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Original poster

Am I being overly worried FTB?! Pulling out of house purchase after survey

74 replies

Yoyopotato · 09/04/2022 08:20

Paying top whack for a terraced house. Survey flagged the following as requiring further attention:
Chimney stacks
Roof coverings
Rain water pipes and gutters
Main walls
Windows
Walls and partitions
Floors
Fireplaces
Woodwork
Inside other
Electricity
Gas/Oil
Heating

If anyone wants further information on any particular area in order to advise, do say. But that's the list of everything that needs further attention urgently.

Also, the house is a 4 bedroom house. But the survey has flagged that bedroom 4 (which is in the loft) doesn't meet buildings regs to be a habitable space as it doesn't have a fire escape route. It's a loft storage space only.

OP posts:
CupcakesK · 09/04/2022 08:23

Yeah, I’d pull out too! Others might say renegotiate the price, but I wouldn’t want to have to do that much work (and possibly uncover more). Plus, if you need/want a 4 bed house you aren’t really getting one. Have your mortgage company valued it yet?

superram · 09/04/2022 08:23

It depends what they say about each thing. What’s wrong with the walls? There is usually a caveat about rot and age of the property as standard. I’d go round with a builder first. The estate agent should have known about the 4th bedroom. We bought a house with a lift that was a room but knew we would convert properly anyway.

Arianya · 09/04/2022 08:25

I wouldn’t be worried about any of those as long as it was reflected in the price. If I was paying “top whack” I’d expect all of the work to be done. And I’d certainly point out that it’s a 3 bed house not 4 bed, and expect it to be priced as such.

Sadnesser · 09/04/2022 08:26

It depends somewhat on what they say. The first time I bought a house they basically said everything got be a bit dodgy basically because they couldn’t say either way.

ItsSnowJokes · 09/04/2022 08:26

It all depends what "urgent" works need doing. Just having a list like that is no good as it doesn't state what is wrong with them.

If you were to proceed I would want to know i was paying for a 3 bed house and not a 4 bed. That could be the difference of about 50k round here.

INeedNewShoes · 09/04/2022 08:27

Surveys always list a load of issues; is their job to mention anything that’s not perfect. My survey said my windows needed replacing asap. I’ve been living there with these windows 9 years.

I’d worry about anything pertaining to the core structure of the building. What’s it saying about the walls? If it’s that they’re not insulated, that doesn’t matter; if it’s that a structural wall isn’t sound then obviously that would need addressing.

(I’m not an expert at all, just bought a couple of properties and seen a few surveys over time).

Donotgogentle · 09/04/2022 08:27

What does it mean “needs further” attention? Does it need urgent, imminent repairs?

I tend to look at: is there damp, is there any building movement (subsidence or significant cracking), is there any woodworm or other timber decay, are the roof and windows sound.

Asides from that, all buildings need maintenance and repairs over time so I don’t worry too much about the rest.

Moancup · 09/04/2022 08:28

Another one saying it depends on what’s been said. I’d be surprised if you actually need to do work on all those areas.

Are you really paying “top whack” or is it just expensive?

The loft room issue is annoyingly extremely common.

A580Hojas · 09/04/2022 08:29

The 4th bedroom not having building regs is quite a problem. As for the rest of it - how can anyone possibly say without reading the survey?

SheWoreYellow · 09/04/2022 08:29

Depends what needs doing to them. Eg with the electrics, is it a total rewire or a new fuseboard?
What needs doing to the walls?!

Also, how was the valuation, if it’s now a three bed not a four?

Whinge · 09/04/2022 08:29

Nothing on your original list would worry me. I suspect any future house would also include many of those areas as requiring further attention.

The only thing that would bother me would be the fact you're paying for a 4 bed house when it's actually only a 3 bed. There's usually quite a difference in price. Unless it was priced similarly to other local 3 bed properties?

Scarby9 · 09/04/2022 08:30

It really does depend.
When I bought the old house I have now, the survey said the roof needed replacing.
We patched ir twice over the years and finally replaced it last summer - 26 years later.
In my experience, surveys of old houses do always sound dreadful, but the houses just carry on standing.

