Survey has found lots of issues

[goingonabearhunt1]

We had an offer accepted a couple of weeks ago; loved the house, like area etc. We got started with solicitor, mortgage approved etc. and booked to have our own full survey done. House is Victorian and as we are both FTBs and not diy experts we thought we better know what we are getting. Well we got the results yesterday and I've been up all night stressing about this as it has found a lot more than I thought it would and now I have no idea what to do. We knew there was a floorboard missing as we felt a gap on viewing but turns out there's wetrot and active woodworm and also rising damp noted in a few spots...looked fine on viewing and we thought the problems were mostly aesthetic (i.e. problems we can live with till we can afford to fix them). I'm feeling a bit stupid for being a bit naive as to all the problems houses can have and now I'm wondering whether we should pull out altogether or ask them to reduce by the sum it would take to sort the urgent stuff out (these seem to be my options atm). Has anyone had similar happen? Did you walk away? Part of me thinks any house we can afford will probably have some issues and we have already spent some money on fees/survey but then part of me thinks it might be a money pit and be a nightmare to sort out.

Full structural surveys make everything sound awful. But equally they can throw up problems that can make you walk away. In my experience a full survey on a Victorian house will always list a huge amount of issues.
Can you ring the surveyor for a chat. Ask him about likely remediation costs, urgency of doing the work, and whether if he was in your position he would pull out or what.

FWIW I cried when I read our survey OP but all turned out well and the work wasn't too costly.

When we got the survey we worked out what we'd already spent, the mortgage booking fee and valuation fee, looked at how much the reports would cost, and decided if the extra for the reports was worth it if we'd be losing out on the other fees we'd already paid. We decided it was so instructed them. We knew that the seller would be in the same position with other buyers unless they potentially only got the most basic survey done so we could negotiate.

Once I looked at it logically rather than emotionally the decisions became much easier.

If you love the house and can afford the money for an independent damp survey I'd do that before making any decisions. Don't get Damp Aid or anyone like that round, they will tell you it is definitely damp and needs a dpc. Rising damp is very very unusual.

I've never had a survey on a house that hasn't sounded horrendous but frankly I read them with my sceptical eyes on now as they're covering themselves for all sorts of stuff, just in case. That doesn't mean I wouldn't have one, I absolutely would, but I'd read it with that in mind. As others have said, if you want a period property you're unlikely to find something without a few issues on the survey.

Thanks everyone. Reassuring to hear from others with similar experiences. I think tbh it's going to be too much for us to take on but I'm trying to look at it philosophically in the sense that we've learnt a lot and will know what to look for/avoid next time. Will speak to surveyor for a chat as pp have suggested tho as that sounds useful and just to cover all bases before final decision.

All these issues can be resolved.

Get quotes to repair the problems and ask for the reduction in price.

They may go for it because any future buyers will find the same faults.

The only thing we found OP is that we needed extra money up front. I.e if you're borrowing 90% and you knock £5k off your offer to pay for the work, you have to put up £500 less deposit and borrow £4.5k less. But you need the £5k pay for the work so more cash is needed.

In a similar situation we walked away. We're not at all DIY savvy and any plus points of the house just weren't worth all the money, time and effort it would have taken to fix. It seemed a shame at the time but we have absolutely no regrets!

I came back to say what Emma said. It's hard to actually find the cash to do work to a property sometimes, which has limited our options when looking for a property.

The big unknown here is the source of the damp. If it has rotted wood, it’s serious. Replacing all the plaster, the joists and floors won’t stop damp appearing again. It is unlikely you will find the source of the damp without considerable effort and curing it will be expensive. Drains could have collapsed, the garden might be covering up air bricks or it could be an ineffective or no damp proof course. You cannot do or budget for any work if you don’t know the cause of the damp. Do speak to the surveyor but without a lot more tests, he may not know likely causes and a builder won’t either so wouldn’t be able to quote!

Walk away.

Run

Thanks everyone, we have decided not to purchase; just too many problems and too much effort/money to solve! Back to househunting!

I think you've made the right choice OP. Like you say, you can put it down to experience and hopefully avoid the same happening again.