouldn't do so as I've bought knowing there is this issue? I was on track to get the sale through by the end of June and then pay no stamp duty but there's no point saving that money if I'd then be liable for huge costs. I can't know right now if the damp has spread badly enough to have caused issues. My gut instinct is I have to put a halt to the sale, get the vendors to sort all this out first with their insurance and then I go ahead with buying. I don't know if that's what others would do?
I am talking to my solicitor today but it feels like the more advice I can get on this, the better. It's a lovely house and I've been so excited to be buying it (I'm getting out of an abusive situation) but I can't buy something that is going to be a money pit because of something that went wrong before the house was even mine.
Thank you!