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 was a first time buyer and found the structural survey really reassuring. We don't all run a mile.

I suspect all their response really says is that they didn't like the house enough.

@DogInATent

I'll say this again, as I've said on previous house-selling threads.

Never take the house off the market until contracts have been exchanged.

I'm not sure the issue is one of FTB or First Time Seller. If you had other offers then these should still be in-play. Unless you let the FTB couple dither and allowed them several weeks to do the survey. Sales fall through all the time. You can plan for it and allow for it. I'm a bit concerned that you were too invested in the first offer if you've allowed it to put yourself in a position where you've potentially lost the property you wanted to buy. Don't let that happen again. Don't be 'nice' to potential buyers. Be polite, but it's a transaction not a friendship.

Don't dwell on this offer falling through. Move on. When the next people show an interest they'll have their own survey done. All you have to say about the first offer is that, "They were FTB and weren't comfortable with some minor issues that associated with the age of the property".

As someone who has bought and sold over 20 properties - I would never as a buyer proceed with a purchase (incurring legal and survey costs) unless the seller took the property off the market.

I really don’t think anyone keeps their house on the market when it’s under offer. As a buyer I’d be wary of going to see - and love - a property under offer too. I don’t think there is any great advantage. It’s easy to quickly back to market if needed.

Hope you get it under offer soon OP with someone who understands the reality of surveys and you do the jobs that are easily fixable.

Only read OP's posts not all replies so apols if this has been covered.

You don't have to 'declare' anything from the survey. It's possible that your next buyers can potentially ask to buy the previous survey, however surveys generally say they're only for that customer. It's at the discretion of the previous buyer whether they choose to sell it on.

The EA is obliged legally to tell another buyer why the previous buyers pulled out. But they're not generally particularly honest. In this case they will probably say inexperienced first time buyers pulled out.

we're FTB and nearly ran with the amount of work needed.

Vendors have done NOTHING in the 20 years they've been there, so predictably the things that need replacing... need replacing.
(windows, gutters, boiler, radiators imminently need replacing.
Porch (addition to property so not attached to main brickwork) needs some remidial work

Our vendors were a bit unreasonable IMHO and didn't budge an inch on price, but ultimately, we need the space this house offers- and the only house with space we can afford is this one. (others are £30-50k more and that's a mortgage payment we aren't comfortable with with current price increases)

I'm utterly bricking it.... but the house won't fall down (we hope). Surveyor was great and we've a friend who's an architect who helped explain bits and pieces to us.

For us it'll mean taking on a second job, and not having a holiday for a bit to get the house fixed up, but once we've done that our mortage payments are low enough that we should be able to build equity...

Then hoping we can sell it in 5 years and move to a slightly nicer area.
Or - if we love it, we can stay and have the space we need.

Unless you buy a new build (which are ££££££ round our way), stuff needs doing to the house.

We've found this out the hard way.

We may end up regretting it - but... if we pulled out there was no guarantee we'd find something better.

It is the scariest thing I've ever done however.

My father is a chartered surveyor for 30 years and he often expresses his frustration at what he sees as ridiculous over cautious buyers and surveyors who don’t understand old properties. I would fill the gap in the loft but other than that I think it’s just a case of getting another survey done with a surveyor that is sympathetic about older properties. I’m sure the right buyer will come along. Xxx

The surveyor for my FTB of my parents house
ripped up the flooring and ripped a tile off the wall
He was insistent that the house had been extended and that my parents did this and that they had moved the bathroom from downstairs to upstairs and made it a two bed not a three bed
Pretty much called me a liar

• until I got my parents original mortgage application that had been sent to me from the bank with all the original deeds when I closed the mortgage down . it clearly stated my parents were buying a two bed house not 3 bed And there was even the original estate agents blurb that mentioned the bathroom upstairs not downstairs & that it was a 2 bed

@red30505

we're FTB and nearly ran with the amount of work needed.

