Just had the survey back on a property I'm a FTB - do I fix the issues myself? - all advice appreciated

[IloveDisney89]

Hello all,
I'm a FTB so all this is very new to me.
The survey was completed on my house on Thursday and the surveyor emailed me with a summary of the things he found which were:

Roof - some minor repairs required to roof tiles/ridge, flashings and loose ‘dry-verge’ cladding to roof side edges.

Rainwater gutter – blocked at front, needs clearing.

Conservatory – misted double glazing and one broken glass panel.

Windows – could not open bathroom window.

Upper floors – loose creaking chipboard floors – difficult to eradicate.

Heating – no recent service or safety test – recommend a service before you buy.

Electric – no recent safety test – recommended before you buy.

Outside – rotted decking a slip hazard.

I sent the above to my MA asking for advice and he said that they aren't major issues and if I rock the boat the seller could pull out if they are not in a hurry to leave. (Their new build wont be ready untik the end of March) He thinks i should continue and fix them myself after exchange.

What do you think ?

Thank you
xTx

Agree, all sounds relatively straightforward to resolve. Not worth the fuss. How old is the property?

There's nothing urgent or major in that report. I'd crack on and buy it. You can sort out those little jobs once you are in. Good luck!

Agree with your MA - they're fairly minor things. It wouldn't normally be expected of the vendor to fix minor problems prior to exchange.

Some people will use faults on the survey to renegotiate the sale price, but you then risk upsetting your vendor and having them pull out, so I personally wouldn't do this unless the problems were going to incur major expense.

Heating/electric are standard recommendations from a safety point of view. Unless a property was previously rented or recently renovated, it's unlikely to come with safety certificates.

Your solicitor may well insist that the seller arranges for the central heating and boiler to be serviced if there hasn't been a service within the last year, other than that it all seems minor. You can ask for an electrical service to be carried out but the seller is not under any legal obligation to do one and can therefore refuse.

Thanks everyone. I just wanted to check the MA wasn't just telling me to take the easy route to save him hassle lol.

The house is only 15 years old so I assume the issues raised are reflective of that.. no damp and subsistence at least

I will ask for the heating and electric to be serviced though.

Anyone know whether the roof issues raisedwill be costly? Does that just mean I have to replace some roof tiles ?

Thanks again

You don't generally have electricity serviced, it is just a visual check. If 15 years old it is unlikely to be an issue. The sellers' information form should note any changes they have made and relevant certificates.

I think you should remember your mortgage advisor only gets his commission when you complete the purchase so I wouldn't put too much store by what they say outside of the mortgage.

I would share the info with the vendor via the solicitor and say while you're not concerned about the roof it would be good if they could fix the small problems before you exchange like cleaning the guttering that would be appreciated (unless v elderly or disabled they should be able to go up a ladder and clean it themselves) and does the bathroom window open because the surveyor couldn't get it to open?

Heating and electrics I would pay for the checks myself and arrange for them prior to exchange (have been stung by this in the past) but it's up to you if you think the expense outweighs the risk.

I wouldn't worry massively about the creaky floors.

I would be more concerned about the rotten decking and would ideally want it fixed or removed prior to move in but I wouldn't jeoidise the sale over it. If I was going to rip it out any way or it was visibly rotten when I viewed then I'd not mention it.

I would want the conservatory window fixed and the misting investigated. At whose expense would depend and I would go and have a look at it myself I think. Unless it was obviously broken and the price reflected that.

But I wouldn't stress about any of that :)

No big issues, I would have thought. But go back to estate agent and make it clear that you want the electricity/gas/heating safety checks done (successfully) before you proceed to exchange.

Is the blocked rainwater gutter reachable with a ladder?

Wrt to roof, I would get a roofer round to check what needs doing, get a quote and offer to split the costs with the seller. But if they refused, it wouldn't ne a deal breaker.

