Survey report. Having second thoughts

[Coldest]

We just had a surgery report back on a property we are in the process of purchasing. Some issues were raised. Like the party wall in the attick is not completely built up. The very top has a bit missing. Like three bricks. And also there are old redundant water tanks in the attick which we thought could be removed but apparently it is a big job.

Also there are no certificates for heating, gas electric from previous years.

Am just mulling it over. How big are these issues? There us also evidence of historic movement as the property was extended but the report says this is no longer a current issue.

Am generally having cold feet. Have always rented and the initial exitement had turned into fear and dread. At the moment it is very easy if anything goes wrong just ring up landlord and they get it sorted asap.

Sounds fairly minor to me - the bricks is v.easy - either you can add them back or ask the builders to if you are renovating.

The water tanks also shouldn't be a big thing - it's awkward (due to fire risk) but not a problem, IYSWIM. They just need to be dismantled, and then brought down from the attic.

For the heating, gas and electric, your surveyor should be able to say whether they need re-doing. If they do, then the certificates can be provided at that point. If they don't, then you may need to 'persuade' your mortgage or insurance provider, but the items themselves won't be risky.

Trust me, it's fun being able to sort things yourself!

The attic party wall can be bricked up - I'd ask the vendor to do that because your insurers are likely to want that doing for fire safety.

As for the old water tank - well that's not really an issue unless you want to convert the loft.

What certificates are missing? Could it be that boiler and heating system just need servicing now? The electrics are potentially the biggest issue, but you can get them tested and take it from there.

Historic movement - I don't think I've seen a survey that doesn't say that.

There's nothing on your list that really bothers me - it's all pretty normal. Rarely is anywhere perfect.

But if you are not sure then I suggest you make a list of the pros and cons of buying versus renting and weigh things up properly. Hopefully you will not be spending every penny you've got paying the mortgage and you can build some savings as a fund for maintenance. There is always something that needs doing with a house, but most of it isn't that big a deal. The big plus is that you are paying the mortgage so that one day it will be yours.

The area we are renting in due to work reasons is quite expensive. We would be paying just a couple of hundred more for the mortgage of the house than the rent for our 2 bed flat. Just seems like a big commitment. We have always moved around a lot, and this seems to be tying us down.

I will call up the agent and see if they can get the certificates for the electric gas etc. I do love the house get warm fuzzy feeling every time I am inside it (have been 3 times now) just want to make sure it is a good head decision.

While landlords have to produce current gas safety etc certificates, homeowners are not legally compelled to have annual checks done, so the absence of these certs wouldn't bother me.

Basically the surveyor said that there are no certificates for anything.

Thanks haggis. If they don't have certificates, is it reasonable to ask them to carry out the required checks by a qualified person or is it something we would have to do

I'd think it'd be something to negotiate. You can ask them to get the checks done, they may not want to. You could then offer to pay the costs yourself, see what they say.

But you can't force the point.

You sound as though you are not sure about buying. Talking about being tied down is the opposite of what a lot of people say when they are looking to buy - for a lot of people it's stability and not having to move around which are the attractions.

Is buying something one of you wants to do rather than both of you?

Initially it was me who wanted to buy as have been renting for ages and wanted something to show for all the money spent but now we are in the process having second thoughts. Will have a think about whether it is for us, quickly of course as don't want to mess about the vendors.

All minor things - if you want certificates for gas and electrics (not a standard thing for homeowners to have) then you can get them done, you'll have to pay. A quick Google and you'll find companies that provide this service inexpensively.

Thanks everyone seems reassuring that these are minor issues. My main concern was the party wall missing bit and the redundant tanks, but doesn't seem to be a big issue.

Everything seems normal for buying. It was quite normal for terraces to be built with open lofts. We have just closed up the gaps between us and our neighbours while doing a loft conversion we had no party wall we have been here for over 4 years. But it's not as simple as just putting a few bricks up as the neighbours have to agree via a party wall agreement etc we ended up building a fireproof plasterboard wall on our side of where the missing wall would be.

^what mcbaby said. We've just done the same.

Neither our lender nor insurer cared that we had no full firebreak in the loft for 3 years!

Oh that is great. So you can build on the inside of the party wall if the neighbour doesn't agree? Although I don't know why they would object to removing a fire hazard.

They didn't object as such but a wanted a surveyor to put up a fire proof plaster wall. Which was overkill in our opinion so it was cheaper and easier to build 1cm off as advised by the party wall surveyor they wanted to appointed who also thought it was nonsense!

what certificates are you expecting? You want an electrical check done, you pay for it. ditto gas.

that said; if any heating appliance has been installed in the last quite a few years, there should be building regs notification. Ask for that. And if there's a breaker/RCD box rather than a fuse board, then that is also relatively recent so ask the owner if they have paperwork for it.

old tanks in the loft - we left those, they were too big to go through the hatch (big loft so not in the way). If you plan a loft conversion they can be removed then.

I am going by the report. It said to get a heating and gas check done prior to exchange. They also had the combi boiler put in recently.

usual surveyor arse covering - they don't check electrics or gas.

if that boiler is new there should definitely be building regs cert - NOT a landlord's gas safe cert, different things.

surveyor should know that owner-occupied properties don't get annual certs!

Best thing to do is to get reports by qualified people for all the areas you have concerns about - especially gas engineers/builders etc. Certificates should be provided by the seller for gas etc so it is up to them to sort that out.

We bought a house built in 1900 about ten years ago and lots of things came up in the survey so we had the reports done and then asked for some money off the price, which we got.

On reflection I think we underestimated the amount of work that needed doing so a contingency pot of money is a good idea. Once you are in the house you don't have to do everything all in one go - do the most urgent work first then you can do the cosmetic stuff later.

Re the being tied down, you don't have to live there forever, you can always move. It is a little bit harder than renting though

Dh got very cold feet when we had been renting for ages so I calculated the rent we were paying and times that over a 25 year mortgage to show him how much we would pay in comparison, and working on the rent never increasing.

Everything in that report is fine, the boiler should have been fitted by a gas safe person so even if they don't have a certificate then I believe the gas safe people should have a record.