Homebuyers Survey from Hell?? Advice please

[Mougly]

We are first time buyers and been looking to buy for ages. Out priced of London so gone to a nearby seaside town that we really like. Had several properties fall through in London last year and living in a tiny flat. Both self- employed creatives. The survey has just come back on the 1920's 3 bed terrace we offered on and it's looks like the script for a horror movie. The couple have lived there for 35 years and it has all the wrong decor, thick carpets, wallpaper, Polystyrene tiles, artex, a tiny sloping garden. It's in good location and been on market 2 months.
I've already got 4% discount on asking price.

Would like to know if the survey is an over exaggeration, worst care senario or we are going to have a nightmare to fix all this and it's going to be really expensive? I'm using all my savings on deposit and fees and will have to fix things as when money comes in but they make it sound so dramatic with risk of woodworm, decay, asbestos, wrong type of new windows, wrong type of roof tiles etc. Please look at the attached image of work needed. Don't know what to do next?! it's already top of our budget and nothing else available in that price or location. Who can I appoint to look at all the damp, woodworm, beams etc before purchase? Can I ask for more discount or them to carry out the inspection/ treatment before exchange? All help is really appreciated.

Sounds like the surveyor is covering themselves against potential risks such as asbestos. He/she will only have done a visual check and maybe applied a damp meter. Safety certificates are not obligatory. Ask when boiler/gas appliances were last inspected. Seems typical of a poorly maintained or dated property tbh.

However I wouldn't recommend buying a run down property unless you also have the funds to bring it up to a decent standard.

Is it £50k or so less than a comparable fully modernised property?

A homebuyers survey is quite basic, you need a proper building survey. www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/home-survey-suite/rics-home-surveys/

The Gas and electricity might be fine, it's just there's no certificate which is common if you live there yourself and don't but rent it

But it clearly says asbestos - can be fine if left undisturbed - and woodworm, damp, roof needs work

Do you want to take on a house that has those tasks attached? Pretty simple question really.

A structural survey will give more detail but if you're not prepared to buy a house that needs work, don't buy this one. Don't fork out for a structural survey assuming it will come back saying "oh it's not that bad".

To be honest it looks pretty average for a run down property on a slope. Presumably you were expecting to have to spend significant dosh on doing it up - the key structural stuff (roofs, electrics) will be just as neglected as the decor and carpets. Buying a doer-upper is not a project for the faint hearted: you need a very healthy budget for important structural stuff and it does help if you have a bit of previous experience.

You need to ask if the woodworm has been treated and do they have the certificates for that. I think the roof sounds pretty grim so you need to get a price for rectifying that then try to negotiate down on the basis of the quote. The other stuff doesn't worry me particularly. However you will need to take precautions if you are rubbing down paint work etc.

Apart from the roof, which does sound knackered, it is fairly standard for a property that has had long-term (and possibly) elderly occupiers. If a house hasn't been decorated for several decades, then you can bet it hasn't been rewired etc either. It's up to you if you want to take on a project but, if you do, then you will have to negotiate more money off for the roof alone.

If you are able to negotiate a discount, then you can get some tradespeople to sort out woodworm spraying etc as soon as you complete (it is extremely unlikely the vendors would agree to do it beforehand as it means pulling up carpets to get to the timbers under the floors etc). I think you should factor staying in your rental for a time after purchasing to allow essential works to take place first.

But if the property is already cheaper than similar in better condition you should have taken some of this into account (such as decor, visible repairs) in your original offer. Your only room for further negotiation is for additional works not reflected in the asking price for which further investigations/costings would be down to you. If you are ftb at the top of your budget maybe this isn't the right one for you after all.

also OP the owners may well have priced all of this into their price, including major roof repairs, and that's why it's the price it is.

If nothing else available at that price in your chosen location I'd think seriously about buying in a different area unless you are prepared to do a lot of work. Everyone's different - in the past I would have completely refused a "project" type house but I'd take one now. So you need to have a really good think about that and even if you can negotiate the price down more - how do you feel about doing the work?

