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Original poster

Very very negative survey has come back

40 replies

Potatoduster · 17/08/2019 13:30

Something I'm interest in has come back with so many issues it makes me want to pull out all together.

I wasn't expecting so much. Some of it seems minor like a loose screw in a plug, worn toilet seat, a wonkey cupboard, hedge too close to house, drain cover missing.

But it says the whole bathroom is near the end of its life and should be replaced, all of the windows should be replaced as two are blown, the roof has moved and needs a structural engineer to assess, the floors are bouncy and need a structural engineer to assess, boiler is old and needs to be replaced.

My dad says they're just covering their own backs and highlighing potential issues and most are to be expected from a house built in the 60s. But it's pretty damning just from a home buyers survey. The bathroom is white and 20 years old but it looked fine to live with for a the foreseeable future and the windows I got a quote to relax the blown ones for 230. But the surveyor pretty much says to replace it all with brand new. The boiler I saw a service history and planned on not changing until it actually broke.

Are the surveyors pessimistic or realistic?

OP posts:
Saucery · 17/08/2019 13:33

Only the roof and floors would bother me in that, if I’d factored in replacement costs for the other stuff. My current kitchen is waaaay past its sell by date but the cupboards still open and the new white goods work so a buyer could decide if they wanted to live with it or not.

Original poster
Potatoduster · 17/08/2019 13:37

Thanks, the problem I have is it doesn't say there's definitely a problem it just says you need another survey! It's a bit useless as you could tell the floors moved. My dad has been in the loft and says the roof should be good for many more decades to come.

OP posts:
RandomMess · 17/08/2019 13:40

I would get the roof and floors looked at, the rest is just part and parcel of home ownership.

JoanLewis · 17/08/2019 13:42

How on earth does one determine the end of a bathroom's life?!? That survey sounds very alarmist - pointing out stuff like loose screws is ridiculous.

I'd get the roof and possibly the floors checked out by a structural engineer. I wouldn't pay attention to any of the rest of it!

historysock · 17/08/2019 13:47

When we sold our last house our buyers survey said the roof was unsafe as the beams weren't wide enough to support it. They wanted ten grand off. It was probably true on today's building standards but they didn't exist in 1970 when the house was built. The roof was fine. A surveyor with records that went back further said so. We didn't give them any money off.
Surveys are sometimes a bit of a racket. Especially if they are telling you you need a more In depth survey (from them) to see if the roof is fine or not.Plus I've never heard of one commenting on the lifespan of a bathroom-that's cosmetic surely?
If you are worried have a builder take a look....

That said I'm not the best person to ask as out survey on this house was quite scary-very old house-and we bought it anyway 🤷🏽‍♀️.

Original poster
Potatoduster · 17/08/2019 13:49

My dad thinks it a bit petty, pointed out that a draw in the kitchen was stiff, a light pull switch was missing the pull bit and the kitchen extractor fan was not positioned correctly and needed to be changed.

This thread is a bit more reassuring!

OP posts:
VivaLeBeaver · 17/08/2019 13:52

Sounds very petty but pretty much par for the course. I’d want further investigations on the roof but wouldn’t be bothered about anything else. If the floor is bouncy it’s probably some floor boards which need screwing down. We had that, was a ten min job for dh.

CleanAndPaidFor · 17/08/2019 13:54

I think I'd want a bit more information on the roof and the floors, but other than that, the bottom line is whether or not the house is worth the money in the eyes of your mortgage lenders.

PigletJohn · 17/08/2019 14:51

" all of the windows should be replaced as two are blown,"

hahahahaha!

you can get dg panels reglazed for £50 to £100 each.

"the whole bathroom is near the end of its life and should be replaced,"

A bathroom might last 50 years before it gets so shabby that you get fed up with it.

Bath's don't dissolve. Taps don't go rusty.

"the roof has moved "
That's strange. Has it had a DIY loft conversion?
Or does he mean some tiles have slipped?

gamerwidow · 17/08/2019 14:59

Agree with the majority the roof and floors would worry me but the other stuff is part and parcel of owning a house.
Get a quote to fix the roof and floors and just have a plan for replacing the other bits over the next 5 -10 years if you go ahead.

Boltoflightening · 17/08/2019 15:38

My dads bathroom is 54 years old and there’s nothing wrong with it.

CottonSock · 17/08/2019 15:42

Doesn't sound too bad, all survey reports read like a disaster alert.

