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No downpipe

28 replies

AlfieandAnnieRose · 10/11/2023 11:33

I’ve seen a house I like and would potentially put an offer on, but we noticed when viewing there is no downpipe on the front of the house. The ea wasn’t sure how long it’s been like that but the seller said it would be replaced.
Anyway, as you can see from the picture it looks like it may have been like that for a while and possibly seeping into the walls. Am looking for advice, does it look really bad an would it put you off buying?
im a ftb and this is new to me!

No downpipe
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NewFriendlyLadybird · 10/11/2023 11:43

As potential problems go, this is not a bad one: you can see it and the seller has acknowledged it. There is also a clear solution.
So it wouldn’t put me off making an offer, but it would be conditional on the situation being fixed asap and on no permanent/ lasting damage showing up in the survey.

HappiestSleeping · 10/11/2023 11:45

Have you had a survey yet?

I love this sort of thing as it gives me cause to negotiate the price down.

maximist · 10/11/2023 11:59

I'd be more put off by the bizarre breeze block gable end. Just why? When the front has had so much work to make it pretty....

AlfieandAnnieRose · 10/11/2023 12:01

@maximist yes it’s a lovely old flint building, but that extended bit has not been rendered. Which would be something that would need doing.

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AlfieandAnnieRose · 10/11/2023 12:04

@HappiestSleeping I like your way of thinking! 😄 can I ask how much you would offer when it’s priced at 295,000? Has been advertised for a while.
no survey done yet, I only viewed it a few days ago.
@NewFriendlyLadybird thank you, I think a conditional offer would be a good idea. As I’m a bit wary the survey could highlight some major damp issues.

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HappiestSleeping · 10/11/2023 12:56

AlfieandAnnieRose · 10/11/2023 12:04

@HappiestSleeping I like your way of thinking! 😄 can I ask how much you would offer when it’s priced at 295,000? Has been advertised for a while.
no survey done yet, I only viewed it a few days ago.
@NewFriendlyLadybird thank you, I think a conditional offer would be a good idea. As I’m a bit wary the survey could highlight some major damp issues.

Well it depends on how much you want it, and what your appetite for risk is.

If this has been soaking the wall for years, then the opportunity for damage is high as the water will soak into the brick, freeze, expand, blow the brick, thaw, contract etc etc. This could potentially require a rebuild of the wall if the damage is severe enough. To be fair, this is unlikely but it depends on how long it's been manifesting, and what the weather conditions have been like.

Personally, I would probably make the offer as you would, subject to survey. Tip your surveyor off that it needs to be mentioned in the survey. Once you've had the survey done, and have a worst case estimate of cost, and depending on what else is found in the survey, I would say something like "the survey has identified the issue of missing downpipe. Full rectification cost could be as much as £xxxx however to avoid protracted negotiation, I am willing to split the risk and reduce my offer by half of £xxxxx, alternatively I would continue with my offer of £yyyy if you rectify the issue to the satisfaction of my surveyor".

So in your example, let's say that the rebuild of the wall would be £30k, you could suggest a reduction of £15k thereby splitting the risk. If you don't need to do that amount of work, then you are better off by £15k, however if you do need to do all of the work, you are worse off by £15k, and you are betting on whether you have to do that amount of extreme work.

You can flex the numbers depending on how likely your surveyor thinks full rectification work being required is, and your own appetite for risk.

Does that make sense?

LindaDawn · 10/11/2023 12:59

It really annoys me when sellers don’t fixed these things especially when trying to sell!

HappiestSleeping · 10/11/2023 14:49

LindaDawn · 10/11/2023 12:59

It really annoys me when sellers don’t fixed these things especially when trying to sell!

Why? Per above, it's a great opportunity to reduce the price by a significant amount just because of the vendor's laziness.

Fairyforest · 10/11/2023 14:58

Regardless of whether there is lasting damage or not, it would make me wonder what else has the seller not maintained/bodged and hidden when you view. It would put me off, I wouldn’t want the expense of a survey and unnecessary work to do as soon as I moved in for something they should have sorted well before putting the house up for sale.

Geneticsbunny · 10/11/2023 16:13

My worry would be, if they haven't been maintaining something as easy to spot as this then it is unlikely that they have bothered maintaining the rest of the building either.

ChristmasIsCome · 10/11/2023 16:18

It’s not an easy fix though is it? It’s not just a case of putting on a down pipe, you would also need to install a soak away to take the water away from the house. These cost thousands.