Vendors have done NOTHING in the 20 years they've been there, so predictably the things that need replacing... need replacing.
(windows, gutters, boiler, radiators imminently need replacing.
Porch (addition to property so not attached to main brickwork) needs some remidial work

Our vendors were a bit unreasonable IMHO and didn't budge an inch on price, but ultimately, we need the space this house offers- and the only house with space we can afford is this one. (others are £30-50k more and that's a mortgage payment we aren't comfortable with with current price increases)

I'm utterly bricking it.... but the house won't fall down (we hope). Surveyor was great and we've a friend who's an architect who helped explain bits and pieces to us.

For us it'll mean taking on a second job, and not having a holiday for a bit to get the house fixed up, but once we've done that our mortage payments are low enough that we should be able to build equity...

Then hoping we can sell it in 5 years and move to a slightly nicer area.
Or - if we love it, we can stay and have the space we need.

Unless you buy a new build (which are ££££££ round our way), stuff needs doing to the house.

We've found this out the hard way.

We may end up regretting it - but... if we pulled out there was no guarantee we'd find something better.

It is the scariest thing I've ever done however.

Sounds like your seller is not unreasonable at all … you’ve said yourself it would cost £30k-50k more so theirs reflects its condition.

Presumably you yourself noticed that the windows, boiler etc etc were all old when you first looked at the house with your own eyes. I doubt you needed a survey to tell you it needed updating.

We had something similar when we were trying to buy a house - but the structural survey said potential movement in a former coal mining area and then no insurer would touch us. I’m sure that house is fine but we couldn’t buy it because no insurance = no mortgage. Plus you have to declare being turned down for insurance so couldn’t just replace insurer. All came up very late in the day and we had to pull out when we should have been exchanging. Gutting for everyone.

Since then, I check the insurance position as soon as a house survey comes through.

Gutted for you OP and hope you manage to resell and keep your inwards purchase. Xx

Good luck, I’m sure you’ll find a new buyer quickly. It’s a pain but I can understand how fear and indecision gets to people. We bought a house last August and even I worried about the tiny hairline cracks etc…which is extra stupid cause I am a structural engineer! Despite my knowledge, when it’s your new home you do suddenly find yourself a bit worried, even when you can objectively say they are absolutely normal for a 90 year old house.

@70kid

The surveyor for my FTB of my parents house ripped up the flooring and ripped a tile off the wall He was insistent that the house had been extended and that my parents did this and that they had moved the bathroom from downstairs to upstairs and made it a two bed not a three bed Pretty much called me a liar - until I got my parents original mortgage application that had been sent to me from the bank with all the original deeds when I closed the mortgage down . it clearly stated my parents were buying a two bed house not 3 bed And there was even the original estate agents blurb that mentioned the bathroom upstairs not downstairs & that it was a 2 bed

I hope they sued. Surveyors aren’t even allowed to move furniture or lift carpets.

@ChiswickFlo

So...

Brick up the roof gap
Sort the hairline cracks (yes they are to be expected but do look off putting)
Do the cosmetic work in your dds room (we have a mural wall in ds2s room and it looks great)
Replace the squeaky floorboard

Am I missing something?

The above ^ fixes are not expensive or that time consuming?

Get gas and electric safety certificates too.

Exactly this - fill gaps hairline with poly filler and pain over - brick up the gap - do it yourself. I understand the boiler concern - personally I’d replace it and sell it with a brand new boiler and guaranteed etc

I have never heard of a seller having to pass on details of any general survey.

The survey is to protect the buyer.
Anything that clears building control is fine regardless of the age it cleared.
A 10 year old boiler would be a consideration for many.
Lofts need gaps to breathe and anything optional should be separated from repairs that must be done.
Look at doing what repairs you can but any known issues need to be declared whoever you sell to sorry.

Some neighbours of mine have just had this happen to them with jittery FTBs! Their house is in great condition but the survey has come back with all the standard stuff that you’d expect for a 150 year old house - the kind of stuff that comes up on surveys for every single house in the area - and the buyers have asked for £50k off. It’s an absolute nightmare. Last I heard, the EA was having a serious chat with the FTBs about whether they actually want to buy a period property.

