Should I walk away after survey

[coldcomfort02]

I had an offer of 140k accepted on an old 3 bed cottage in Cornwall. I knew it needed plenty of work when I viewed it however the level 3 survey has just come back with a very long list of major work, much worse than I thought. New roof, most partition walls need replacing, high levels of damp in the floor and walls, new electrics, new plumbing. The list goes on and on.
Not sure whether to renegotiate price with seller or just walk away. The problem is I’m a first time buyer and due to issues with the cost of renting I’m currently in an awful shared house which I hate and need to leave urgently. So I’m in a desperate position and need to move urgently and this cottage was my perfect dream place despite definitely bring a project.
The survey has made me feel totally overwhelmed, don’t have a partner or parents to talk to and my friends are not knowledgable on this stuff.
Any advice?

The damp was done by a meter reading.
The property does smell a little damp inside but I was hoping it was mostly down to sitting empty for awhile (probate property) and the fact it’s an old building. Was built around 1830 they think.
I love the house and want it to be my long term home. Was planning on doing things gradually over the years as I could afford them.
Think the long list of stuff has really scared me as makes it sound like the whole house is about to fall down. However the mortgage surveyor thought it was fine. So confused and not sure what to do

It doesn’t come across as a particularly competent survey. It mentions timber treatment: what for? Timber decay and infestation is most effectively stopped by ensuring a dry environment. Proprietory injected treatments are almost always totally unnecessary.

It also mentions dry lining: you definitely do not want to install dry lining in a traditionally constructed building unless you want awful damp problems.

This survey would not make me walk away from the building, but it would make me very sure to never go back to that particular surveying firm! Was the surveyor RICS?

I see a Bodmin address on the survey: if you want good advice on old buildings, get yourself down to Cornish Lime (near Callywith College, look online) and ask them to recommend you someone to go round the building with you and give sensible historic building advice.

@dontbenastyhaveapasty sounds like good advice.

There's also Your Old House UK - Repair and Conservation on Facebook who are exceptionally knowledgable.

Do you have the money to do what is required? Whatever you think it will cost you will probably need to double it. Do you think you will be able to live in a building site whilst it is done? It could take a long time and you will need to plan which part you tackle first, things will need to be done in a logical order. Will the property be worth the financial and time investment in the long run?

Do you know any good builders who you can trust? If so, I would in your position ask them to look at the property and see what they reckon the costs would be, what needs to be done as a priority and how feasible it would be to live in it whilst it was being done. Depending on what they say if you are still set on the property I would then try and negotiate a substantial price reduction in light of the builders estimate and the survey.

If you do go ahead prepare yourself for a long haul.

From personal experience it is hell living in a house undergoing renovation and that cottage sounds as if it needs it. The one we did was also circa 1800s, granite but didn't need anywhere near as much as that one does, ours was more modernisation rather than what you are looking at.

If the mortgage surveyor thought it was fine, and you thought it was fine, I see no reason to walk away.

Would you be happy to move straight in, and do things bit by bit? If you would, and this is the best way for you to get the home you want, I’d go for it.

Both I and my sister learned to plaster (lime plaster), it really is a skill you can learn. Cornish Lime do short courses for homeowners. We have both (separately) done lots of work on old wrecks of buildings over the years, it is so rewarding, and saves you tens of thousands compared to getting the work done by others. If you’re practical and hands-on, there is no reason to not take on a house you’d love.

(I would plan to get the wiring checked and upgraded before you move in though! Add it on the mortgage if you need to, it’s very important.)

Is someone living there now? It sounds as though most things are advisory, 'you should anticipate...'. The damp in the floor seems the worst and something you might want to do first. You might be able to skim and level the floor then put a membrane and insulation down and then a layer of concrete on top, what that does to the level of doorways etc, may be a problem and it would reduce ceiling height a bit (some cottages are already pretty low ceilinged). It sounds like you could chip away at most of the rest as and when you have funds and just do what you think is actually necessary. Always assuming you can get a mortgage without doing a lot of work first. Difficult to assess the problems without pictures.

Is there a local builder who would walk around with you and give a more pragmatic evaluation?

Anyone with a damp meter should never be allowed near a historic building!

I remember a lecture from my postgrad course (historic building conservation, accredited by RICS, RTPI and IHBC) where the lecturer took a kiln-dried sample of historic plaster and got a damp meter reading from it of over 80% - a totally dry, kiln dried sample. They are utterly meaningless when measuring historic building materials.

The floor seems to be the biggest issue, and the fact it smelt of damp when you were there.
You cannot effectively raise the floor height, you really should have it dug out, and relaid.
Also mentions other structural issues.

It will cost a fortune, and take years of your life to renovate. It will never be dry, and cost a fortune to heat.
The house is 200 hundred years old, and is most likely well past the end of its (economically) serviceable life, and has not been well maintained.

You are just buying someone else’s problem.
Don’t do it.