Moancup · 09/04/2022 08:30

Just clocked that the attic room is listed as bedroom 4. This is not ok. I’m amazed your mortgage lender hasn’t already flagged this. You need to pay for a three bed house.

Original poster
Yoyopotato · 09/04/2022 08:30

@Donotgogentle

What does it mean “needs further” attention? Does it need urgent, imminent repairs?

I tend to look at: is there damp, is there any building movement (subsidence or significant cracking), is there any woodworm or other timber decay, are the roof and windows sound.

Asides from that, all buildings need maintenance and repairs over time so I don’t worry too much about the rest.

There is both damp and woodworm
OP posts:
Original poster
Yoyopotato · 09/04/2022 08:31

Walls: re-rendering or extensive patch repairs are needed to prevent water ingress and further deterioration.

OP posts:
Findingneeemo · 09/04/2022 08:32

Was it valued at the price you are paying for it?

If it’s a homebuyers report and the house is over 50 years old I would expect plenty to be listed as requires doing urgently. It usually advises it all to be checked by a qualified person. Surveyors are not gas engineers or electrician etc, so will always advise it’s checked. They cannot move furniture or drill into walls. They don’t want you coming back blaming them for defects.

If you decide not to purchase it you may prefer to look at a more modern property where not as much comes up.

The bedrooms - that us more of a concern. But did it value at the price you are paying?

Vasectomyreversalhopeful · 09/04/2022 08:32

That looks like a similar list to what we had on the house we pulled out of. Don’t regret it for one moment, we found a better house in a better area :)

Original poster
Yoyopotato · 09/04/2022 08:33

Roof shows signs of poor workmanship

OP posts:
Vasectomyreversalhopeful · 09/04/2022 08:34

We did go for a newer house though the second time around. Seeing the survey and thinking about all the work made us realise we wanted a house that pretty much only needed redecorating as we have a young family and want to spend our time relaxing and enjoying days out rather than doing DIY or forking out for workmen.

Original poster
Yoyopotato · 09/04/2022 08:36

@Findingneeemo

Was it valued at the price you are paying for it?

If it’s a homebuyers report and the house is over 50 years old I would expect plenty to be listed as requires doing urgently. It usually advises it all to be checked by a qualified person. Surveyors are not gas engineers or electrician etc, so will always advise it’s checked. They cannot move furniture or drill into walls. They don’t want you coming back blaming them for defects.

If you decide not to purchase it you may prefer to look at a more modern property where not as much comes up.

The bedrooms - that us more of a concern. But did it value at the price you are paying?

It is valued at the price we are paying IF: Bedroom 4 is actually a bedroom specialist tests/investigations recommended in the report do not bring to light any significant or expensive defects that would have an adverse effect on the valuation
OP posts:
Donotgogentle · 09/04/2022 08:37

@Yoyopotato

Walls: re-rendering or extensive patch repairs are needed to prevent water ingress and further deterioration.
If the woodworm is active it can seriously damage the building structure. So can damp. My first purchase had both, but it was treated for about £3k with a rising damp course on the affected bay and the spraying of the timbers under the floorboards.

You would need a further specialist survey to see how far reaching the issues are.

myyellowcar · 09/04/2022 08:37

It really depends on what the issues are. I wouldn’t be surprised that those issues were flagged in an older terrace but whether they are actual problems or not is a bit like sorting the wheat from the chaff. Surveys pick up every little thing and it can be a challenge to pick through and find out what the problems actually are. I’d confirm with the seller about building regs, it may be that is doesn’t meet current regulations rather than the regulations at the time of installation.

Notanotherwindow · 09/04/2022 08:39

Damp and woodworm would have me pulling out.

Arianya · 09/04/2022 08:48

It is valued at the price we are paying IF: Bedroom 4 is actually a bedroom
Which it isn’t. So you need to pull out or negotiate the price down.

ivykaty44 · 09/04/2022 08:55

So a long list of problems and it’s 3 bed not 4

What does the survey value the property at?

I had a survey and long list of problem including asbestos, valuation came back at £69k house had been marketed for £80 and we’d offered £79

We pulled out as obviously over valued. Agent wanted survey, I agreed to sell it to them at half price - 😉 they declined 🤔