To sell my house with a known damp problem?

[Tulip89]

I want to sell my house as we’ve outgrown it and want to extend our family but we’re only in a 2 bedroom and already have 1 DC and both work from home so it’s already feeling cramped. I’m also 38 so I don’t want to leave it much longer to have a second baby. Ideally, I don’t want to be pregnant at the same time as selling our house/moving so would like to sell up sooner rather than later so that we can then have another baby.

Our house is lovely and we’ve done lots of work on it but unfortunately a damp problem arose after decorating. We’ve had a specialist damp survey so know the source of the problem (penetrating damp from roof and exterior render needing to be replaced) but it will be costly and time consuming to fix. This would obviously delay moving and eat into our budget to move.

If we provide detail of what work needs to be done and get a quote for the work, are we unreasonable to proceed with selling or should we do the work first and delay moving by 6 months or so? Would it put you off buying?

We’re in a desirable area and no other work NEEDS to be done on the house.

I think that's fine as long as you're honest, don't hide anything and price accordingly.

It will put some people off as its not just the cost, its the inconvenience of arranging work and living in the house while it's being done so you'd also have to consider that in the price.

If you sell your house with the known problem, you will simply get less for it but the buyer will know what they are getting. So that’s a valid choice and YANBU.

You would only be unreasonable if you didn't declare the problem.

Being honest with potential buyers means you may have less interest and will sell for less, but the buyer will know what they're dealing with.

As an aside if you want another child I wouldn't wait until you've moved house, or it may never happen. A family member spent a year trying to move, sold 3 times and every time the chain fell through. In the end they decided to stay put and make improvements to their current house.

Surely that’s what the survey is for?

You're not being unreasonable to be upfront about a known problem. It would be unreasonable to not mention it. If you take the cost of getting a damp survey with report from a reputable / qualified source, and get a couple of quotes, then buyers are informed and know what they're taking on, and can judge what they're happy to pay accordingly.

Sell it, it is up to the buyers to get a survey done and it will come out in the survey. Happened to us when we were buying our first house. Issue came up in survey we costed how much it would be to get done and negotiated that down off the asking price. Got the damp proofing done just before we moved in. As far as I am aware you sell houses as seen, it is up to the buyer to get the surveys done and identify any issues before they proceed with the sale.

It wouldnt be an issue, but prepare to be knocked down in price a lot more than the value of the work.
If I saw a house worth 100k, listed at 90k with quotes for a repair on the roof/ render at 10k, I would honestly expect 75- 80k to be the price I ended up at, unless it's in an extremely desirable location.

Yes it is, but the seller must also declare it in conveyance questionnaire where specific questions like this are asked .

but better still be upfront as she’s doing and not waste peoples time and money in proceeding with sale without explaining first.

people who cover stuff up with view of it’s up to buyers survey to find it are misrepresenting , and just scammers and worse

Op, it’s fine to sell, reduce price accordingly. Make sure you do everything you can to avoid further damage until it’s sold

Why can't you have two in one bedroom? Just it is a very slow market to sell a house at the moment and you are late 30's?

nope, that’s misrepresentation
during conveyencing there’s a questionnaire asking this sort of thing- you’re legally required to fill in truthfully

the only time this is applicable is if the seller was unaware of issue

she isn’t. Therefore she’s skating on thin ice re being sued to do that

people like you who want to try to scam others aren’t very nice

I think your plan sounds right. I'd be prepared to be knocked down in price further though. The price of the work and the hassle/ upheaval of having to do it.

@WithACatLikeTread I know it’s possible but it’s a small 2 bed and as we both work from home, it’s already really cramped.

@elevens24 How much would you expect to be knocked off the valuation?

Firstly I think you’d have to be prepared to knock the price down more than it would cost to do the work yourselves.

Secondly, in the case of damp, I would always solve it yourself. Damp is one of those widely misunderstood and misdiagnosed issues where usually surveyors stick their ‘damp metres’ on the wall (which aren’t fit to diagnose) and declare ‘rising damp’ (which doesn’t exist). Many many ‘damp specialist’ will then routinely recommend injectable damp proofing for thousands of pounds and disruption/replastering, for it not to actually solve the issue. It sounds as though you have your damp properly diagnosed, but any buyer worth their salt will want their own verification, and there you run the risk of these very plentiful damp cowboys coming and giving you a right headache.

Another issues is that some lenders won’t offer mortgages on houses with known damp.

Fix it yourself, get more buyers, make more money.

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.

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.

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

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)

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.

I’ve always found in England (at least) everyone goes for option 2.

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.

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

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

@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

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.