Damp issue argument with DH

[freudien]

DH and I were first time buyers and we are now selling our flat.

It’s a basement flat we bought 3 years ago. It has a 20 year damp proof guarantee and damp proof coursing throughout. Recently noticed a patch of damp in the living room which unfortunately is not covered by the guarantee as it is due to a radiator the previous owners plonked on top of the tanking. Will cost about £1800 to fix, which can be shared with the other leaseholders.

DH thinks we should flag the cost of fixing during the selling process and offer to knock 2k off the price.

Or we can fix it now but it means a delay in putting it up for sale.

Anyone have experience with buying/ selling a property like this?

Personally I would agree with your DH but that’s just me… it’s a lot of effort to fix problems and the time and effort required would be better to not bother!!!

Why not get that sorted before putting it up for sale? I just think I damp usually puts buyers off and might make them wonder what other issues there could be

I wouldn't buy a place that needed some work doing immediately, even if it was knocked off the price. This is because A. I couldn't be arsed and b. I'd wonder what what was wrong with it.

*what else

I wouldn’t buy it either, you need to fix it first.

I would normally agree with your DH but in my opinion damp is the one thing that is really going to put prospective buyers right off and the house buying craze has ended now.

Will cost about £1800 to fix, which can be shared with the other leaseholders.
TBH, a lease that stated the cost of making good DIY cockups by individual leaseholders could be charged to communal repairs, meaning I'd be paying for this type of cost on an ongoing basis would put me firmly against the purchase.
You may find lazy purchasers that don't read/understand the lease provisions, and employ a cheap solicitor that rushes the job and doesn't explain it to them.

There's random damp (cause not known) and there's damp with the cause identified and seems you've identified yours.

You're both right. A factor to consider is that most domestic buiders are booked up to the hilt at the moment. Then as you say, the costs of fixing are shared by the other Leaseholders.

Therefore, I would book it to be fixed and put the flat up for sale without offering a reduction at this stage, without offering a reduction unless a potential buyer asks for one.

Either the flat sells first or the damp problem is fixed before it sells.

It's a basement flat. ANY issues with damp would put most people off. Sight of a damp patch would set off alarm bells immediately.

Take time, get the flat properly market ready. Make it the nicest basement flat in the area... not "that one with the damp patch"

Mystified as to why you believe this would be a shared cost with other leaseholders?

I wouldn’t buy it because I wouldn’t have a spare £2000 knocking around! My mortgage would cover me buying the flat but I wouldn’t have the cash available afterwards so I would rather spend £2000 more on the mortgage initially and not have it as an issue.

Why do the other leaseholders have to contribute?

I would get it fixed before trying to sell, it would put a lot of people off.