Hi, some sellers will come on here and tell you the wording fluff in survey reports usually mean nothing is wrong. Do not take this advice. You had a professional survey the house and they gave you their professional opinion. You need to check how much all of this will cost you with proper quotes then total it up, add 10% and tell the seller you want that much off. If they say no, walk away. I understand your rental situation is pretty difficult right now, but you don’t want a worse situation with a house you are solely responsible for too. As I understand it, Cornwall is one area getting price corrected fast, so holding off may benefit you too. Weigh up the pros and cons for both situations. Good luck

@whyisitallsohard You need to check how much all of this will cost you with proper quotes then total it up, add 10% and tell the seller you want that much off.

But the EA would have valued it according to its current condition, not its if-it-was-totally-renovated price. It would be much more expensive if everything listed had been done.

It sounds a very big job for any person with little or no building/DIY experience.
Tackle easier projects first.

That really doesn't look that bad at all too me.

Biggest worry is the damp.

Probably could do with a rewire and needs replastering by the sounds of it (which you would need to do with any reno really).

The rest seems like suggestions, expect to need to do the window in future etc...

Old houses aren't going to be faultless, out of curiosity what work did you think needed doing and budgeted for? because this is fairly standard stuff.

I looked it up on RM as well.

Think that worried me was it seems like it is right at the bottom of a hill. So the question would really be for me is how that damp is originating - whether it is there due to hill run off or something else.

I agree with the pp, you can get stuff that is better value.

The damp is because the ground is substantially higher than the floor height. The concrete path falls down to the wall at the side.
There are strip lights and polystyrene tiles straight from the 1970’s ffs!

Honestly OP, don’t even think about it.

the answer you're looking for is in this thread for buyers haha

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/property/4896260-question-for-property-buyers-seller-experience-in-2023

That’s the sunken costs fallacy. If you ignore the survey it’s going to cost you even more. Our current house was a fixer-upper. It took us over a year and £50k more than our reasonable budget. And damp wasn’t a problem. That’s the bit that makes me advise you to walk away. There will be other houses.

That does look quite grim.

EPC E40 too. Will cost a fortune to heat and bring up to any decent standard.

I'm sorry OP, I would not buy this house.

please do not buy this house. If you ignore all the advice to not buy this house then you only have yourself to blame when you have signed for it and you are overwhelmed with all that needs to be done. It is a money pit and I should know. I have been renovating all types of houses and flats for the last 45 years and know only too well how the coats escalate and then you have paid out so much you have to keep going. That house will never recoup the cost of the work. I realise you have spent money on a survey and solicitors but swallow those costs because if you go ahead you will lose so much more. And I’m an optimistic person in life!

Houses that require a lot of work are not generally a good idea for FTB unless in the building trade themselves. I'm surprised the vendors accepted an offer from a FTB.

If you need a mortgage the bank are likely to put a very high retention on it with that level of work so you may not be able to proceed at any price!

Meter readings are a total waste of time when it comes to damp, especially for older houses. It's high time and more than time surveyors stopped using the things. Go and have a read over at Heritage House's website and you'll be better informed than most 'damp experts'.
For the rest, I'd wait until I could speak to the surveyor about the survey beofre deciding what to do next. But that lot sounds like a fair few tens of K to me, unfortunately.

From the report you posted, it seems that increased insulation will be required on the inside wall of the external walls. Note that doing so reduces the size of the rooms - though it does make it easier to install electrical outlets on those walls.

Take your time and be sensible - the survey is a normal backside covering with possibles, may need, in the future wording. Buying can be scary, especially for a FTB and reading surveys can initially look as though the house is about to fall down at any moment - it will not. It is however a period property which needs work doing sympathetically to it, but I think a lovely Cornish cottage which could be a lovely home.

Most of the money spent will be on the fabric of the house. Whilst this work is completed it is the time to also rewire/replumb purely because it is easier to do when walls/floors are likely to be having work done.

The areas in the survey which caught my eye is the concrete ground floor slab, interestingly the suggestion is to replace it with concrete again, I would possibly suggest using limecrete which will allow the house to breath.

Damp meters are useless as others have said produce readings which are incorrect and are used predominantly to justify selling damp proof courses which can do more damage.

As I stated at the beginning of this post, take your time, know how much you have to spend and research. Cornwall has a wealth of period property tradesman who I am sure can give their opinions and estimates for work and most importantly which work needs doing straight away.

Not everything has to be done at once, the joy of owning your own home is that everything does not have to be done at once. Living in a couple of rooms may be needed until you can finance other things being done.

The majority of property surveys, especially period property ones read as all doom and gloom, yet people purchase the houses. Head over heart, investigate the costs and timescales for the work to be done and go from there. As much as people are saying lower the offer to incorporate the work to be done, it doesn't work like that, the valuation has come back as it is worth its money. There may be some merit in attempting a small reduction in price but I think it is unlikely as many of the details of the survey are easily seen in the property, reductions only come when a survey shows something which was not readily visible.