Selling a house with very bad damp in a popular area

[Shattered04]

My elderly mother lives in a very popular Cornish coastal town in an older property. For years now, the property is completely damp and she has had horrendous black mould growing. We know the problem; the rendering needs fully replacing. However, even before Covid she was having trouble getting anyone to do it (she even has a grant for it) as there's some complication over scaffolding, pavements, a road sign - I don't recall the exact details but suffice to say, she's been let down by so many builders now. She has written to her MP, her local counsellor, the council - they have all tried to help but also got nowhere; the latest, probably final attempt by her local counsellor has just petered out. Again. It's probably just a case of "who you know" and she doesn't know people in the trades.

She has COPD and has just been diagnosed with cancer. She's done with it, she needs to move, she can't spend another winter there. She had wanted to stay in the house but it's now reached that point. She's had enough.

If she were to put the house on the market, would it sell? I mean, the mould is pretty bad in some rooms, but the house is otherwise very structurally sound and looked after (she's been able to arrange other maintenance over the years e.g. chimney, roof etc). It really is in a prime location, and given the current market, this could be her best chance to sell when people are less picky? What sort of value would be knocked off for something like this? Would she still be able to sell it?

I'll be visiting her soon (I'm the other end of the country from her) and we will see if we can get estate agents in to value, but it would be great to have a more impartial opinion in advance, as I trust EAs about as far as I can throw them!!

Thanks! :-)

She’ll be able to sell if she’s reasonable with the price. A severe damp problem will have an impact on what someone’s willing to pay - and if it’s not fixable because of a scaffolding/access/boundary issue… that might make it unsellable, or require some big reductions.

Your mum will need to declare any issues she knows about, has she got paperwork regarding the access issues so you could try to get it sorted?

I’d hedge my bets that someone will want it, if you price it right. You’ll just need someone ready to do renovations - so proving they can be done may be key.

Someone will buy it but definitely as a doer-upper so be prepared to take a hit on the price. I wouldn't have thought she would have to disclose that she hasn't been able to get the work done - the EA will no doubt explain it away as elderly lady, house maintenance all got a bit much for her - unless it was a boundary dispute that stopped her being able to erect the scaffolding rather than permit bureaucracy that she found insurmountable. It will either sell to a builder who knows his way around it or dewy-eyed out-of-towners who are picturing it fully renovated with log-burner and stripped floors.

Impossible to say how much of a hit she will take - it depends on what else is available, how much work the buyer needs to do, whether it is mortgageable etc.

I agree. Just be upfront with the estate agent and realistic on the price. Then it will be fine. Someone younger and with the energy and enthusiasm will easily deal with it.

Thanks all! Yep, definitely no boundary disputes involved - her house is right on the pavement on a corner (so two sides), and the render that needs fixing is on those, so it's highways-related. From what I recall, it isn't impossible to sort out, it's just with the current shortage of tradespeople, they can pick and choose and I suspect they see this one as a hassle due to the extra bureaucracy they would need to sort out as it's their scaffolding etc I assume?

I'll take a closer look when I visit next week as to what the actual problem is, but nobody has said it's impossible. It's more nobody seems to want to get involved.

She's not daft, and knows there's no hiding the damp and knows it'll knock a big chunk off. Though it's an interesting thought that the EA would most likely play it as "elderly lady couldn't sort it out" - while that's actually very true, this elderly lady gave it a really damn good shot and has sorted out most other things!! Just thwarted by the tradesperson shortage and bureaucracy. That (hopefully) doesn't make it unmortgageable though. I guess the concern is that a lender might demand she gets it repaired before they'll lend on it, but if she could do that, she wouldn't be selling!

It does have a lovely log burner already so she's partway there! It is a nice building, some history (not listed), otherwise in a good state of repair aside from the render. Lovely kitchen a few years old, decent fairly new bathroom, and brand new windows. Aside from needing to paint over the mould and probably get new carpets in most rooms, it's in good condition and a fantastic location. Maybe she'll get lucky with a cash buyer!

Knowing what you have said about builders not wanting to touch the property to repair, I wouldn't put in an offer.
We bought a house with damp but only after securing a builder to complete the works. If I couldn't secure a builder I would withdraw my offer.

It wouldn't matter to me if the price was reduced, if the work can't be rectified then the house is nothing by a problem.

