Should we walk away?

[ellleeb]

We had the survey results back on our 'forever home' yesterday and I'm at a loss of what to do. We knew the house needed a lot of work internally but was mainly cosmetic and a new kitchen, bathroom, boiler etc.

The survey came back with a need for a new roof and new felt roof on extension, high levels of damp, drainage and guttering blocked and not up to standard, windows blown, electrics needed to be replaced, damp floors, etc etc. it's turned into a huge huge job with much more substantial work needed :( they said it's had no upkeep for a very long time.

We have funds put aside, but nothing to cover that much. The surveyor said many things are liveable for now, but I worry about how much we are taking on for the future.

Has anyone been in the same position, is it worth it? We absolutely love the house but it seems doing it up as we go isn't an option, for most things at least :(

Pre pandemic I would have happily taken on a project property without any worries. Since then the cost of materials has skyrocketed and it is also really difficult to get decent tradesmen. Any work I've had done recently has been triple the expected amount.

It all depends if you have the money and patience, and whether the house price will be increased by at least the cost of the work. Would you be able to renegotiate the purchase price?

Renegotiate, but as others have pointed you need to be able to comprehensivly highlight the issues and costs for remediation. Do your homework thoroughly and back it up with genuine estimate research. Do not just pick a ball park figure to waive around. This is where some of the most import work for your forever home project needs to start.

@ellleeb it's a tricky situation to be in for you. Lots of other posters have rightly pointed out to get a damp survey done. My Dad lived in a 1920's house and had a new roof and electrics done - the amount of devices we have at home nowadays meant they were always tripping as they just couldn't cope with the demand. Plus the roof got replaced - but he was selling up and did the work because of that. I wouldn't say run away, but don't be scared to say no to purchasing it as there may be another dream home come up soon enough.

High levels of damp is a major concern and you do need to ask the surveyor for roof details. If it’s 100 years old it may well need attention! A decent fully qualified surveyor should give more details about the roof. Again, what do photos show? Where is the damp? If floors are damp, it’s highly likely it’s damp coming up from the ground. But why? What’s wrong and how much to put it right? Blocked air bricks? Damaged dpc? Broken drains under or near the house? You do need a lot more info and then estimates for repair.

Also if a house hasn’t been maintained by an owner, they also will have cut corners elsewhere. So quality of flat roof is not likely to be great and I bet cheap materials were used. Look on the bright side though! No cracks in the walls!

How would a surveyor be able to say you need new electrics unless all the exposed cables are rubber and fuses are wire?
Just because the consumer unit is not a current one doesn't mean its unsafe either.
Only an electrician can properly test a property's electrical safety.

Roof? is he saying it needs re doing because its not felted? thats not a reason to replace, rotten timbers, crumbling slate and or the slate nail fixings have failed would be.
If the roof does need replacing, is that causing the damp issues?
Double glazed units can be replaced without doing the whole window, unless the frame is why there is damp?

If you want the house and the survey is a great place to renegotiate the price, the seller will know that if they don't sell to you, they'll have exactly the same issues with any other buyer who has a survey.

A surveyor will look at fuses and sockets. Old consumer units do need replacing with up to date fused boxes.

Ours is a similar age, and a doer-upper. Did they say reslate, or rebuild the roof timbers? Reslating is not cheap but isn't massive, and you're wise to get a roofer in to look. Rebuilding a roof would be a walk-away for me. Get a proper historic building damp surveyor, not a damp-proofing firm.
re damp, we have:

rebuilt drains in plastic
new gutters etc.
cleaned out underfloor air vents and removed masses of builders' crap and plastic sheeting from under the house
removed (xxxing stupid) tanking from one room
removed wallpaper and painted walls with breathable paint
ventilated the house properly

Solved the damp, it got drier with everything we did, and now feels masses warmer at the same actual temperature.