Damp issue in house I am buying - stuck in a tricky situation!

[lydia771]

We are in the process of purchasing a home (1920's) it's a lovely family home that has been well looked after.

I had a homebuyers report done back in august which indicated high damp readings in the downstairs walls.

I've had a DP company come to conduct a further survey who have reported bad damp issues and £11k worth of work that needs doing...

The seller has now had a DP company also provide a quote which says there is 'no visible signs of damp to justify destructive works' and would not advise for any work to be done, the seller insisted to him (I have the email threads) that i wouldn't accept this and the DP company said 'We are prepared if you insist on us quoting for limited work to carry out external injection works at a cost of £1000'.

This is a reputable and well reviewed long standing company, I have been given the contact details to talk to them myself.

I just have no idea where to go from here? Do I get a third opinion, baring in mind each quote costs around £130. But then I feel it will just be back and forth back and forth getting more and more quotes... any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Yes get a 3rd quote. Presumably the surveyor who did the HBR had no reason to lie so I’d be inclined to believe there is SOME damp but quite possibly the 1st quote was highly inflated in terms of work required and costs.

We had a dubious damp survey for our cottage which risked our mortgage offer.

The main concerns raised was the porch which is a single skinned lean to with no foundations which is isolated from the house by the old front door. The quote for remedial work, which would be ineffective anyway, wasn't far off what it would cost to rip the porch down and rebuild. Basically the damp surveyor knew that we would likely have to use his company to sort it and quoted for, in his words 'the rolls Royce of damp proof membrane', we found the same stuff available online for about a 10th of the price. He was a crook, and he nearly jeopardised our house buying. Luckily we managed to add extra to our deposit and mortgage company were happy with that, and when we remortgaged after 5 years having done nothing to the porch it wasn't even mentioned.

@MimiSunshine I'm just finding it mad the reports are completely opposite to each other, this latest one says low damp readings throughout whereas both mine said high readings. I don't get it! I would have thought the sellers DP guy would have said yes there is damp but to say there isn't any at all is mind boggling.

It depends on how much the companies know about older houses. We had a company quote silly money for our house when a we needed to do was move in and run the heating for 6 months.

There are companies that specialise in older houses and their supposed damp problems who will give a balanced report and recommendations.

I think you need to pay a chartered damp surveyor for an independent report. They won't have a vested interest in how much the job will cost. Nor will they give you a quote. They will report the problem, the cause and will recommend what (if any) remedial work is the most appropriate.

Getting a DP contractor round to give you an 11k quote isn't impartial, no matter how respected and reputable they are. They are in the business of making money. They would say work needed doing - why wouldn't they?

I've asked if I can attend the property with my family member who is a surveyor (doesn't own a DP company or anything) and he can use his probe to check the readings. He's experienced with older houses too and does think it could just be something along the lines of their meters picking up salt or something which isn't an issue.

I just want to stand there and see the reading in person, along with the agent or seller present too.

There are specialist damp surveyors who will insist that the probes aren't worth the money and are a con to get you to pay for damp proofing works.

Either you have damp in which case you can see it and need to trace the issue, or you don't.

A damp contractor with a probe will be out to get you to spend money so I have a lot of sympathy for the seller.

I have had a 'damp problem' which various builders and specialists advised on with ideas ranging from 'ignore it', 'it's rising damp and unfixable' to spending thousands. Eventually one pointed out the primary issue and once fixed, the damp resolved in under a week.

If they are recommending injections they are anything but reputable.

I’m with the seller on this one, you have found someone wanting to take you for a ride at their expense.

Get an independent surveyor.

Old houses generally have high readings - don't think I've bought one without. Are there actual signs of damp? I've had damp companies quote £4000 to put a damp course in only to find after removing wallpaper here already is one and heating just needed to be put in. I've had a silvery or say I needed to hack all the plaster off etc and I didn't and four years later no sign of damp.
£11k sounds incredible high - I did have rising damp in my last house - the paint was bubbling off the walls - and it cost about £3000 to put right. This was for about 10m of wall both sides two years ago.

If they are recommending injections they are anything but reputable

This! 100%. Run a mile from that company and work out what's causing the damp.

Seller's DP guy who recommended injections couldn't even spell in his report, he was writing the word no as 'know' and put a different house number on it!

I'm not trying to pull a fast one and get a discount on the house. I have to consider things such as when I come to sell it one day am I going to face these same problems?

Hopefully I'll get to go over to the house today and see for myself. When I viewed it I definitely did not notice any visual signs of damp, but then again I was there for 10/15 mins!

We’ve recently been through this buying our house and it’s a total racket with this damp companies doing an ‘independent’ survey and quoting for thousands of pounds of work. We had a retention pit on our mortgage dependant on damp course injections but it is a listed building and that would be not only illegal but damaging to the building! We went back to our original RICS surveyor whose opinion out weighted the damp salesman and our mortgage company accepted. Could you maybe speak to the surveyor who reviewed your property as they are independent?

This is a well reported scam,look for obvious gutter and leaking pipes areas, most houses pre 1920 do not have damp courses. Think of all those Tudor houses with wooden frames still inhabitable.

I'd +1 to the advice of just going round and looking for physical signs of damp, including pulling furniture away from walls etc. Probably ignore any 'readings'.

I have read enough threads on here with advice from the excellent @pigletjohn to know that what you need is a good inspection of the walls outside, air bricks, guttering etc and a sensible sceptical attitude to ‘damp-proof solutions’ in an older house.

I think going round with your family member is a great idea. We bought a 1930s house - independent surveyor said no damp, mortgage valuer mentioned damp readings high but… we’d had the independent and thorough surveyor saying otherwise so we didn’t follow up. Found loads of damp when we finally moved in - clever furniture placement had masked it. Lesson learned. But it certainly didn’t cost £11K to sort out! That’s daylight robbery unless it’s a mansion.

@NoSquirrels brilliant thanks I will look out for these signs today at the house when I visit.

It's a 3 bed semi! That only required work downstairs! 🤣 I paid this guy £110 too. Nuts.

I think you need to pay a chartered damp surveyor for an independent report. They won't have a vested interest in how much the job will cost. Nor will they give you a quote. They will report the problem, the cause and will recommend what (if any) remedial work is the most appropriate.

This. But hopefully your family member can help.

Check for damaged guttering and drain pipes and that rear outside ground levels are not too high or touching the outside walls. Injections dont work and arent suitable for older buildings.

www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/the-fraud-of-rising-damp.html

A lot of people in the damp business sell silicone injections, and use an electrical resistance meter to poke the walls. This can give useful clues, but there is a technical problem that different stone or render, or the presence of mineral salts, makes the resistance different from a clean new brick.

It's possible that some of them sincerely believe silicone injections are a good remedy.

IME damp is water, and always has a cause. Usually a leak from a gutter, downpipe, water pipe or drain, often earth or paving heaped up against the walls carrying water over the DPC, sometimes condensation from wet washing draped over radiators; once, high tides causing a stream to back up.

Silicone injections will not repair any of these defects.

But once you know the cause, you can repair the gutter, replace the pipe, dig out the drain, buy a tumble drier or washing line, correct the source of water.

When an old house has damp at the foot of several walls that have solid floors, it is often from the old water pipe under the floor leaking into it.

Just been to the house and watched readings being taken on every wall and there is low damp except for one spot in the hallway which is to be expected in a house of this age. Can't believe I was quoted £11k. I want my money back I paid him for the quote!

Definitely massively relieved!! Happy days