How bad does a survey have to be to put you off completely?

[Nellybell]

Survey on our house was carried out last week and I'm worrying about buyer pulling out.
House was built in 1924 and was in a right old state when we bought it. We have done it up, redecorated and put new windows in and had timber in loft and living room floorboards treated for woodoworm and put in damp proof course in living room.
Buyer has had survey results now and has asked surveyor to go back to check out damp which was found and there is a problem with the roof joists too (I don't know what it is) and they have also asked to do an electrical survey.
Do you think it sounds like there are enough problems here to put her off completely? I'm thinking maybe it is a good sign that she is getting them checked out rather than just pulling out completely. Is this just normal for an old property?

We are in the process of moving and selling our house which is a Victorian terrace built in 1900. I was also worried about the state of it but the surveyor (our buyers had a full structural survey done) said it was ok for a house of its age. Then Our buyers requested electric, gas certs, had damp surveys and a roof survey as well as a timber expert review some old woodworm holes.

We were panicking but all the surveys hardly brought anything up - I think some people see a survey which are usually written very loosely as nothing is verified and then request further surveys to check it out. So it may all come to nothing and hopefully be nothing to worry about

Hope so Jcee. We do have a bit of damp but is the condensation damp type because the walls don't have a cavity. In winter we get a bit of black mould on the external walls that are behind furniture.

Hopefully the roof joists check is just going to look at the old woodworm holes that we have already treated.

It's pretty standard for surveyors to recommend that electrical testing is carried out and that a damp specialist looks at any potential problem areas in an old house ime (have bought 2 and had this both times). They often suggest you get a woodworm company in if they can see signs of past infestation too. These are areas that surveyors aren't qualified to deal with but they know to flag them for further investigation iyswim. Hopefully it will all come to nothing - but dig out things like your proof of woodworm treatment and any electrical safety certificates because you might need them to prove all is well if your buyer tries to get you to reduce the price or do work which isn't needed.

Thanks suburbandweller. The solicitor has our woodworm treatment certificates so i hope they have already been passed to the buyer's solicitor. We've not got any electrical safety certs, i think the house was rewired in the 80s by the previous owners.
That is reassuring though. The buyer is planning an extension and has already had a builder round so I hope she isn't going to be put off by the survey.

Sounds to me like the buyer is quite keen as she is having all the additional reports and a builder.

Incidentally suburbandweller RICS surveyors are more than qualified to report on insect or fungal infestations however it is often easier for them to recommend a separate report.