Structural survey done - problems - what next?

GoinSouth · 2022-03-08T10:07:33+00:00

Morning all.. Anxiously awaited the surveyor's report from the full structural survey of an old terraced house. We knew it had damp so were expecting that. So he said: Roof needs re-covering - approx £8k Damp - £500 per linear metre Repointing outside £2k I have NO idea about these sort of things - I've just had home buyers reports in the past and never had any issues. But we did see the damp in this property. What do we do next? Do we now wait for the full report (1-2 weeks) , or do we now contact the estate agent and tell them what the surveyor said and liaise with vendor to get companies in to quote for the work? I just don't know what to do now/next. In terms of renegotiating the sale price, how does this work? Any help or advice would be really welcomed. We haven't seen any houses we've liked except this and the market is just dreadful and not sure I can mentally go back to square one again.. Thanks everyone!

Monkeybutt1 · 08/03/2022 10:26

I have never been in this situation but if it was me I would go back to the estate agent and advise they either pay for and have the work done before you buy it or they drop the price accordingly.

istandwithukraine · 08/03/2022 10:45

It depends if the house was already factored into the house valuation - was the house a bit cheaper than others on the street?

Original poster

GoinSouth · 08/03/2022 11:00

@istandwithukraine

It depends if the house was already factored into the house valuation - was the house a bit cheaper than others on the street?

No, I don't think so...

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Original poster

GoinSouth · 08/03/2022 11:05

Won't get the report until next week... should I just have a quick call with the estate agent to advise her, and then a further call once we've got the report?

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TulipsfromAmsterdam · 08/03/2022 11:23

I would wait for full report before contacting estate agent. Ours was emailed within 5 days of survey.
It did look very scary and panicked us for a while and we thought we wouldn't be able to afford to carry out the work so made a revised offer. We sent EA copies of the worst bits and ended up negotiating a smaller reduction. We also allowed the seller to get someone in to check roof and other issues with a builder we knew anyway. It put our minds at rest. Damp was also mentioned but we believe it came from a leaking gutter and doesn't need dpc.
We really want this house and if we don't buy it someone else will.

PragmaticWench · 08/03/2022 12:37

Our survey categorised all of the issues into whether they were urgent, imminent or could be left. It helped us decide where we could ask for a reduction in price as the owner clearly had neglected maintenance of the property.

On the pointing, that sounds low. They'd need scaffolding if it's the whole of the outside, plus the time to drill it all out and replace. This was one of our first jobs and it stopped it raining inside the house at least!

I'd wait for the full report personally.

Clymene · 08/03/2022 12:58

@Monkeybutt1

I have never been in this situation but if it was me I would go back to the estate agent and advise they either pay for and have the work done before you buy it or they drop the price accordingly.

Good luck with that in the current climate

Africa2go · 08/03/2022 13:02

First of all, the survey may not say they need doing immediately. It just might be something to consider in the medium term.

As for negotiating with the sellers, well first of all the sellers will ask for a copy of the report and are unlikely to entertain any deduction until they see it. Also, if the valuer says that the property is still worth what you're offering, even with the repairs, then you haven't got a leg to stand on with the sellers.

It just comes down to negotiation - are you prepared to walk away if they won't drop the price? Do they have other buyers in the wings ready to step in so they're not bothered if you do? Are they desperate to move? If they put it back on the market, have prices remained the same / gone up / down since they accepted your offer?

bilbodog · 08/03/2022 13:02

Wait for the full report and discuss it with the surveyor before speaking to anyone else. Quite often they will point out things that will need doing in due course but not straight away at all. We were told our edwardian house would need a new roof in 1994 and lived there until 2011 only ever having done some small repairs. As far as i know the house still has the original roof today.

Be wary of anyone suggesting damp proofing an old house - its not normally necessary - you just need to fix where the damp is coming from.

Original poster

GoinSouth · 08/03/2022 13:57

Total transparency... first of all, I'm totally ignorant about a full structural survey - as I've said - houses in the past I've had, I've just had the normal house buyers report and never needed to have anything done. So now, having had a full structural and no peer support around me, I'm panicking a bit as to what to do and where to go from here, hence asking you lovely ladies for some guidance :-)

The house is cheap - we're oop north - £120k, average price in the area £128k, we got it for £117k. We spotted damp inside - in the dining room. And I'm going to sound like a right 'they must have seen you coming'.. our offer was accepted. It is a decent, spacious house inside and they had received much interest but like us, everyone else probably saw the damp and thought nope! We don't have much option to afford anything over £120k - this is one of our problems, and especially as there are anything from 5-25 buyers looking at one property and umpteen offers - we've placed offers on several houses over the year and got close only once, simply outbid every single time, or buyers have offered £10-15k over the asking price - something we simply can't compete with.

So, we've got to consider whether we can proceed with this house and the cost of the work, trying to negotiate, OR forget it and go back at square one again, and hope we can stand a chance to find something decent where our offer is accepted, which is really depressing based on previous experience.

So, we'll await the report and take it from there.

Oh.. the damp.. apparently a damp course was installed but over 30 years ago so now out of warranty (so surveyor advised..)

How do we get the damp investigated without all the spiel for having a DPC?

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Original poster

GoinSouth · 08/03/2022 13:59

@Africa2go

First of all, the survey may not say they need doing immediately. It just might be something to consider in the medium term.