Movinghouseatlast · 17/08/2019 17:04

Utter bollocks. We had a survey which suggested that the whole kitchen would need to be ripped out as the surveyor hadn't been able to test for damp because of the units. The surveyor also said there was no water supply to the bath room when he had simply not known how to turn on the tap or shower. He also remarked that the brand new Fired Earth bathroom suite was "only just fit for purpose and will need to be replaced in the next few years". The man was a total dick.

Our buyer pulled out, terrified, and our lives changed, truly things would have been totally different now had that sale gone through. We were a day away from.exchange.

yearinyearout · 17/08/2019 17:40

I'd only be concerned about the roof and the floors too, it's worth getting a professional opinion on those. Bathroom is just a matter of living with it until you decide you want a new one, windows can have new sealed units as you've discovered.

Blobby10 · 17/08/2019 17:41

@Potatoduster sounds like you had the surveyor who did our housea few years ago - as well as a missing weight on the end of the bathroom light string he decided the whole house was in 'poor decorative order' (it was 2 years old!!) and the most immediate concern to resolve was the flashing over a bay window which was half a brick - yes HALF a brick to far to the left. None of the issues he flagged up would affect the property in any way, shape or form but he claimed it was also £10000 over priced. So we had to get a builder out to 'fix' everything he said was wrong - I think it cost us £1500 but our buyer paid full price.

We used him to survey our new house - a new build - and he was rubbish so I wonder if he was a friend of the buyer or something

yearinyearout · 17/08/2019 17:42

Crikey, after reading the rest of your updates I dread to think what a surveyor would say about my house, they'd have a bloody field day 🙈

Malvinaa81 · 17/08/2019 17:47

Most surveys are a waste of time and money, and just part of the whole racket of expenses people get roped into when buying a house.

In this case I wouldn't be too keen on the wonky floor(s) and might want to know more about the roof- but not from a surveyor.

If you are offered a mortgage on the place it can hardly be falling down.

Yellowbutterfly1 · 17/08/2019 17:48

My God, some of these surveys are a complete joke.
It’s a worry how many buyers wouldn’t have the common sense to see that things like building regulations do change so things even done just last year to regulations may not be up to current. It doesn’t mean something is dangerous.
An old boiler may not be as energy efficient but is probably in perfect working order and doesn’t need replacing.
Kitchens and bathrooms more than a couple of years old do not need replacing (I blame programs like Phil and Kirsty) for making people think like that.

BeyondMyWits · 17/08/2019 17:49

Ok... our house... the roof moved meant roof spread, that bowed the side walls a little which in turn makes the floors upstairs in particular, but downstairs too, bounce and squeak. It cost us £15k to fix.

PigletJohn · 17/08/2019 18:05

that's odd.

Had somebody cut the roof timbers, for example in a DIY loft conversion?

Or was it a very old building with skimpy roof timbers that somebody had put heavy tiles on?

BeyondMyWits · 17/08/2019 19:53

Ours was a 1970 box of a house, though lounge/diner, not enough tying the 2 sides together, wood in roof was in need of extra bracing too. Was the last house of 10, this one and number 9 were seemingly cobbled together with a heap of leftovers,
It was inherited so see it as bonus it is still standing and worth something.

Hecateh · 17/08/2019 20:55

Surely the point of a survey to the buyer is to say if the house is in a condition commensurate with its age and price.

If the house next door has had its roof replaced it would be worth more. Valuations should be based on the age and general condition of the house. If fixtures and fittings need replacing the price will have reflected this.

peteneras · 17/08/2019 21:09

I'll be honest, I bought my 1930's house 5 years and a few months ago and I never had a survey done other than the one sent in by my mortgage lender just before I signed the agreement. I've had only the dodgy garden fence replaced so far (for greater security) and nothing else. But right now I'm having my kitchen completely ripped out including the floor and the ceiling to be replaced by a brand new John Lewis kitchen. Hopefully, by next weekend I'd have a all-dancing and singing modern kitchen. I'm sure had I had a survey done in the beginning, the report would come back saying there are a hundred and one things wrong with the house and that's why I didn't bother because I really love this house.

helpmum2003 · 17/08/2019 21:13

I'd get the roof and floors checked.

We've just had a house surveyed and they made similar comments that bathroom needs replacing. Yes it's out of date but still functional!

I think this must be a new thing in surveys; never heard it before...

Byorderofthepeakyblinders · 17/08/2019 21:20

I agree that I would investigate some of those points further.

But they can be petty, I've had one before that was actually ridiculous and I complained about afterwards.