OP I feel so bad for you, I am so sorry this has happened. You sound lovely, as does your house. Good luck

You do t have to declare what another buyer thinks is wrong. The surveyor is simply noting the features of the property and then adding a caveat to cover his own backside. All old houses have maintenence that need to be done periodically at some time in the future.
Making a big deal about a 10 yr old boiler, yes in 10 yrs time it probably will need replacing, wiring is old but has been tested and is safe, that is all that is needed.
On a house that old major structural faults are important, cracks in the walls, rotten woodwork, leaking roof are the important things, everything else you can upgrade over the years, IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT.

A seller might find an unwary sucker at a higher, don’t let it be you!.

@TonkaTruckduck

FTB are a nightmare. Brick up the loft, make a little folder of certificates of boiler service etc. Aim to sell to a downsized if at all possible, tell the EA no FTB. Good luck!

“FTB are a nightmare”. Really? Are you an estate agent? I was of the impression that they’d be the easiest to sell to due to no chain.

If they already live in the same road surprised they are running. Put it back on the market

Eurgh here with sale nightmares too.

Our buyers had a survey done and the bloke has said itnis a 3 bed house with a loft conversion with no building regs so downvalued it considerably. It's a 3 storey Victorian terrace it was built with 3 floors just like every other house in this street and the other streets running parallel to it. I spoke to next door who has been in her house over 40 years and she said yes 3 storey the inly change was putting a dormer in which both houses did at the same time 40 years ago. The survey didn't point out any other issues just the usual check electrics and boiler etc but because if the loft conversion lie he said it was worth less so we ended up knocking 20k off the price as our buyers are chain free and the house we want is chain free so easier all round. Then the valuation survey came back another 45k less!!!! You can't buy a fixer upper in this area for that never mind a recently renovated 4 bed house with new kitchen and bathroom. Our buyers have been fannying about and we said get a new mortgage offer or loose the house, they argued against their mortgage company and then finally agreed to a new one. Although said because they were out of pocket having already paid for a survey would we pay for someone to come and do a structural survey to show it is all OK. My response was we are 20k down which is significantly more than their few hundred so back in the market we go. All this has taken 2 months, so annoyed! Just lucky the people we are buying from aren't in a rush si have been fine to wait for us.

I took a days leave and have spent it with my pollyfilla and tidying ready for tuesday’s open house. It was therapeutic! If anyone is looking for a fab 3 bed terrace in a lovely bit of Yorkshire then let me know 😂

The estate agent can’t get hold of the ‘buyers’ to try and assure them, they’ve turned their phone off so I think they possibly have cold feet and are exaggerating the survey as an excuse.

I’m hoping we will get a few offers on Tues and take it from there. We’ve got ten viewings booked in already.

Gaps in the party wall - like your neigbours can access your loft. Parents had this 40 years ago with Victorian house. Both houses bricked up their side, couple of air bricks. Job done

You've got to remember surveyor's pick up everything cos if they miss something and it turns out to be a prob they can be sued, so of course the report picks up everything.

When I was looking at buying a house, my surveyor called and me and put me off the house - it was close to a busy road junction - suggesting I look at other much better houses in the area. I did but there was nothing like that house - there were a few things he'd spotted that needed sorting and the next door neighbour had removed tge metal fence between the properties in the front garden which was never resolved, but nothing insurmountable but seller wouldnt negotiate so I walked away.

I ended up buying out of the area and I am sorry I did that, though we now live on a nature reserve and it's lovely, I miss being so near the city.

Anyways, point is a buyer pays a surveyor to assess the property condition, risks and value. Don't kick them for doing their job.

Ref FTB, I never had a prob selling all of my previous properties (c6) to ftbs. You obviously got a jumpy lot, OP.

Someone else will want your house, just sit tight a little while.

Good luck...

A similar thing happened to my daughter. The first time buyer tried to knock them down to pay for a total rewire ( not needed) new windows ditto. My daughter declined his offer which was lower than the asking price even before the further reduction offer. It went back on the market and ended up in a bidding war and sold for £15000 more than the asking price.

my boilers are 34 years old- still going strong

I don't expect surveyors to lie but don't understand why some of them exaggerate, sow seeds of doubt with words like 'potential' and over state the smallest of issues without context.

I had a battle once with a buyer over a poorly worded alarmist survey which their solicitor ran with. It's understandable to want to know key concerns but frankly it misrepresented the property and caused a lot of trouble.