All of the things mentioned are fixable but at a price, and also at considerable inconvenience to yourselves over a longish period. If you buy a fixer upper it is easier to get all the trades in and get the work done before you move in. Can you do that? Also the price of the property would really have to reflect the amount of remedial work needed. Decorating and tarting up a new property is fun, but having to spend thousands before you can even get your paintbrush out is not fun at all.

I'd get quotes and try and knock more off the asking price.

Thank you for all your comments. The house is about 50K lower than a fully refurbished one locally. We budgeted for rewire, pipes, replaster and general refurb in the offer but not structural work and woodworm damp issues. some highlighted red flag parts are:

"The roof covering has been replaced with heavier tiles but the structure has not been upgraded. There was some slight associated stress in the roof timbers and therefore upgrading of the structure is recommended.

"The fire-wall render on the rear hand slope is cracked and damaged and there is no lead flashing at the junction with the roof increasing the risk of leakage. There is the risk of concealed decay to roof timbers."

We are prepared to do a lot ourselves, no previous property experience but deal with a lot of materials and building things in our normal jobs and really well read on many things.

One big concern is that we are both northern europeans though I've been here 18 years. With Brexit you never know what's around the corner and we don't want to be stuck with half finished project and get booted out. You know when you see those half finished houses that come on market? That's what I'm seeing in my head. Being near London is specially good for my career though and that's why I want to stay put. No kids involved in this situation.

Can you get a quote for re roofing? We re roofed our house and it was obviously a lot of money, but I was surprised how 'cheap' it was. We had everything done, electrics, gas, replacing lead pipes, plastering, re pointed as well. All the stuff to bring up to modern standards.

We didn't have woodworm though!

Or asbestos

I read that as

the extra stress on the roof timbers might mean they need reinforcing or replacing

the stuff about lead flashing and fire wall etc is what I'd include in a whole roof replacement but I can't say I know a price.

tbh it has the potential to cost you a lot more. When you say you have to be near London that can mean you're in a similar location to me - an outer suburb about an hour commute away. Moving a streets away can mean a big alteration in price - could you look at something like that?

I have an Italian friend who isn't buying because of Brexit - I understand your fears

The roof structure thing is really common on older houses & is not necessarily a big deal to fix - it can often be sorted with a couple of extra timbers in the loft & maybe £200.

Again replacing flashings is not a massive thing.

Obviously if timbers are also rotten you've got more problems - I'd want a structural survey on the roof personally.

Is this survey also the mortgage valuation? As that could give you an idea of value.

These surveys do always read like everything is hugely urgent & dangerous and they aren't necessarily.

to be fair, nothing in what the OP showed is listed as urgent or dangerous, I don't think they've done anything other than state facts e.g. risk of.....in cases where there is a risk of leaks.

As someone who has done up houses for the last 30 years, i wouldn't buy this without a full survey n a LOT of money. Old Artex has asbestos in it. Roofs that need reinforcing are expensive to repair - and putting in flashing will often b more than 200£. Sloping site retaining walls - alarm bells ring if the entire house is damp too. For the amount of work, I'd look elsewhere.

Is the woodworm active (sorry if I've missed that part). Often there are woodworm flight holes but no active infestation however given the likely presence of damp from no flashing and other factors mentioned it does increase the risk of active woodworm. If just flight holes you can treat as a precaution but don't need to be concerned in general.

Get a timber specialist to check it and make sure they're a CSRT qualified surveyor

I'm not a woodworm expert or anything but have just recently bought a house with flight holes and had to research how to best go about things

It's a long time since I've bought a house so don't know the niceties of current reports. It seems to me that that report contains a lot of "risk of ..." rather than "there is a definite problem". It reads like the surveyor is trying to protect their backside rather than give you useful information.

Can I ask for more discount or them to carry out the inspection/ treatment before exchange?
Of course you can ask for more discount. You only pay what it's worth to you. They only sell at what it's worth to them. Hopefully there is an overlap somewhere, otherwise you walk away.
If they have lived there for 35+ years and not kept it up to scratch, why would you trust them with repairs now? If you are going ahead, get the discount and supervise it yourself.

What does the rest of the terrace look like? Are they in good condition or are these generic, unsolvable problems.

There Ian going to be WAY more than £50k of work there by the time you're done.