Survey not great what now?

[Ohcrapbags]

House was for sale for £175k, we offered £170 as it needs cosmetic work (just very tired looking), but settled on 172k.

Mortgage lender agreed value at 172k, but didn't actually see the property due to covid.

We had our homebuyers report back. The independent surveyor has put the value at 160k.

There are some issues with the roof, flat roof extension, electrics are old, the drainage under the house is old. There were a lot of "3" s basically.

So what next?

I know we need to get some quotes to see if it's worth it.

I know they won't come down to 160k, but how does this homebuyers report effect our mortgage? (We are borrowing 145k towards the 172k).

Any advice would be great.

This was the only house by far in the area which was okay and it's not for long term. We want to be out of here in 7 years max (we hate this area but for lots of circumstances we had to move here as it was cheaper last year and we are stuck here for a bit) but we are sick of renting. Rental prices are crazy here and only going up. That mortgage was going to be nearly £300 a month cheaper than our rent.

I'm just at such a loss over what to do and any advice would be appreciated.

Take your time and do the sums.
Get a qualified person to quote - the sellers may accommodate that and go halves etc
Inform the sellers and don’t be pressured into anything
My biggest advice is go slow and take your time deciding. Estate agents and vendors thrive on panic so stay chill

The only problem with that is our tenancy is up at the end of June. Very, very difficult landlord. He'll want us to sign another 6 month contract. So that's another layer of stress.

The thing is the people selling only bought the house three years ago. Surely this must have come up on their survey? They aren't things that have happened overnight.

There were a lot of "3" s basically

What does this mean?

England - you don't have to sign another tenancy. If the landlord issues a direct section 21 in June, it won't expire until December and even then you don't have to leave. So forget that problem, it isn't there.

Or even a CORRECT section 21, oops!!!

@Elouera

There were a lot of "3" s basically

What does this mean?

1 - everything great 2 - will need looking into 3- needs replacing or repair immediately

Basically one of the problems is there is no felt under the roof tiles.

Which isn't uncommon for a house of its age but there is evidence of leaking.

One of the flat roof extensions needs replacing immediately.

The electrics look very old and will need looking into (we have been chasing them for an up to date electric check they keep telling the solicitor "they can't find the piece of paper") so we need this checked.

The rendering on the (whole) house needed to be removed and replaced as it's incorrect.

The garage has been converted into a room at some point over the years but it wouldn't have passed building regulations. We need to find out when it was built etc and if it was signed off.

There are so many issues like that.

@Ohcrapbags

The only problem with that is our tenancy is up at the end of June. Very, very difficult landlord. He'll want us to sign another 6 month contract. So that's another layer of stress.

You don't have to sign anything. Presumably he has served you the correct s21 notice? Even if so, you don't have to move out. Put it in writing that you are unable to vacate on X date and you will give one month notice when you are able to fix a date to leave. There is literally nothing he can do about that.

I wouldn't touch this house with a barge pole. It has money pit written all over it.

@Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep we've not been served anything. Not discussed it with him yet. We put the offer in on this house in January! So we're hoping to have it all sorted by June. Everything has been held up due to covid.

I want to keep it on good terms with the landlord when we come to discuss it, as if we end up not buying and continuing renting, I want to keep good references etc. It's really hard renting with excellent references, I'd hate to try and find a place without.

[quote Ohcrapbags]@Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep we've not been served anything. Not discussed it with him yet. We put the offer in on this house in January! So we're hoping to have it all sorted by June. Everything has been held up due to covid.

I want to keep it on good terms with the landlord when we come to discuss it, as if we end up not buying and continuing renting, I want to keep good references etc. It's really hard renting with excellent references, I'd hate to try and find a place without.[/quote]
Has he indicated he wants or expects you to leave at the end of the tenancy? If he hasn't served you notice it is more likely he wants you to stay

@Aquamarine1029

I wouldn't touch this house with a barge pole. It has money pit written all over it.

That's my feeling too.

If it was my dream house in a place where I want to stay for the rest of my life then great. But it's not.

But like I said, circumstances beyond our control mean we are stuck here. And believe me, it's not a great place. I look all the time and this has been the only acceptable house.

@Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep oh this house is part of a huge portfolio for him. We could be here for ten years if we wanted.

[quote Ohcrapbags]@Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep oh this house is part of a huge portfolio for him. We could be here for ten years if we wanted.[/quote]
Ok, so why are you worrying about the landlord? If he asks you to sign another fixed term just explain that you're in the process of buying so you will serve notice when you have a completion date. It will not be a surprise to him at all.

Really shit landlords in the past to be honest.

Unfortunately that has been exacerbated by the ongoing work to drive private landlords out of the market in favour of housing associations. Your defence against shit landlords is knowledge,read how to rent. He can do nothing legal to make you leave.

Don't worry about references, good landlords know to ask the last landlord but one and don't take too much notice anyway. It's about affordability, smoking and pets.

£300 x 12 x 7 = over £25k.

So if the mortgage and rent stay the same you will have 'saved ' 25k in those 7 years. And you will have the equity in the house. I'd go for it.

How can the rendering be ‘wrong’?

How many leaks are there? I think the odd leak in a 1920/30s ish house is just one of those things.

How old exactly are the electrics?

Does it feel like the surveyor is being overly careful? Have they picked up on ridiculous things like wobbly door handles and a primary school half a mile away?

No, he didn't mention anything small. It was actually quite refreshing considering some of the homebuyers reports I'd read about.

Main points:

Outside Work

•Roof - No under tile felt. Slates to be stripped and relayed over felt.
•Garage Roof - Felt needs replacing
•Other Extension Roofs – Need checking
•Windows/Doors – No fensa certificates
•Internal Entrance Door – Glazing not to modern standards
•Patio Doors - Glazing not to modern standards
•Walls – External render solid wall sections need to be removed and replaced with breathable substitute
•Fences in Garden – Need replacing

Indoor Work

•Garage Extension – Confirm it has building regulations . No insulation to front wall evident – Wouldn’t have complied with building regulations
•Internal Door (to dining room) – glass not to safety standard and needs replacing
•Electrics – Need checking as older arrangements need upgrading
•Drainage – Old two pipe system. Needs replacing to one pipe (this is shared)

There was leaking seen in loft, Chimney stack needs repointing.

No idea how old electrics are. Vendors keep saying they can't find paperwork. All we have is a certificate from 2004.

We are asking for them to get it checked and any repairs done.

Rendering doesn't allow for any air flow, causing mould.

We rent an identical house to the one we are buying. Always cleaning black mould from the walls/ceiling.

Also the old Larth and plaster ceilings are showing signs of wear all over the house. Loose plaster seen - but that's par for the course with houses that are 80/90 years old now.

Honestly, my experience of surveys is that they hate any flat roof so always say it needs re felting and every house I’ve bought has had the electrics come up as old even though I’ve then had an electrician check and sign them off (except current house where survey thought electrics were fine - newish build - and they turned out to be potentially lethal.

The house has stood for many years so the survey is advisory. I’d get a builder to look and assess what actually needs doing and give a price so you can negotiate.

Windows are old and need changing some point in the future, but should have been noticeable when viewing.... if you don’t have kids I wouldn’t worry about the internal glass not being standard.

If the electrics are old just make sure they are safe, rewiring can be done in phases as you do up certain rooms.

Fences in the garden do they belong to the property you are buying or the neighbours? Roofs are expensive but if not actually leaking don’t need to do it now. Get a quote for the main roof and chimney pointing.

We bought something similar 10 years ago and just did it up really slowly as we could afford it.

Good luck just be realistic!