Survey stress

[Buglife]

Did anyone else get really stressed about the full structural survey being done when selling?! I think it’s worse because the buyers offered 6 weeks ago so it’s taken an age for them to sort it out, and so much other paperwork/mortgage/our buying stuff has happened I feel ill at the thought of their being something seriously wrong and them pulling out! The surveryor is coming tomorrow and then we go on holiday for a week so I dread coming home to the EA telling us they have a serious issue.

Of course they are also now very far in to the sale so probably wouldn’t want to pull out. And we accepted £15,000 below asking already as we (and they) wanted a quick sale (which it’s not really being annoyingly) and they had stuff they wanted to do (defo need new bathroom). So I think they know we aren’t going to move on price. Argh I’m just looking at every slightly stiff window and small crack and worrying. It’s a Victorian house though so there’s always going to be something that could be done... just hope nothing spooks them (first time buyers) when it’s just normal house maintenance stuff...

Yes I was exactly like this!

There's quite a crack in one of our rooms and I started googling signs of subsidence. Surveyor either didn't see it or decided it's normal house movement (which it probably is, I'm a worrier). Like you we'd already taken an offer and wouldn't have been able to move more on price.

I really think if it’s normal house maintenance stuff you should have done it! Saves all the worry. It’s a bit late now though.

If it’s subsidence (just had a lesson on this from DH who is FIStructE) the crack will be on the outside and will probably get wider as it goes up the building. We saw an old barn with a pretty obvious crack in the brickwork, hence the “lesson”. It was also near a massive fir tree.

If you don’t see anything that’s an obvious worry, then it’s probably ok. If you are trying to sell a damp house with a sagging roof, then you may have to expect to negotiate again. Wear and tear is fine. Wilful neglect is not no matter how old the house is.

We’ve only been here 3 years and the whole house was renovated after a fire in 2009 so new floors/plastering/electrics then. So I know really that there’s nothing seriously wrong, it’s not a wreck! Just worried that things like stiff sash windows etc (and things like wooden sash windows will need upkeep) will worry them. Also I’m worried that some bizarre issue we’ve not noticed will be brought up! Like there’s something terrible happening in the attic! We had 3 tiles replaced after high winds last year and the roofer said he didn’t see any other problems up there when asked and “it’s got a few years left in it”. They have seen the house twice so have seen everything cosmetic such as kitchen/dining room needs a paint. Also not everyone sells a perfect house that needs nothing doing to it right?! I hate how selling has made me look at my nice house with such a critical eye but it can’t be helped, it’s all such a worry. Just need this to go smoothly, I give birth in 8 weeks.

When we sold we had a few concerns like this. You're right - you are NOT selling your house on the basis of there being absolutely no problems with it. You are selling your property “as is” and people view it to see if they want it. They then have the choice of getting someone in for a survey (at various levels of detail) presenting them with a report for their use, or not having a survey at all. Their lender may require it though.

We knew of a couple of problems with our house, neither of which was very serious, but would cost us money and time. We decided to sell without attending to those matters. We had already spent time and money on house-doctoring and obviously all routine maintenance and replacements etc had been done.

Their surveyor charged them for a twenty page report, culminating in eight points ‘for attention’. We had a good relationship with the buyer, and sat down to look at the paperwork. I was able to show her that seven points out of the eight were wrong. Simply non-existent. The only correct item was a deteriorated gate that anybody could see. I happily renewed that for her.

Neither of the two (easily seen) bigger items we knew about were mentioned.

It’s best to remember that when buying, and conveyancing is complete, the property is conveyed to you with all of its qualities - good and bad. There is no going back after that. (although people do try it!)

Don't worry.

Best wishes for the baby!

Thank you, you are right, we haven’t lied about anything, we’re not trying to hide anything! We saw our dream home and put our house on the market that week with no prep and I was happy about that because as you say you sell as seen (and all the estate agents who came to value it said you don’t have to do the whole paint it white/declutter/spend a ton on it to sell).
I just don’t want any issues to come up now we’ve been through all this, so I’m fixating on the idea that it’s not perfect. We sold for a very realistic price though and didn’t even put it up with the agents who gave the highest valuation. I’d be so stressed now if the buyers decide they want money off. To be honest to get the sale we could wiggle a few grand out of somewhere but I just feel stressed about it. It all drags on.

Fingers crossed for you for a smooth sale.

We had to wait ages due to several chain problems, but our buyer stuck with us as she loved the house and its location.

We also sold for a very realistic price which the buyer subsequently haggled down, so we felt it was a win-win deal overall.

Our buyers are first time buyers and our seller is vacating for the sale so we are lucky about the chain. I also feel that the buyers do really want this too (they need to be in by July for end of rental lease and are getting married in August apparently) so in reality the chances of something terrible happening are slim... I hope!

I'm worried about a survey. Our house is over 100 years old and I know there will be something.

We got a full structural survey done when we bought 7 years ago and it threw up a few things that scared us as FTB. But we've not had to address any of it about from the rendering.

We have a small crack on the outside which is below a window so I think it's from when new Windows were put in.

Survey time is always stressful! Hope it goes ok.

He’s here and clattering about upstairs at the moment. He has said already that the bit of surface paint bubbling on the back kitchen wall is due to surface condensation and the actual wall isn’t damp so hooray for that! I was a bit worried although I had scraped some paint off and knew the plaster was dry underneath. He’s in the loft. Mainly just apologising for the mess as I’m kind of half packing to move and the spare room is full of boxes and laundry bags full of clothes and toys! And I’m packing for holiday so bedroom is full of piles of clothes for that...

Well as he left he said he was mainly checking the drains/shared drain aspect as the buyers had sent a long letter saying they were concerned, which he said was due to ridiculous wording from their solicitors (saying the origin of the pipe to the drain was “unknown”... well it’s not it’s from the bathroom innit). Also he was saying his bugbear was solicitors phrasing things as if they were some extreme unusual situation, and not speaking to buyers as individuala but phrasing things in legalese which sounds ominous, because having a shared drain on your property that neighbours drains went into was perfectly normal and standard and yet our buyers have asked about the drain pre offer, have sent solicitors enquiries already about the run of the drain which we’ve answered twice and now seem to be only concerned about this on the survey. I have no idea why they are so bothered about drains. But he seems to be keen to explain in basic terms that the drains are FINE AND NORMAL so I hope that will be it!

That all sounds quite promising. I hope you’re feeling happier now. It’s good to have their focus on something that the surveyor is not worried about.

Our buyer’s surveyor wasn’t really competent (as mentioned above) but he did have a clipboard and went in and out of the house about twenty times on a rainy day. Cheers mate, I’ll just Vax the carpet again!

Just remember, if they approach you with a list of items, that you don’t have to down-price on each thing: 1) you’re not selling a ‘perfect house’, and 2) you’ve already dropped to smooth the sale. Maybe a token gesture if you think it’s needed?

Yeah he was very nice and didn’t seem to mind me questioning him about my house “is that wall ok? Is it falling down HAHAHA” nervous laughter...

And now I know he is all for explaining things rationally and clearly I’m happy. Our survey was phrased really badly as well such as indicating there was a problem with the electrics but when you read it carefully what they were actually saying is we can’t verify the electrical systems work you’ll need an electrician.