Has the council said a scaffold can go on the pavement and traffic management signs can be erected. If they have agreed this there is no reason a builder can't commit to do the job, unless the builders seem to think it is a much bigger job than removing and replacing rendering

I just checked with her, and I have remembered incorrectly (too much going on in my own life right now!) - it's not that no builder will touch it. It's that the ones that are approved to use the grant (Green Homes) she's been issued to repair it - and put in insulation - are all booked up until after the grant expires. And she can't afford to fix it without the grant. So that is why! She did have a builder willing to do it, all booked in months in advance, but by the time the date rolled round, the company had lost their local contractor and so refused to do it. And by that point there was nobody else left who would accept the grant who would do it in time.

So the scaffolding/paperwork stuff is a bit of a red herring I guess; it sounds like it's doable, just extra faffage for that bit.

When I've had render redone the scaffolding has been nothing to do with the plasterer, I got it all in place for them via a separate scaffolding company. No experience with highways though, I'm on a no through access road do understand that could be difficult.

Hope you get it sorted.

Just read your update. That's a pain. Someone will buy it if the price is right. I would sell it now.

Interesting, thanks! I think the company she'd booked originally was a one stop shop that was going to handle it all, including the scaffolding, so that may be where my confusion lies. I've never lived in a home that has needed major work, so it's all new to me!

The agent should value it taking the damp issues into account. I bought a place that sounds way worse than your mums and paid 14k over the asking price due to multiple offers, it was in a fantastic location. If the location is right and its priced with the work needed in mind you'll have no trouble selling it. Good luck to your mum, here's to here being hassle free- onwards and upwards!

As well as the painting etc. get some dehumidifiers in as well. You’ll probably have to empty them a couple of times a day to start with but as time goes on it’ll be less. Just pop them away when people are due around to look.

Strongly recommend you look up a local member of the national estate agents association whose members have subscribe to a code of conduct and I have always had significantly better service from them than any other estate agent.

Thanks all!

She does have a dehumidifier - it fills up in next to no time, and she's been advised that the walls just re-absorb the damp from the outside straight away. Especially in Cornwall where it feels like it is just permanently drizzle (I grew up there, I know!!) If the rendering was fixed, it would be worth running the thing, but it draws a lot of power and she's on state pension so there's little point at the moment.

That said, before viewings, maybe it'll take some of the damp smell out the air, which even though we'll have total honesty about the damp situation, it still makes it more superficially appealing.

Thank you for the tip on which agents to use, PieceOfString. Sadly there seem to be none in Cornwall at all (and none local to us either, guess I shouldn't be surprised our own agent is useless!)

I would think there’s a good chance a builder will buy it. Houses that need work often go to builders to do up and sell on at a profit rather than to live in.

Can she renew or extend the grant? They might be flexible due to Covid delays

She could rent it out and use the money to rent her own place

I know people who paid pretty much the asking price for a house they wanted with known and declared damp issues which they have sorted out.

They will still be offers. There is always someone who'll be happy to buy it

Lots of people specifically look for houses like this that need work. She'll still get a decent price for it.

Forget about the work just get it on the market and the sellers can sort it all out so you're not wasting time

She will get offers I'm sure. As a pp says, possibly a builder who will do the work themselves.

As the damp & mould are affecting your mum's quality of life now I would be inclined to get it on the market ASAP, then she can live somewhere more comfortable for her.

It could be useful for her to get some up to date quotes in writing to show potential buyers. So they can reflect that in their asking price.

Thank you all for the reassurance! It has taken her a long time to reach this point for a lot of reasons I won't go into for brevity, but are understandable - she has been through a lot the last few years.

I believe she has already extended the grant as far as it can go, unfortunately.

I am also hoping it attracts lots of builders looking for a project, as it would be perfect for that!

I would have thought you can get it into a basically ready to sell state fairly quickly by removing the mould in each room, stain block paint, then paint the entire outside of the house with that moisture blocking stuff you can treat bricks with. That will make it good for at least a few more years I'd have thought.

I'll suggest it to her, thank you! It may be something she already knew about and had ruled out, but no harm in finding out :-)

It’ll sell. Just depends if she’s happy with the price and it gives her what she needs to move into a different property.

Be sure to instruct the estate agent you want a quick sale and a very motivated proceedable buyer I guess. No point trying to eke out a couple of grand if it's going to result in a more awkward buyer