Buying a house - Survey done - Now how should we approach this?

[zizu73]

Hi all,

We are in the process of buying a semi detached Victorian house. We got the results of the Building/Structural survey. It doesn't look too bad considering the age of the property. The main issues flagged up are:

Damp discovered in two of the ground floor rooms - this needs to be treated by injecting chemicals to the affected areas to remedy it and to re-plaster etc.

Electrics - very old and likely needing to rewire part/the whole house - although not sure how immediate. Also not sure how safe it is at the moment but the surveyor wrote that it's functioning.

Boiler/heating system - Boiler is old and nearing the end of its life cycle. Also it's only a combi which is inadequate for the size of the house, Surveyor wasn't sure if the heating works properly. He surveyor recommends to change the boiler and instal Mega flow system.

There are other areas flagged up in the report but my understanding is that the 3 above are the most immediate. The Surveyor recommended that we get in tradespeople to give us quotes on the work prior to exchange. Out of the 3, he said that the Damp situation needs to be checked most urgently before moving forward.

I am a bit worried to ask the EA to ask the vendor to allow 3 tradespeople in for quotes. The vendor is old and in poor health and we negotiated hard and agreed we feel a fair price. However, we don't want to end up in a situation after exchange where we face major costs.

If I am honest, we have expected the issues with the electrics and boiler from the viewings. The damp issue is the one we didn't foresee for obvious reasons.

How common is it for buyers to ask the vendor to let tradespeople in before exchange? I imagine the vendor wouldn't be too keen as it might imply lowering the agreed price. We wouldn't lower the price unless the costs are substantial/far more than estimated. I am not sure how much fixing the damp issue will cost. Should we just focus on the damp issue as that's the one we were totally unaware of and might costs a lot or should we try to get in all 3? What would you do?

Many thanks for reading.

I wouldn't go down the route of chemical injection , that's just covers the problem. You need to find where the water is coming from. You may get a rough price for a rewire from an electrician from the floor layout.
You can ask the EA about people coming round but be prepared for the vendor to say no.

Well you can ask! I'd do so making it clear I was not intending to lower my offer - merely getting ahead of the game and planning

Thanks. As you say, we can always ask.

The surveyor used a moister meter/electric damp meter and high readings were discovered the the 2 mentioned rooms. It says that he tested extensively around the property with damp meters looking for evidence of penetrating damp but found no noteworthy readings or evidence of any leaks. Both mentioned rooms are facing on one side the side return corridor which leads to the back garden. He didn't mention what might be the cause of dump and that what would have to be investigated. The report says that the readings might indicate a partial failure of the damp proof course. To remedy this he suggests a chemical damp proof injections might need to applied and specialist re-plastering.

Meh - this is all standard stuff for an old house. Damp issue doesn't sound too serious. If you've already negotiated a price based on the house needing a fair bit of work I'd just proceed.

If you do get the damp checked out get it done by an independent damp surveyor, not a damp-repair company (the latter always exaggerate the issue to get more work)

Is the house properly heated? If not, moving in and heating the place for 6 months can sort any damp issues (did with our 1835 house). Did Victorian houses have DPCs?

Have a look at this OP, you might find it interesting, especially the later paragraphs about misdiagnosis of damp by mortgage surveyors.

www.marshallsgroup.com/rising%20damp.aspx

Definitely don't go down the route of chemical injection for damp. All that will happen is that the damp will spring up elsewhere. With proper heating it will probably sort itself out. I doubt a Victorian house would have a damp proof course - digging a French drain outside the affected area can help.

It extremely standard for a survey to uncover something which needs a further look/estimates etc.

The boiler and electrics I wouldn’t bother looking at again as you will have been aware yourself from your own viewings and property questionnaire of their age/conditions etc

The damp is different and the vendor should understand. Your mortgage bods will want any damp situation sorted anyway.

Really thoughtful of you not to put older house owner to worry/inconvenience but honestly your ea will explain and reassure as to why you need to have it looked at. What you then do re changing your offer depends on what is thrown up and whether you suck it up so as not to lose the house or
Seek to renegotiate.

Good luck op.

Thanks all for your input. Very helpful.

We will probably just proceed and try to find out the issue after we have moved in. Agree, the damp issue doesn't sound serious and not even sure if there is a damp issue. The other 2 issues we knew would be flagged up so don't intend to raise it with the vendor prior to exchange.

Heron - I wasn't aware that the lender would require us to sort out the potential damp flagged in the report prior to exchange, especially as it's not rising damp or anything more serious. Are you sure?

When we had a Victorian house the damp was caused by years of soil build up. Digging down to expose the brick damp proof course solved the problem.

Forgive me if I alarmed you. Currently going through a sale where survey did raise things which changed buyers mortgage valuation a bit. Sounds as if yours isn’t in that league !!

There’s not a survey on a Victorian house that won’t suggest new electrics, new boiler (unless the vendor has shown the surveyor the receipt), and a bit of damp. Don’t waste your money on a chemical damp course, find the issue.

Usually the surveyor should guide you as to whether such issues are a big problem or to be expected in a period house.

Have you bought a property before? As to me it sounds like a bit of an overreaction. Damp is par for the course, for example.

I have always sought the surveyor's advice on issues raised in surveys.

Thanks again for the input. On reflection, yes it's probably an overreaction but it's the biggest purchase we will even make so .. I remember actually when we purchased our current house, the survey flagged up a damp issue which we sorted out after we moved in. Luckily it wasn't serious so didn't cost that much.

Yes I did have a chat with the surveyor. He said that the house is in good shape considering its age. He mentioned specifically the potential damp as something we wanted to look into before exchange. Finally, he said that there is nothing in the survey which would worry him too much and certainly nothing which would make him walk away from purchasing.

In your shoes I would get the electrics looked at and ask the vendor for the service history of the boiler if they have it. I wouldn't care too much about the damp, as all old houses have damp in my experience.

It’s all very well people who aren’t buying the house saying ‘all old houses have a bit of damp’. Yes, many of them do but it is not unreasonable of you to want to find out what’s causing this damp and how it will need sorting out. If it’s a renovation project then you’ll have budgeted for electrics and heating so asking for one person to go around and look at the damp isn’t unreasonable at all. The estate agent will explain that to the vendor.

Forget about injecting chemicals and damp meters. They really are a bit of a con, as so many things can make the reading 'off'.
This link is helpful:
www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/managing-damp-in-old-buildings.html

Was just about to post the link for the heritage house post - very helpful!

Ours was also flagged as having old, tired electrics and an ancient boiler, plus damp that needed 'immediate attention'. Simply spending the first few weeks with windows and doors open encouraging cross ventilation has pretty much solved the issue - Victorian houses are designed to breathe, and if you've got lots of new windows (uPVC) it might simply need some fresh air. Also having your heating always on low rather than periodically off and then on high to blast the heat when you're feeling cold is good, as the walls will expand and contract with marked temperature differences which can exacerbate water movement through the walls.

I would proceed and focus on the electrics first, and see how the house reacts to responsible ventilation before approaching a damp proofing company.

Good luck!

Honestly that sounds like just what you would expect from the survey and a house of that age and the agreed price should have factored that in.

Damp isn't a huge worry if it hasn't damaged the structure, just find the cause fix it then run a dehumidifier to dry it out for a few months.