Homebuyers Survey - Advice please?

[Punkyskullyy]

Good evening,

Myself and DH are in the process of buying a 1970s semi. We’ve had our homebuyers survey back and there are some concerns with the chimney stack, causing water ingress, condensation and damp timbers near the stack. Has anybody dealt with this before and what are we looking at cost wise?, cost for advice of a specialist?

We’re FTB, the seller is refusing to deal with the issues or negotiate the price.

This is what was reported:

Urgent action:

” There is a brick-built chimney stack with metal flue/clay chimney pot, and lead flashing where the chimney marries into the roof line.
We noted slight lifting of the leadwork, which should be reset to avoid water ingress. We also noted missing pointing and frost-damaged brickwork, with vegetation growth noted at the rear elevation. The stack will require repair/rebuilding work in the near future, to avoid water ingress internally (if the stack is to be retained).
As the chimney is assumed to be no longer utilized for internal solid fuel/wood-burning fireplaces (on a regular basis), and due to chimneys being prone to failure and this location's heavy rainwater table, an alternative to repair work would be to remove the chimney to below the roofline level, and to fit flue terminal ridge tiles (if the flues are confirmed to still be in use).

We noted past water ingress around the chimney stack. Timbers around the chimney are visibly affected by moisture ingress. The chimney will require repair work in the near future, and some of the surrounding timbers may need replacing.
Due to the water ingress, the roof is suffering from condensation build-up. There are insufficient roof vent tiles to remove built-up condensation; these should be installed as soon as possible.
Due to the past moisture ingress and a lack of full access, you are advised to have an insured timber/damp specialist investigate for any hidden timber defects, such as woodworm and dry or wet rot, which flourish in enclosed damp environments. This should be conducted before exchange of contracts “
Any advice would be greatly welcomed ☺️

I'm sorry to say I think you should walk away if the vendor won't cooperate.

You could find out what it would cost to get a specialist report - you'd have to just google/ring round - and ask if the vendor will agree to the report being done. But you'd probably have to pay for it yourselves, and then might end up having to walk away anyway if it comes back saying it'll cost thousands to fix, which it sounds like it would.

Whatever you do DO NOT buy this house without having expert advice on this. It could end up being a total nightmare - the last thing you want as FTBs.

This does not sound cheap. They are going to get exactly the same with another buyer. Are you in love with it enough to fork out 10, 20k if needed? I pulled that out of thin air, idk how much it would cost, sorry. A failure to negotiate in a falling market is a mistake. If you are not in love with it, make it your problem, not theirs.

We’ll definitely get a damp/timber specialist in before we make any decisions. Thank you for your supportive words.

We said the same thing, that any future buyers will see this on a report, and I’m sure they have to declare this now it’s a known issue? I don’t understand why they chose to shut us down on any compromise at the first enquiry regarding the survey.
If we pull out, they won’t find another FTB in this market.
We would personally struggle ourselves to afford a mortgage with the current rates. Ours on this house is 4%.

Sounds like it needs the lead flashing replaced and a bit of work on the chimney, removing the stack to below the roof is a good idea as long as your never going to use it again as that will stop any future leaks..

Try and get a roofer or 2 to actually get on the roof and have a proper look at what needs doing , it might cost you £50 to get them round.

sounds like hes just about covered everything that could possibly be/go wrong to me 🙂

ive always wondered how surveyors can see all these problems on a roof without getting up there ? Ive been on a few roofs over the years and some of them look in good condition till you get up there and then find you can just lift the ridge tiles off or bricks off the chimney with your bare hands .

Do they/their EA know you got a good rate? If so, they might thing they have you over a barrel.

Do you think you have enough time left on it to transfer it to another property? If you could find chain free, you might be able to do in inside two months, conveyancing is surprisingly quick at the moment (assuming the lender will let you, it varies).

We wouldn’t use the chimney so would go for that option if we progress.

We’ll definitely look at getting somebody up there before we make a decision on whether to proceed or pull out.

No we only told the EA that we had a mortgage offer, no rates were discussed. I’m just a little baffled as to why the vendor shut us down so early on and has risked us pulling out. The market is awful, and we are buying at £380K as FTB, their EA’s commented upon us offering that not many FTBs are in our position.

Our mortgage offer expires in January 2024. I didn’t realise we can transfer, is that the case with any borrower?

Oh, some people just love lording it over FTB, I think they assume we are pushovers because we all have rentals we are desperate to get out of or want kids ASAP. We pulled out of a house that we discovered needed 27k spent on it or would be a liability to sell, and it gave me the utmost satisfaction telling them to sling their hook after she was absolutely awful the whole way through. They wanted to remove a nest heating control and install an ordinary one, as an example of treatment towards FTBs, and wouldn't budge on it. So I am giving you several hundred thousand pounds and you want to take the £300 thing you have been raving to me about being really brilliant in the house, really?

Yeah we were similar. Last mortgage offer 465k but FTBs in our 40s. Your buyer needs to understand that finding a FTB in your financial position is like finding hen's teeth.

So, when you move a mortgage from one house to another it is calling porting. I don't think the same term applies here: your offer on house a) gets moved to potential house b) after the lender has been asked, you get up to six months as usual. Some mortgage offers will let you, others will not. In the recent environment I have seen a few on here claim their lender has refused, but perhaps it's a bit better now that we're not really expecting mortgage rates to go over 7%.

It's definitely worth investigating.

If you really want to put the shits up them, ask to view other houses being advertised by the same estate agent. That will give them an idea that you are serious about not being done over.

Sorry, to clarify, you don't get six months from offer then get another six if you find a different home to buy. I think usually the house has to complete within six months, possibly with a one month extension if necessary and your lender has nice policies.

That’s awful, I’m sorry you had to go through that. What an awful thing to try and do just to prove a point.
I feel we’ve been discriminated a few times as FTB. We were in the process of buying a house previous to this one (we’re not having much luck), and the sellers strung us along for 6 months whilst they took their time finding a house, as we had no chain they felt they could treat us that way. They ended up pulling out after they found out they were pregnant and couldn’t upsize for what they could afford.
This house was £395k, and they accepted £387k, the market has worsened since then and we offered on the condition we saw. The seller (I think) seems to think that reduction justifies the roof issues. They bought 8 years ago, have gained double what they paid, but will not take responsibility for the roof over their head. It’s bonkers.

Wow, that's exceptionally greedy.

It was for the best. It was in an area that we didn't want to live in (we were desperate to get out of a rental with a bad LL and never have another bad LL again). The house was only just about good enough, and we were only intending to live there for two years. I would have been gutted beyond belief to then find ourselves probably in negative equity with a mortgage that would have doubled!

That's really annoying that they did that to you. Tbh we are looking again and I am tempted to stipulate 'complete within five months or our offer goes down 10k a month thereafter' - basically so they know we are serious about not being pissed around.

But that would also make us pita buyers I guess. With risk of no's. It's a fine line to tread.

5 months is doable. We offered on this house in late May, and we’re ready to exchange until this survey came back. I suppose it depends on whether there is a chain.

I had a look at transferring our rate onto another property - sadly Halifax won’t allow this. The nearest rate to ours is 5.7 😣