Structural survey has destroyed my sale and my lovely house

[Rosser]

I live in a lovely mid terrace ex council house in a sought after area. I sold in jan to a FTB, I turned down higher bids as I thought a FTB would be quickest and we didn’t want to lose the house we were hoping to purchase. The FTB apparently lives on this road in rented and loves it and wants to stay here. It’s a long road 320 houses so I don’t know who it is. We were also FTB when we brought 12 years ago so it felt right.

We are only moving because my Mum is coming to live with us. It’s a lovely house but it has no room to extend.

FTB has had a full structural survey which brought back loads of issues but all are totally normal for one of these houses.

They boiler is 10 years old but has been serviced every year and is in good working order. But the engineer has suggested they might want to change it for longevity. Same with electrics, which we had partially rewired (to regs) and are totally fine.

Gaps in the loft party wall apparently make my roof liable to collapse. All of these terraces have the same gaps and it’s no job to brick them up if you wish.

We removed a wall to make a kitchen diner (with a structural engineer, a steel, building regs) and apparently that could potentially cause movement upstairs in the long term. Again, nearly every house on the road will have done it as we’ve got tiny galley kitchens otherwise.

They’ve pointed out every single hairline crack that have been here as long as we have. Again, every house has them or has been freshly plastered or is covered in textured wallpaper. We ran out of money when decorating so didn’t manage to plaster every room. They’ve said our one squeaky floorboard could possibly mean an issue with the joists. Again, it’s been squeaky as long as we’ve been here.

Long story short FTB are now running a mile, we’ve lost our onwards purchase and we have to declare issues with the previous survey although there is nothing actually wrong with the house. The FTB is making a big mistake and I do feel bad for them as I’d probably do the same but the whole situation is ridiculous.

Anyone empathise or offer any words of advice. I’m so worried we won’t be able to sell without a massive price reduction now and our onwards purchase is dependent on the sale price. The valuation was ok. Just the survey.

I'm the buyer in a similar situation. I paid for a survey and they absolutely slagged off every part off the house I want to buy and massively undervalued it. No consideration for the age and construction of the house (1800s), and very tiny things were blown out of proportion. Because the mortgage valuation had come in a smidge low I had instructed these surveyors for a true appraisal of the worth of the property, (which is highly unusual, and beautiful). Their valuation (£200k below the original estate agents valuation the sellers had obtained), basically nlew our appeal with the mortgage company out of the water.... luckily we managed to raise some savings and the sellers incredibly generously took a huge drop in the selling price.... I'm all for a decent scrutiny... but a 1cm chip in one of the floor tiles was deemed a major issue... we are chain free, the sellers are not making an onward purchase and we can't seem to get to completion.... don't get me started on what vacuum happens with conveyancing solicitors.... radio silence from everyone ....

We had some FTB’s do a structural survey and their aggressive surveyor came up with a horrendous list of defects and asked for a £25k reduction! The house was very fairly valued and priced and we spent £10k prior to putting it on the market to get it in pristine marketable condition. Even had a structural appraisal prior to putting it on the market so we knew the house was sound. It was an early 1900’s terrace and none of the issues raised by the buyers surveyor were a concern at the point of sale, more like things that “could” need attention one day down the line. We told the agents to withdraw from the sale. House went on the market the next day and sold again within a day to another couple of FTB’s who bought it and their survey brought up no issues or concerns.

Squeaky floorboards are nothing!
There has been one in the landings of two houses I’ve lived in, and one just learns to get used to the squeak.
Saggy floors are different.
Id heard of ‘holes ‘in party walls in the roof space-
But they are easy to fill in .
Best of luck.

[quote Rosser]@Blinkingbatshit I hadn’t thought of that. I was going to delegate to DH! Maybe I won’t then. It’s a lot of hassle for something that is a non-issue. I just don’t want it to come up on the next survey.[/quote]
I work in the sort of industry where we get checked. There is a sort of mindset where the checker feels they have to find something, to show that they have done their job. It's not unheard of for us to leave minor errors (instead of correcting them) so that the checker can smugly go "aha! I've spotted something" and then go away to write the report.

