Under pressure to get searches done, without knowing cost of repairs

[Roaminginthegloaming]

My DD has phoned me in a panic today to ask what she should do.

She is very fortunate to receive an inheritance, which is just enough to buy a family house of 3 or possibly 4 bedrooms.

She is currently renting and has a daughter and her partner has two kids of his own (boy and girl) who stay for three nights every week. All the kids are ‘tweens’. She will be buying the house in her own name. She doesn’t earn very much and every penny counts.

She found a late Victorian house in late November and as there were other interested parties, offered above the asking price. She has paid for a full structural survey but the report came back stating that the roof beams appear to be rotting and that there is significant damp in all the rooms (upstairs ones seemed to be from a chimney stack). The surveyor strongly recommended that an inspection should be made of the roof and from a reputable damp proof company. I haven’t seen the house in person as I live a few hours away, but it looks to me that the vendors have put up some new coats of fresh paint, possibly to cover up some of the dampness.

My DD has had a problem trying to get a roofer to come out, either they’re not returning messages or that one roofer said that he won’t come out to look where the house is for sale as the vendors get angry when the purchaser asks them to reduce the asking price on account of the work needed. They all seem to be busy due to the very wet winter weather and of course Christmas holidays.

Her quandary is that she has asked her solicitor not to commence on any legal work until she can get a damp proof company or a roofer out (the vendors got a mate to do a patch repair on the flashing, sent my daughter a copy of the headed receipt but when she googled the roofing company it doesn’t seem to be in business).

Today she said that her solicitor’s secretary phoned and wants her to pay 250 for the searches, but she wants to see how much the work is going to cost first to see if the house is going to be affordable (she may need to ask for a price reduction if the works are going to be expensive). If she can’t afford it, she may have to pull out. Her friend who used to be an estate agent says that she should get the searches started, but I disagree.

What would you do?

Get an over the phone estimate for a new roof, no roofer is going to go out for free to quote for a roof on a house your daughter doesn’t own. Use the ballpark figure to negotiate. Walk away if they won’t drop the price. I’m sure you could probably use google to get a rough idea and if the home owner wants a more accurate figure they can get their own quotes.

Sounds like a money pit - I would walk away.

If money is that tight I suggest she walks away. It doesn't sound like the right house for her.

It's pretty standard to get searches ordered at the outset as certain searches can often be the cause of conveyancing delays due to the time they take

I would start looking for a new house, a new roof is an absolute nightmare and very expensive- and she won’t know the true costs until she’s in.

No I absolutely wouldn’t spend money on searches or waste any more time/money on this house at all - walk away and find something else.

Today she said that her solicitor’s secretary phoned and wants her to pay 250 for the searches

The key word here is her. She's paying these people, she should tell them there are survey issues and they're going to have to hold off running searches until she gives them permission to do so.

The truth is every house has issues. Most common being roof and damp issues.
In this climate yes the market is slow cause of interest rates but demand is still high. Someone else will eventually buy the property if she drops out even if it’s a few months from now.

It is really hard to find the “perfect house” without issues except you had the budget for it and your daughter doesn’t seem to have that budget.
I will ask for a reduction in price from the vendor
They probably would want quotes to reduce based off that but you can try and get them to reduce based off estimates you’ve seen online for a new roof and damp remedy solutions.

If the seller agrees and she’s happy with the reduction, great. Then do the searches but she should also take into account the time it will take to get these works done.
If not it’s something she’s going to have to really think on if she can afford to still go ahead.

Damp in particular is really unpleasant especially as she has children I wouldn’t go ahead except it was my dream location and I had the extra cash to manage it.
And from what I have read about damp it can be really expensive and never ending.

I can’t comment on roof issues and how perfect is the house but I agree with @KievLoverTwo that your daughter should instruct her solicitor to do things not the secretary. Your daughter should email solicitor to hold off searches to have the instruction in writing.
Is she a first time buyer? It’s very stressful so I can understand her upset and frustration. Builders won’t come up quote for not yours house, maybe if you pay them specifically or they are good friends so there is an element of risk always.

I would pay the search fees to the solicitor but ask them to refrain from instigating them until she gets roof and damp checked out. There are other properties so tell her not to panic. She is a good buyer- renting and cash!

If she had a L3 survey, these normally include indications of cost. Could she talk to the surveyor to get an idea? If they are local, they may also be able to suggest someone to help.

Agree. We told our solicitors to hold off on something until we gave the nod, and they did.