First time buyer...am I being over the top with these concerns?

[lauren42]

Hello... first post here so please bear with me!

I'm in the process of buying my first house.

It's over 100 years old. We have done all the searches and everything is ok.

However, in the survey, it said 'sub floor ventiliation is inadequate.' I called the surveyor to discuss this and he said it was standard wording and that as far as he could tell everything was ok, but he couldn't say for sure because he hadn't actually seen the sub floor.

So my next idea was to get a survey on the timbers. This is a problem because the floor would need taking up. If I pushed it, the vendors would probably let me do this, but it will add on more time to the transaction and my tenancy runs out next week so as it is I will be couch surfing for the last few week! (cant extend my tenancy).

Instead I have asked my solicitor to ask the sellers if they have had any problems with wet or dry rot in the property. The sellers solicitor's response was: 'there was no work done when the sellers moved in and none evident since.'

I also asked the estate agent to ask the seller a while ago if they had ever had problems with any rot and they said no.

I feel the seller's solicitor's answer was vague, but i tend to worry generally so maybe im just reading too much into it?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Your surveyor has told you everything is ok - I think asking your vendors to take floor up is a step too far and in danger of turning you into a pain in the arse

Listen to your surveyor, dh says it means they've probably raised the outside ground level over the air bricks/vents. At worst it means digging back down to vents/cleaning them out. Will be hard if they are concreted over but not impossible. If the surveyor says not to worry then don't.

Your surveyor said it is probably fine.... They're covering their arse.
You're buying an old house! You will find issues after you move in regardless of the survey.

What the surveyor means is that if you put some more airbricks it will increase air circulation. That doesn't eve mean you have to put in more air bricks, it's just a suggestion. If there were signs of rot, for example springy floors, he would have noticed this and mentioned it in his report.
The surveyor is just trying to be helpful by telling you what you can do to help maintain this old building.

This comment has been included in every homebuyers report on every Victorian house I have bought. It is typical for this kind of comment to cause hysteria in first time buyers.

Our first time buyer thought a surveyors narrative on the history of the roof meant we needed to put a new roof on the house.

So in summary , stop panicking. Is there anything in the report that is listed as urgent repair, needing immediate action?

Be careful. If your buying a house of that age you really want a more detailed structural report. Especially one where they actually look at everything and not assume things. I think this should be done by a structural engineer who is Chartered with a professional body. Is your mortgage provider asking for a more detailed survey due to the age of he property?

The thing with houses is that there is always something wrong with them. You will love your home even if the ventilation is not quite perfect :)

What kind of survey did you get
If I was buying a house of that vintage I would be
getting a structural survey
Going forward if you do go ahead you have to expect higher
maintenance costs and budget accordingly

Even if you get a structural survey, it doesn't cover everything. They look at everything they can but they don't start pulling up floorboards or walking around on the roof.

We have just bought an old house where the survey said something similar.
We investigated the floor with the vendor and found out it was solid with floorboards put on top. Something the Victorian/ Edwardians did in the 'posh' front rooms. So no air bricks were needed and no damp showed up on the survey.
Years ago we did have a suspended floor in an 1860 house, we put in extra air bricks. It wasn't a big problem.
There is a book on the Victorian/Edwardian house by the Haynes Manual people. (The people who do the car manuals) it might be worth getting.

Thanks for the replies.

The surveyor said that he recommended just putting more airbricks in, but if i wanted to know for sure then i would need a proper timber survey and floors coming up etc.

I think Im just cautious that maybe they are hiding something... feel scared that i will end up with a hige bill that i cant afford (im buying on my own).