Leave the surveyor something (minor) to comment on or he'll just keep looking.

Are you expecting the surveyor to lie?

We had the same - even had ‘the drain could be blocked’ there is no evidence of blockage, it has never been blocked but because it wasn’t tested, it ‘could be’ blocked. It was ridiculous. Evidence of damp - there had been a little damp on an outside wall, so we had all the pointing redone and the problem was solved, but the outer wall was stained so there was ‘evidence’ even though we showed receipts from 3 months before of all the work done.
Our first buyer pulled out but the next one understood that there was no issue and completed.

@KinderWild

We had a crazy structural survey commissioned by us sadly. Didn't put us off buying but it wasn't our first purchase. We bought in SE London in 2015. Had a full structural survey. It was ridiculous. Lots of confident assertions that things were wrong. Including roof struts being too few and roof at risk of imiment collapse. Total cost of renovation estimated at 100k by the surveyor. When I rang him to gauge if this was a terrible buy or of he was covering himself, he was very agressive (didn't like being questioned) and suggested we were way in over our heads. We had a couple of trades round to get quotes on some stuff and had an electrical and timber survey at the insistence of our mortgage company. Essentially most of what was in the survey was nonsense and things which might be wrong, it was him covering himself. It is a 120 yr old house mid terrace. We bought it. It's been fine. I would never again get a structural survey. It was a total waste of money and caused us endless stress. I know that doesn't help you OP but I wonder if it helps to know that others have had a similar experience.

Sounds like good advice. Competent Trades will know if a house is on it’s last legs or not. Ironically, a lot of older houses are far better built than flimsy new builds that have diddy little roof timbers compared to the massive purlins of Victorian houses. I’d trust competent trades over a survey if buying.

Fix what you can, get your certificates, stage it, and relish for 10-25k more! Houses have ongoing needs, an old house is not in new build condition.

I’m so sorry! That sounds like standard stuff but can see why the FTB ran. We actually pulled out of our first purchase under huge pressure from the surveyor (altho those issues were worse), I wonder how common it is.

So sorry OP. Good luck.

@Rosser

It was a full structural survey that they paid over a grand for. Surveyor was here an hour! They’re going to quickly spend their deposit and I’ve no doubt the next one the commission will be similar, if not worse. They want to live in this area and the houses are all the same.

Those full structural surveys are a nightmare! They pick up every little thing! I had one done on a house I was buying many years ago and it was a lot of money for a lot of nit-picking. My DD and her DP bought their first house in 2020 and just had a basic homebuyers' survey done.

FTBs are naturally nervous. I had an offer from a FTB who was at pains to tell me my home was overpriced and why. None of these issues in the survey sound bad.

My survey for my last house pointed out the obvious but failed to see how joists were rotting and the toilet wasnt fixed.

If I were you I would cover over the cracks, maybe a bit of painting and get it back on the market straight away. You may still be able to patch up the chain.

This FTB is going to discover that every property has something. If a survey came back with no comments, I’d be very concerned that no actual surveying had been done.

Mind, on the house we’re in now all sorts of minor things were dutiful included, but the guy missed the fact there was actually a hole in the roof. As soon as you stuck your head in the loft (which he allegedly did) you could see daylight!

I had a full survey done when I purchased my house 12 years ago the house was built in 1908 and the survey if read by someone inexperienced would put anyone off buying. According to the survey it needed reroofing, rerendering, new interior doors, structural problems from removal of chimney breast, movement cracks, rewriting and replumbing in central heating that is just some of the apparent major issues. I still have the same roof and render and internal doors and the house hasn’t fallen down. No structural issues or any other major issues. I took the survey with a pinch of salt as all they do is say “it may need” to cover their own bums just in case you try to sue them later. You don’t need to declare the survey results unless proper structural problems have been diagnosed.

I'd never sell to a FTB again. They made such a huge fuss about every little thing the sake took almost a year. I had to move as I had a new job so I was renting and paying the mortgage while they faffed and faffed whilst living with their parents. It was a nightmare.

It's frightening being a first time buyer. Mortgages, especially these days, are a huge commitment and it is understandable that issues brought up by surveyors spook them.

