Unmortgageable damp property

[NIJublees]

Hi. We've just had news that our mortgage for an onward purchase has been 100% declined after a survey that supposedly revealed damp. Bank wants further investigation in the form of a specialist damp survey, which we've now arranged for next Tuesday. Has anyone got any experience of banks reinstating a mortgage after submission of a specialist damp survey? Have you been successful? My broker is confident he can persuade the bank via a retention at worst, providing the damp survey is not too serious. Damp survey man will give me a heads up on Tuesday as to the issues. I feel sick waiting as we are now 5 weeks into conveyancing. Advice is appreciated.

What damp was discovered?

You need to think carefully as to whether you really want to proceed with a property purchase where a serious issue has been identified.

The specialist survey will help you learn more.

Do NOT proceed without one or you could end up with an uninsured, unsellable problem property. The idea of a retention is moot until you know the detail of the issue.

Honestly our bank plainly refused doing that. So not sure whether it would be possible to do that.

It's worth reminding yourself sometimes that surveys are there to protect you (and your bank) from making massive and extremely costly mistakes when buying a property.

Not to stop you from getting what you want.

I would walk away from this one no matter how much you love it - there’s a reason that the bank has made the decision and a serious damp issue could be financially devastating later on

This happened to us with one property (different issue) Even with a survey the bank wouldn’t touch it.

We pulled out and got something much better a few months later. Honestly it’s not worth taking on someone else’s huge problem unless it’s dirt cheap!

I don't disagree with PP that damp is a concern, but just to put a slightly different spin on things....

Assessing for a mortgage is about accepting a known risk. If the survey report isn't specific about the cause of the damp, your bank won't be able to offer a mortgage as they won't be able to assess the true risk.

Has your bank refused to offer a mortgage because the damp is so utterly terrible? Or have they simply said that they need to know more about the damp, including the extent and the cause? To me, it sounds like the latter.

If they thought the house was unmortgageable they wouldn't be recommending a damp specialist.

For context, I was an underwriting manager - not in mortgages, but the concept of assessing risk is the same. If the bank doesn't know specifically what risk it's being presented with, it can't offer terms. So the fact it's refused is simply because it needs more information. As do you.

Damp is the thing we're all scared of finding on a survey and you do need to be very careful or else you'll end up with a money pit.

However, we had some damp show on a survey and it turned out to be because the gravel outside had been built up too high so it was above the damp course. It was a bit of a fixer-upper and they had no working boiler, a man (who used to travel the world for his work so was barely home) and his uni-student adult son were living there and they used to dry all their clothing inside (in the non-heated house) so that was making it damp and unpleasant too. We got in, put in a new boiler etc, and we also knocked down the damp wall as we were extending - but the surveyor said that sorting the gravel would have resolved the damp issue if we hadn't have done that. A year on, and it's absolutely fine. No mould, no damp, and no issues with construction.

All I'm saying is that it's not always disastrous. So yes absolutely proceed with caution but don't write it off until you get proper information. It's a surveyor's job to be cautious and to warn of the worst - but the word "damp" can cover a multitude of sins, and some are more concerning than others.

If you can tell us more about what the survey said we could be more specific.

So it turns out the whole chimney needs re-lined. The kitchen extension roof is leaking, the main roof is leaking etc...and the kitchen extension may not have planning approval. That's just some of it! Put that on top of damp everywhere, and guess what I'm pulling out. Not worth it!

Anyway it's the chimney lining that got me in the end. Money pit in the end. Thanks for all the kind advice 🙂

A chimney lining is just a steel tube insert. It’s not much more than a diy job is you have it scaffolded or rent a tower.

^^I agree with this.

The damp, the extension not having planning and the main roof leaking are FAR bigger concerns.

A chimney liner is really easy to sort - we're just about to replace ours. That's a non-issue, honestly.

I know this is an old thread but I was wondering if you can remember how much money you paid to lower the ground level? The house we are buying is going to need to be dug down about a foot - possibly more both front and back but I've got no idea of cost.

Any builder can do this, however how much needs to be dug out? Is it a whole drive/patio or just a channel? Does it need a drain fitting? A photo of the offending ground level could help.

I agree. If the bank thinks it's a bad investment you need to think again.

@HellsBalls it needs a damp proof course installed. I'll locate the pictures from the survey.

The front and back. I'm not sure if there's more of the back that needs doing - speaking to surveyor tomorrow. I've added a pick to show depth of build up and we've been advised to go 150mm below damp proof course.

Well the concrete is a state so you’d want to remove it anyway. It’s solid brickwork, so you should go 225mm below the dpc. It looks like quite a bit of excavation as you would reduce the ground level most likely to 450mm below dpc then build back up the substrate so you have something decent to lay the slabs/blocks on with some drainage below. Maybe less than 450mm depending on what you find.
Most likely you do not need a chemical DPC. Just addressing the ground level and ventilation will do the trick. Takes time though.

Don't get a damp-proofing company to do the survey. Get a specialist damp surveyor with no links to anyone doing 'damp-proofing' work. Read Heritage House's website, and never have a so-called 'injected damp proof course'.

As folks are still talking about my post, I thought I would update on this 15 months later. We did pull out and moved elsewhere. Much better location etc. The original house went on the market again for 15k less than before, and was cash sales only. That gives probably a conservative idea of the repair works needed.
Thanks for all your help and advice at that very stressful time. Much appreciated 😊