As for negotiating with the sellers, well first of all the sellers will ask for a copy of the report and are unlikely to entertain any deduction until they see it. Also, if the valuer says that the property is still worth what you're offering, even with the repairs, then you haven't got a leg to stand on with the sellers.

It just comes down to negotiation - are you prepared to walk away if they won't drop the price? Do they have other buyers in the wings ready to step in so they're not bothered if you do? Are they desperate to move? If they put it back on the market, have prices remained the same / gone up / down since they accepted your offer?

No, no other buyers in the wings... they're not desperate to move as vendor has been living with her daughter - property is half-empty. No chain.

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Salome61 · 08/03/2022 14:07

So you have spoken to the surveyor on the phone? Is he a local man? I was infuriated my buyer's surveyor was giving him such inflated quotes - which the buyer used to chip down my price. I knew local trusted trades wouldn't have charged anything like the prices the surveyor had quoted.

As you like the property, it would be worth asking the vendor if they'd allow an independent damp specialist and a roofer to visit to quote for you. I wouldn't ask them to do the work as someone on MSE has had a bad experience.

umbel · 08/03/2022 14:13

Don’t panic. Let the surveyor talk your through it. If the house is currently not being heated and ventilated, the damp when you viewed might not be so bad. Damp proof courses are snake oil. Old houses do t work like new houses. Get your roof and gutters sorted, check the ground level outside is low enough, and your air bricks are open and clear, if you are repointing, use lime, not cement.

Original poster

GoinSouth · 08/03/2022 14:23

@Salome61

So you have spoken to the surveyor on the phone? Is he a local man? I was infuriated my buyer's surveyor was giving him such inflated quotes - which the buyer used to chip down my price. I knew local trusted trades wouldn't have charged anything like the prices the surveyor had quoted.

As you like the property, it would be worth asking the vendor if they'd allow an independent damp specialist and a roofer to visit to quote for you. I wouldn't ask them to do the work as someone on MSE has had a bad experience.

Yes, thanks Salome, we'd ask to get some quotes for the work - probably surveyors quote on the high side but as I have no experience here, I might be entirely wrong.

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Original poster

GoinSouth · 08/03/2022 14:28

So.. to confirm, I'm just to wait for the report then speak with surveyor, and then get in touch with EA/seller, to get some quotes for the work?

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nearlyspringyay · 08/03/2022 15:00

Surveyors cover their backs for RICS, what were the RAGs, need doing now, all red?

Original poster

GoinSouth · 08/03/2022 17:03

@nearlyspringyay

Surveyors cover their backs for RICS, what were the RAGs, need doing now, all red?

Don't have the report yet - in about 5-6 days... just had a very brief call with surveyor this morning, literally 10 mins!

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Clymene · 08/03/2022 17:21

FWIW my surveyor said the roof needed doing when we moved here 12 years ago. Still not done. I've always lived in old buildings and every single one, the survey said the roof needed replacing. I've never done it

Original poster

GoinSouth · 08/03/2022 17:38

I'm sort of thinking that perhaps we try to reduce price somewhat to at least take into account the VERY obvious damp all around the bottom of the dinning room, and then see what EA says.. and just move in and get anything done then.. I know that sounds crazy.. but at the moment, nothing is moving.. waiting for this, waiting for that.. everything is taking ages and meantime, we're in rented accommodation for the last 6 months, still living out of boxes.. gah!!

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Original poster

GoinSouth · 08/03/2022 17:40

@Clymene

FWIW my surveyor said the roof needed doing when we moved here 12 years ago. Still not done. I've always lived in old buildings and every single one, the survey said the roof needed replacing. I've never done it

That's somewhat reassuring :-)

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Clymene · 08/03/2022 18:01

I'd get someone to come and have a look at the damp. Damp can be a bastard. Sometimes it's something that's easy to fix, sometimes it's a bloody mystery.

So I'd call your surveyor and ask if he has any recommendations for damp people and tell the EA you're lining it up. Then you can get it assessed sooner rather than later.

You know that's an immediate issue. If you didn't see any damp upstairs then presumably the roof is less of an immediate issue

ISeeTheLight · 08/03/2022 18:08

How old is the house?
Depending on age a DPC might not be the right way forward, if eg Victorian/Edwardian it needs to breathe - think lime plaster etc. If the pointing is cement that may also cause damp issues.
Is the surveyor used to old houses?

Original poster

GoinSouth · 08/03/2022 18:21

@ISeeTheLight

How old is the house? Depending on age a DPC might not be the right way forward, if eg Victorian/Edwardian it needs to breathe - think lime plaster etc. If the pointing is cement that may also cause damp issues. Is the surveyor used to old houses?

This area is full of old terraced houses. All pre-1930s. So one would hope he's seen a few old houses in his time .. wish we had the report.. that might shed further light on all this.

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Original poster

GoinSouth · 08/03/2022 18:23

@Clymene

I'd get someone to come and have a look at the damp. Damp can be a bastard. Sometimes it's something that's easy to fix, sometimes it's a bloody mystery.

So I'd call your surveyor and ask if he has any recommendations for damp people and tell the EA you're lining it up. Then you can get it assessed sooner rather than later.

You know that's an immediate issue. If you didn't see any damp upstairs then presumably the roof is less of an immediate issue

Goodness I'm feeling a real idiot here.. but am I right in thinking that even though the structural survey has identified damp, I still need to arrange a damp surveyor to go out as well?

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AwkwardPaws27 · 08/03/2022 18:28

The damp could be caused by the pointing and / or the roof (& guttering).