AlfieandAnnieRose · 10/11/2023 17:01

Thanks for all your comments, it’s been very helpful. I don’t think I’ll be putting in an offer, sounds like there’s too much work involved which I won’t have the money for 😕

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AlfieandAnnieRose · 10/11/2023 17:59

ChristmasIsCome · 10/11/2023 16:18

It’s not an easy fix though is it? It’s not just a case of putting on a down pipe, you would also need to install a soak away to take the water away from the house. These cost thousands.

The seller said they would replace the downpipe, not sure if that also meant they’d install the soak away too. I will ask them so thanks for mentioning this

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Lavenderhazee · 10/11/2023 18:13

Can you see on street view, if it has ever had a downpipe in the past?

WithIcePlease · 10/11/2023 18:14

It looks to me that water has been hitting the wall below from the discolouration between the 2 windows?
Does the guttering on the one storey part have a down pipe? As the finish on that wall is darkened too. Is it that that gutter is just overflowing and should feed into the missing down pipe?

AlfieandAnnieRose · 10/11/2023 18:26

WithIcePlease · 10/11/2023 18:14

It looks to me that water has been hitting the wall below from the discolouration between the 2 windows?
Does the guttering on the one storey part have a down pipe? As the finish on that wall is darkened too. Is it that that gutter is just overflowing and should feed into the missing down pipe?

@WithIcePlease yes there’s a downpipe on that end, I’ve attached a picture. Let me know your thoughts.
@Lavenderhazee I can’t view it on street view unfortunately as it’s down a private road.

No downpipe
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Lavenderhazee · 10/11/2023 18:29

You might not need to install a soakaway, if there has been a downpipe there in the past it’s probably there already. It looks to me like they’ve replaced the guttering and forgotten it.

AlfieandAnnieRose · 10/11/2023 18:33

Lavenderhazee · 10/11/2023 18:29

You might not need to install a soakaway, if there has been a downpipe there in the past it’s probably there already. It looks to me like they’ve replaced the guttering and forgotten it.

Ok, and would you say those darker patches are from water, especially the one at the bottom?

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HumanSoapbox · 10/11/2023 18:40

We've got a downpipe not properly connected on part of our new property and the wall there is saturated thanks to the rain we've had, and it's coming through the wall on the inside.

Definitely have it fixed prior to moving.

AlfieandAnnieRose · 10/11/2023 18:51

HumanSoapbox · 10/11/2023 18:40

We've got a downpipe not properly connected on part of our new property and the wall there is saturated thanks to the rain we've had, and it's coming through the wall on the inside.

Definitely have it fixed prior to moving.

That’s what I’m worried about. The house is unoccupied atm so maybe they just haven’t noticed.
@HumanSoapbox will it be an expensive fix to have the wall repaired where the water has come through?

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WithIcePlease · 10/11/2023 19:43

Did you notice any damp or peeling of wallpaper or bubbling of paint in that room?
It can take a while for brickwork to dry out
It would hopefully picked up on the survey.
May poss need the plaster knocking off on that wall, waiting until it has dried out and replastering but it may be fine.
I've had a longstanding overflowing toilet overflow that had caused discolouration on an exterior wall but no problems inside.
If you do buy it, maybe don't redecorate that room first, heat the house regularly and see what happens?

Lavenderhazee · 10/11/2023 19:49

Is there any chance you can go round for another viewing? Kick around in the gravel where the bottom of the downpipe should be and you might be able to see a drain. If you didn’t see any visible signs of damp when you viewed I would be less concerned but if you put an offer in I would specifically ask the surveyor to check. It wouldn’t be expensive to get the actual downpipe installed guttering is quite cheap.

sarahc336 · 10/11/2023 19:52

Op do not under estimate the damage that could have caused, that is a very outside wall, you need someone to take a good look at the damage inside before you go any further 😄

AlfieandAnnieRose · 10/11/2023 19:53

@WithIcePlease no I didn’t notice any discolouration or anything on those walls. I took some photos while I was viewing and I’ve zoomed in and I can’t see anything.
The house was very cold as it’s empty so I guess that wouldn’t help with any potential damp issues.

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Diyextension · 10/11/2023 20:45

Once the downpipe is replaced the wall will start to dry out on its own , it may take till next summer to dry out properly and you might get salts and some green mould in the meantime. Unless its been running on to it for donkeys years then there wont be any lasting damage.