Full structural surveys are expensive and no doubt surveyors have to demonstrate they are worth the cost.

As others have said, these are not insurmountable problems. Try and sort them out before re-marketing.

FTB have it very very hard these days. They're paying through the nose for their first property (that probably isn't worth as much as the asking price anyway).

They're looking for something that they don't need to do much work to as their budgets are stretched to the limit.

Where as 25 years ago house prices were alot cheaper and you got way more for your money.

I feel bad for them, it's so hard to get on the housing market now, bet half of the commenters on here had hardly any problems doing so (not to mention the rock bottom prices!).

I have certain squeaky floorboards which run from inside the bathroom across the landing outside to the wall.

It's a Georgian building, wood expands and contracts. Many feet have trodden these floors in the present and previous incarnations of the building. Fixing it would mean taking up all the flooring right across the area and replacing whatever needs replacing. It's not 10 minute job
I've lived with the squeaks for 11+ years. The OP's FTB's surveyor was being very very picky but that's what they're paid to do.

We are FTB. Its partly down to the type of survey FTB often have done. It's such a huge leap and purchase that a lot of time FTBs go all out and get the mega extensive survey done. This survey will flag every from the basics to how many plug sockets you have. The other part of the problem is a lack of understanding. We are buying a 1940's house. For a house of that age everything will flag as a 'potential issue' unless brand new, e.g the house was built in 1940 and has never been rewired so it will need a full rewire / the house has motor washout on the face of the bricks so the wall may collapse' (when in reality is just needs pointing), etc.
I work in a related industry so I know enough to check the basics like checking for major structural issues, so we decided not to pay some guy to terrify us with a list of very obvious points. And as we are happy with the purchase price we done need it to negotiate the price down. But any FTB I know (which seem to be a lot) are all going for the full survey and most are purchasing new builds which they think will bypass the issue (lol... if only they knew!).

@Musicalmaestro

Rosser If those gaps in the roof area were for ventilation, will there be any implications if you seal them up?

Just thinking the same thing. Isn’t it inviting damp in by filling them?

I might add that as I live on the lower end of a hill and considering the age of the building, the floors and walls are not true.

Doesn’t sound like any actual issues at all OP, just a lot of words on paper. Don’t worry. A more sensible buyer will be along. Good luck to those buyers who will be on a long road to a perfect house.

Shows the FTB's inexperience - not being able to sort the serious issues from the standard things you get on a survey. As a PP said, full surveys often read like horror stories. Could the estate agent explain this to them? eg about the boiler, electrics etc. Those are things that the buyer can replace at their own cost once they've purchased. Of course you could offer to make some contribution if you feel that would be reasonable in order to save the sale. But don't let the buyer take the piss, OP.

A friend did seal up the gaps in the loft between them and the next-door neighbours in order to satisfy a buyer, that was one thing that was deemed essential (for fire risk, safety/security etc). The gap ran the full length of the terrace! That's just how many terraces were originally built.

Until December I had a gas boiler that was nearly 30 years old!
Lots of hairline cracks.
Squeaky floorboards.

Lived here nearly 20 years and the house hasn't fallen down yet

@Rosser

No real figures because nothing needs doing!

The fire resistant foam he said was single figures, an hours work.

The polyfilla will be a days work for me and the electrical test/cert is £200.

They can’t quote for the possible future movement as it hasn’t happened yet. They are covering their backs.

The only real issue is if, on taking up my squeaky floorboard, all of my upstairs joists are rotten. That’s some leap though given the floor feels sound and not bouncy!

Will the estate agent not try again with the FTB to see if they can be reassured?

It might be they’re just spooked by the idea of a house price crash though, I guess.

I had a buyer for an approx 10 year old bungalow some years ago & the surveyor was there most of the day.. on the other hand the 200 yr old cottage I sold, the surveyor was there about an hour!

I don't use them when I buy, because they 'can't pull carpets up, can't see wiring', etc etc.. (yes, covering their backs) It's easy enough to detect damp, you can smell it. You can look up at a roof, look at light switches, age of gas fire / boiler etc, it's really not difficult. My old cottage was in obvious need of a new roof!