My first advice is that if you have a way to directly contact the surveyor, do so and speak to him/her in person, as they will be much more frank verbally then they will in the written survey where they will be doing a lot of arse covering. They should be able to give you a ballpark figure for costs of repairs.

Having said that, everything listed there seems pretty minor to me. It wouldn't be cheeky to ask to have the heating and electrics checked before exchange, but they may ask you to pay for it.

It also might be worth checking if the conservatory is still under warranty and if that will cover repairs to the glazing. (And if so, check if the warranty automatically passes to you when the property changes hands, as this isn't always the case.)

Does the price reflect the work you need to undertake?

Replacing glass (not windows) could be few hundred.

The gas and electric need to be checked. The electric will fail naturally as standards are constantly changing. But you need to know if the electrics are actively dangerous. If dangerous, a total rewrire could be 3 or 4K.

Roof repairs could be a days work for a roofer. So hundred or few hundred rather then thousands.

Decking you could see it's state on your visit so irrelevant.

All of those things are relatively minor in the scheme of owning a house.

If the house is only 15 years old the electrics should be absolutely fine. Just make sure you have the various certificates from completion (when it was built). Houses can go 40 years plus with electrics being fine, most modern electrics are covered in pvc which lasts almost a lifetime...!

Personally I'd get the electrics and gas checked now. Sort the rest after you've moved in.

Dry verge will most likely need scaffolding which will add several hundred. Ask around for a well-recommended local roofer, and ask them to look at the roof with their binoculars and point out any extra work that could be done at the same time.

For flashings you want lead. Not tape, not mortar, not sealant, not glue.

Double glazing replacement panels are much cheaper than you think. Again ask around for a well-recommended local repairer.

An internet advertising site, where the trader pays to be listed, and his mates write the reviews, is not the same as a recommendation.

Chipboard floors are always rubbish and belong on a bonfire. Find a local carpenter to rip them all up and replace with ply, screwed down, not nailed. Tell them you want noggins under all unsupported edges. If you just do the ones that are squeaking today, you will have to do the others soon.

Thank you PigletJohn this is really helpful advice . I would prefer not to spend several hundred on a new roof so I'll get the quote and negotiate with the vendor. Sadly I don't know anyone from Walsall so finding a good local recommended guy may be tricky.

Fairylea - I didn't think to ask for certificates on completion of the gas and electrics. The vendors are the first owners of the home since 2002 so they should have this. I will do this next week.

Gooseberryfools - I offered 165k and they accepted - down from 180k originally. So I guess they can use that for reasons to say no to repairing anything or even checking the electrics. I guess I'll just end up sorting after exchange.

It seems the roof may be the most expensive so I'll promise that alongside the certificates for gas and electric and see what the outcomes are.

I visited the house three times and never saw the broken glass or the rotting decking..don't I feel silly lol that kind of weakens my case ha

Thanks again.
xTx

The boiler would be the one that concerned me (roof next due to scaffolding costs adding to the repair) because of the age of the house - is it the original?

Run all the taps to see how well the hot water kicks in, this time of year is a good time to see how well the heating works

The house we moved in to had a similar aged boiler so we paid our plumber to check it out prior to exchange. Given it doesn't seem like maintenance has been a priority for them it might be worth doing this.

The advertised price may have been overinflated anyway - this doesn't always reflect what the house is worth

I would get all the jobs priced up and if you feel your price is still a good price, taking in to consideration what you'll need to spend fixing it then proceed. If not, negotiate

Keep breathing as it really is true that this is one if the most stressful times of your life!

These are very minor issues. You've already got the price down a reasonable amount from their asking price, so I would just sort out this stuff when you get in.

Hi everyone. Thank you for the advice.
I managed to find a local roofer as suggested so having things priced up.
The boiler is the same one so I'm having the vendors service that before I move in.
The other issues are minor so I will sort after I move in. I get £750 cashback from the mortgage in completion so It will go to good use.

Thank you!