Proceeding after survey (damp). Advice please

[3in4years]

Hi.
We had an offer accepted in July on the basis we're selling to FTB and the sale should be quick.
The mortgage valuation came back low and our vendors agreed to reduce the price (met half way).
Now our survey has thrown up various issues, the main one being damp. The surveyor said it would cost several £1000s to rectify and we should ask to meet half way again. I am nervous about asking for more money off, but don't want to proceed and then find I'm left with a really costly problem.
We viewed after the survey. It's damp.on one wall (1880s built) but has been plasterboarded over. So looks fine, but the skirting board is rotten. My dh says to just leave it, it won't cause too many problems, and we'll fix it as and when.
Ways?
Many thanks

Not ways, sorry. WWYD? THANKS

One wall would be around 2k. I had one wall of my 1888 built house done. It took 2 days.

Get a quote for the work and refer back to vendor

There is always a reason why an area is damp, the cause of the damp should be identified and rectified.

It could be anything from some broken guttering or lead flashing needing repair to a leaking pipe.

There's no point re-plastering a wall or replacing a skirting board until the cause is dealt with.

No! What on earth is behind the plasterboard? If hte skirting is rotten there must be a very significant problem. Is it an external wall?

Thank you all. It is an internal wall and the surveyor suspects it needs lime rendering.

If I were the seller I probably wouldn't want to meet you half way on this one but that's me. Don't forget that you have already spent money on surveys etc. If you decide not to proceed with the purchase you will need to spend money yet again on new house surveys etc.
If it's a few thousand I would just go ahead with the purchase. Damp is normally easy to fix (find where the water is getting in, seal it, dry it out and redecorate).

If it's Rising damp I would be more wary since it is more expensive (floors up, DPM, air bricks and new floor boards) - concrete floors even more expensive....

Thank you

I'd be very wary of this on an internal wall and would want to know exactly what the problem was and how and how much it would cost to rectify before I proceeded.

How does this sound?
We are concerned about the damp found on the survey. There is evidence of significant damp downstairs which will need attention. We will seek some advice and quotes, look our finances, and be in contact as soon as possible regarding this issue.
We are aware that the vendor has already had to reduce the price following the mortgage down valuation. We want to maintain goodwill and the momentum of the sale, but feel we need to consider the damp issue. Therefore, if the vendor is able to meet some of an estimated, conservative cost for rectifying the problem, we would be able to proceed from here and address the damp issue in our own time.

There's no point rendering it with lime, or anything else for that matter, until the cause has been investigated, and dealt with. It is less common to experience problems on internal walls, which makes it even more important to understand what is causing the problem.

It may be the cause turns out to be more expensive to treat that damp proofing and re-plastering/rendering of the wall.

Internal wall could be due to leaking pipework above (bathroom, boiler, toilet) the chimney. Water is a funny thing since it doesn't always come straight down. You could have a leak in a pipe in the bathroom that trickles down a seam and comes out in a room that's not directly under it.
The biggest issue with damp is tracking down where the water is coming from, fixing is normally the easy bit.

...I have seen lots of survey reports in my time and have never seen one that says 'this house is perfect'

Ask them to rectify the problem? That was you aren't asking for anything off the price.