Disastrous survey - time to pull the plug?

[MrsRoff]

Hi everyone,

We found what we thought was our dream home recently and had an offer accepted. We agreed a price which was £25k over the asking price as we were in competition with another couple.

When we were shown the house we were told it needed some modernisation and that was evident - the house is dated and just not to our tastes. My in laws predicted it would need a new roof but we were happy to do that if needed.

However, the survey has come back and it needs significant repair work that has come as a real shock. This includes but is not limited to:

· Cracking/movement to walls supporting raised patio plus deflection/movement to concrete patio surface. Reconstruction required.
· Radon Risk Report advises that the property is in an area with a 1 – 3% risk of Radon Level being above the ‘Action Level’. Testing recommended.
· Timber railings around raised patio in poor condition. Renew.
· Damp detected to roof timbers.
· Rising damp detected at low level to wall of side extension towards front of garage. Repair.
· Toughened safety glass not installed to ‘Critical Locations’ of exterior glazing, for example, doors and side panels. Repair possible, although complete replacement more appropriate given age/condition of frames.
· Warped interior door to Kitchen. Renew.
· No evidence of any testing to electrical installation. Test required. At least partial replacement likely.
· Lid no longer fits plastic water storage tank to roof space. Tank deformed and renewal required.
· Smaller adjacent tank has no lid and is poorly supported. New tank and better support required.
· Leak to shower pump in airing cupboard. Thermostatic control also defective to Bathroom. Repair/renew.
· Blockage to drain at bottom of garden where this joins public sewer.
· Asbestos cement sheeting used as fencing at bottom of garden. Arrange removal by licenced contractor.

It ain't pretty.

My main fear is that we may negotiate money off the sale price but this could be a real money pit. We don't know what we'd be letting ourselves in for and, like most people, we don't have a bottomless pool of money to fund repairs.

I hate the idea of pulling out, but then I also struggle to have too much sympathy for the vendors as they did openly admit to the surveyor that they've done nothing to maintain the house over the last 2 decades.

What do you think?

[didireallysaythat]

The list looked ok, the £50k price tag not so. Can you ask the surveyor to break down the £50k so you can see what's the worst thing on there ?

[specialsubject]

50k for that lot?

Patio is clearly knackered and will need redoing. Dont use decking which is a maintenance nightmare in the UK.

Radon - whole area will have it. I live near a radon town.

Water tanks are a cheap fix.

Electrics - standard. Budget for works.

Roof - needs replacing, you knew that.

25k over - depends on what percentage that is.

Ask surveyor for source of estimates.

[MissBeehiving]

None of that would be a problem, warped kitchen door ffs 😉 But a house "requiring modernisation" will need money spent on it but that should have been reflected in the sale price?

[PigletJohn]

If the warped door is a panelled, M&T door, typical in older houses, I know how to unwarp it without even taking it off its hinges.

[MissBeehiving]

[Kr1stina]

How can I sleep without knowing how to unwarp a door ?

[EstelleRoberts]

Doesn't sound particularly nightmarish to me, but then I live in a Victorian property money-pit in an area of Victorian properties, where there's always at least two houses undergoing work on every street at any time.

£50k sounds very toppy unless it includes a whole new roof? Surveyors always cover themselves, and point out everything that might need doing if you were working to a counsel of perfection. Get some quotes from local builders before you decide anything.

PigletJohn, I have long admired you from afar, and now I see your talents are wider than even I assumed! Would you care to spill the beans about how to fix the warped door? We have planed our bathroom door at least 4 times, and it seems to have an infinite capacity to expand again, so it won't close. We are about to chuck it in favour of a less warp-prone door, but it would be a shame as it is an original pine one.

[PigletJohn]

You stand next to the door, on whichever side the top or middle is bent, with the bend away from you. You put your foot firmly against it, on the floor, and stroke the bend while looking puzzled.

You distract the owner by looking out of the window and shouting "What's that?"

While they are looking away, you pull the warp towards you, hard. There will be a loud crack. When the owner turns back in surprise, you say "seems to be OK now."

[PigletJohn]

p.s.

If you bathroom door is bending, you should get a better extractor fan, and use it.

[PigletJohn]

And some paint.

[EstelleRoberts]

Ha ha! Sounds like a job for DH.

We have an extractor, and a dehumidifier, but I do love a long shower.....

Thanks PigletJohn!

[Out2pasture]

My son was in a similar situation; bid accepted, horrible inspection, hoped to use it to bring the price down. In the end the bank sent and independent inspector and refused the mortgage.

[Kr1stina]

Thank you piglet John, I assume you pull it from the side ?

Do you then have a crack that you need to fill ?

[PigletJohn]

the crack is just the old glue, and the old paint in all the joints. Panelled doors are made so that they can move around a bit, as the timber expands and contracts with humidity changes. If you look carefully at where the 4 or 6 panels go into the H of the door, you will see thick gobbets of old paint, which are cracked. It is actually a tight sliding fit, and not supposed to be glued. When repainting, scrape these gobbets off. Paint and filler can't hold them together. You will actually be able to see the area of movement when you take the old paint off. Repaint it here very thinly.

[Kiroro]

Doesn't seem like too bad a list to me given it needed 'some modernization' and you could tell the bathroom and kitchen were old. If those are old - you can be sure that the plumbing and electrics will need some attention.

If you don;t want to have a list of jobs to do, you need to look for a new build (although then there is snagging) or a property that has just been lovingly restored by someone else!

[LIZS]

The only real issue for me which I'd follow up now is the potential damp. The rest are relatively inexpensive minor jobs which may well be of only minimal urgency. Windows, electrics etc are typical maintenance flags for the age of property.

[MrsRoff]

Thank you everyone for your input.

Please keep in mind that the issues I listed was heavily edited - there is far more to it hence the £50k repair estimate. The survey is 40 pages long.

The most concerning thing which just came to light is a "cartoon style unsupported access hole created in the dividing / spine wall" which is, in simple terms, a whacking great hole in the underfloor void or what they loosely call a basement. The whole floor will need underpinning.

[wowfudge]

Something of a drip feed OP! Brick walls are pretty strong, even with holes in them - replacing the missing bricks may well be sufficient. If there has been no recent movement, it is unlikely to need underpinning.

[Boulshired]

Why would you miss out that and detail warped kitchen doors? It's hard to give advice.

[Notyetthere]

Massive drip feed! If you are now talking about underpinning now that is different ball game.
What has the surveyor valued the house at?

[specialsubject]

'cartoon style hole'???? What, as if a giant bugs bunny had dashed through the wall?

I'd be concerned about what kind of loons live in the house at the moment if they make random holes like that!

[Kr1stina]

Thatnaks again Piglet John. Every day is a school day here in MN

[FrizzBombDelight]

I'd be running a mile, even if they reduced the price by 50k.

[TondelayaDellaVentamiglia]

massive drip feed!!!

....did the surveyor even see the big cartoon hole or did he just crash into it Wiley Coyote stylee, after the vendor ran through it like The Road Runner?


that's why the outside walls are cracking, never mind the patio! It's plunging into the centre of the Earth.

I WOULD be concerned about that.

[Kiroro]

What was the point of your entire thread? Honestly why be so lame? I would walk away from the cartoon style hole. Warped bathroom door, not so much.

Can't believe so many people wasted their time trying to help you on what was essentially a fictitious situation.