Second viewing has uncovered issues - what next?

[Olivea17]

We have been for a second viewing on a property we are in the process of buying. The vendor mentioned a company who had been to check the loft after we noticed a dip. We called the company and they actually shared their quote for the work required. The quote is £14k. We are now wondering if we a) go back and ask for a reduction in the price based on this b) pay for a full survey to back up the claims c) buy at the current price as we paid lower than the asking price (however our original offer was made without knowing about the work needed to the loft/ceilings).

Be aware that 'damp and timber surveys' are often conducted by damp and timber 'specialists' who are trying to flog you damp proof coursing, replacing traditional materials with modern cement/concrete based ones exacerbating any moisture control issues.

Damp proof courses are not recommended, nor effective, in a property of the age you're talking about. You'd do better to ensure the surveyor has a specialism in period properties, or use a specialist period surveyor/builder on top if you're not sure about these matters.

Hmmm. I missed the reference to damp proofing, and windows.

You want a specialist surveyor, or builder, used to working with period properties of the type that you are thinking of buying, to have a look at whether what has been doe has done more harm than good.

Many old properties breathe. They absorb water into their fabric, and dissipate it. The damp escapes through traditional windows and draughty floor and up chimneys. All is fine until insulation, and damp proofing, and close-fitting windows and wall to wall carpets interfere...

(Owned a lovely Victorian cottage ... which wasn't damp at all once we had stripped out the fitted carpet in the front room - very mouldy it was, too- and ensured that the windows allowed proper ventilation. Cold, but not damp. Ditto Cotswold stone cottage with parts dating from the mid 18th century - once we got rid of the carpet down to floorboards, took off the 'damp proof' modern plaster, stripped out the damp proofing and put down appropriate flooring material restoring the air flow.)

Thank you all so much, I am certainly learning lots from this forum. Our mortgage lender has been today to check they are willing to lend so I may hold fire a couple of days as they could request us to get a survey anyway or say they won’t lend until certain work is done, right? The vendor gave us their number so we were thinking to give them a call and mention having the survey done after finding out about the quote for the timbers. Or do we not mention that and just go ahead and book the survey?

What kind of survey were you planning to have anyway?

Presumably you had already booked e.g. a homebuyers' survey? Or were you going for just a very basic one - can't remember what it is called now - a condition report or something? You surely weren't thinking of just relying on what the mortgage company were doing?

What you want is a proper building survey - often called a 'full structural survey'. it will cost a LOT, but is properly investigative. it will probably run to the thickness of a decent book, have photographs, and look inside e.g. lofts etc. They won't do destructive tests, but they will get up on a ladder, get into the loft, have a good poke around behind cupboards etc etc.

Are you FTB? You sound a little unused to the process?

Essentially, what the mortgage company does and what you need to do are two separate things, especially for an old building.

The mortgage company ONLY needs to know whether, if you default, they can get their money back - so they need to know that the property is almost certainly worth the amount they are lending. if you are putting down a substantial deposit, it really isn't that helpful to know that e.g. the house is worth £200k if you are paying £250k with £50k deposit. They won't care whether it is cold, damp, will need substantial work, costs gazillions to heat - they just care whether it could be re-sold for the amount of the outstanding mortgage.

That's why you need a separate survey for you - is it a money pit? Is it damp? Do the electrics need work? Will the roof need re-doing in 5 years? What work is needed instantly, and what might wait a few years? Is the idea you had about using the loft feasible, or is there an obvious reason why it can't be donw?

Because of the two purposes, you need both surveys. DEFINITELY don't just rely on the mortgage valuation ... remember that in 5 years it doesn't matter to the mortgage company that the house is worth 10k less, because they will have had that amount of money from you. However for you, the fact it now needs a new roof is significant...

You need a full structural on a property so old, but it will list every little thing and be enormous.
Sometimes a mortgage company will stipulate some jobs have to be done to secure the mortgage too.

We live in an old listed property we had a full structural done. Sure it showed up loads of stuff as they always do but nothing major or imminent. It was so we knew what we were getting into.

This dip. The quote. Is this something that is going to cause a problem? Now or any time in the future? Many old buildings have these quirks, but they don't need to be repaired, they are perfectly safe as is for the next how many decades.

So really is their a safety issue? A risk to the building?

Sorry I'd also strongly advise against having surveys done by people who wish to sell you something. Have it done by a proper surveyor. Expect they will call everything out and be over cautious. But they are independent.

And then if anything comes up as needing doing in the next five to ten years, then maybe get someone in to quote.

You’re not unreasonable to ask to have a look at their full structural survey, if there’s nothing to hide they won’t mind showing you. If they refuse you’d be mad to proceed without having your own done on a 200 year old property no matter how much character it has.

No I’m not a first time buyer but our first house didn’t have any issues and was a two up two down so a different situation to this one. I wasn’t saying I would rely on the mortgage valuation as I know that is not a thorough survey and is just to check the value of the property against the loan amount. I was saying I would wait for that as if the lender say they won’t lend against the property then we would have wasted a substantial amount of money on a full survey. We have spent a good few hours looking over the house, in the loft etc and overall it is in good condition and has been cared for by the previous owner. My original question was whether we should go back to renegotiate the price simply from the quote given or if we should get the survey done first and go from there.

Yes the dip would be a problem if left but we would be doing work in the loft anyway so shouldn’t be a huge inconvenience. We will be doing lots of the work ourselves. I’ve got a few quotes for full structural surveys from surveyors specialising in period properties and we will to from there.

My original question was whether we should go back to renegotiate the price simply from the quote given or if we should get the survey done first and go from there.

Ah, OK. My advice would be to get the full structural survey and negotiate all the issues as a lump. It's much less likely to alienate the vendor and label you as flaky than if you go back AGAIN and say 'well, you moved on the dip but now I want more off for these extra items'

Yes I agree. See what you are dealing with first before you go into negotiate.